Oh, Brother! (1981 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]

Michael Valenti, Donald Driver, David Carroll, Bruce Adler, Harry Groener, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Larry Marshall, Judy Kaye | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Original Cast Record
• ASIN: B000004CN5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,133 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #41 in Music > Indie Music > Broadway & Vocalists

Track Listings

1. PROLOGUE/WE LOVE AN OLD STORY

2. I TO THE WORLD

3. HOW DO YOU WANT ME?

4. REVOLUTION

5. MY WORLD'S COMIN' UNWRAPPED

6. THAT'S HIM

7. EVERYBODY CALLS ME BY MY NAME

8. OPEC MAIDEN

9. IT'S A MAN'S WORLD

10. A MAN/HOW DO YOU WANT ME?

11. TELL SWEET SAROYANA

12. WHAT DO I TELL THE PEOPLE THIS TIME?

13. OPEC MAIDEN (Reprise)

14. A LOUD & FUNNY SONG

15. OH, BROTHER!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and tuneful, October 24, 2005

By 

Mark Falconer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oh, Brother! (1981 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

And really, what more could you ask for from a musical comedy? Almost every single song in Oh, Brother! is top-drawer material, in both music and lyrics. Composer Michael Valenti manages to draw lush ballads ("How Do You Want Me?" "I To The World") as well as raucous comedy numbers for the chorus ("Revolution" and "It's A Man's World") from this material every bit as well as Richard Rodgers did back in the 1930s with The Boys From Syracuse. The music covers a variety of styles, from barbershop to pop, mixed with a twinge of "Eastern" sounding music.

The lyrics, by Donald Driver, are just as clever. Somehow Driver manages to be funny and completely true to the characters. For instance, in "How Do You Want Me," Saroyana's pathos and desperation come through in such hilarious lines as "How do you want me - pale or pink/Upon the hour? Up on the sink?" Yes, we laugh, but it's really quite sad that this woman is reduced to begging her man to love her.

And the cast is simply incredible. Full of Broadway stars back when they were just beginning their careers, Judy Kaye, David Carrol, Harry Groener, and Mary Mastrantonio are all terrific in this show. There are a few cases of overacting among the supporting roles, but it's excusable in a show of this nature.

I know that it's difficult to take a chance buying a show album unheard (what if you end up with another Walking Happy?), but I promise you that this CD is completely enjoyable.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A loud and funny album, November 27, 2000

By 

Kurt S. Owens "blooncrazy" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oh, Brother! (1981 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

Okay, the reviewers trashed this show, but the matinee preview audience I was seated with LOVED it. Fast, loud, and funny with an attitude exemplified by the first night program title page in ARABIC! That attitude pervades every number in the exceptional score presented by the entire exceptional cast. The score is bright, the lyrics witty and knowing and the performances stellar. Of particular note is the 11th hour number "A Loud and Funny Song," and the title song. It's fun, full of great performances (can enough be said about Judy Kaye?) and well worth the investment.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh Brother! What a Joy!, July 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Oh, Brother! (1981 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

A fun musical that is not afraid to be silly while it is both musically clever and cute. The Valenti/Driver team has done us all a disservice by not following-up this true musical comedy with many others.