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Bartender · 12-31-2004, 05:20 PM

Release 2004 on Shout! Factory records.

This will be a long review, so just skip ahead to the short summary about two thirds of the way through if you can't be bothered.

William Shatner - majority of vocals and lyrics
Ben Folds - most music, in organisation if not his own actual playing
Various guest artists appear throughout the album, some on more than one track, in various capacities.

1 - Common People (4:40)
2 - It Hasn't Happened Yet (3:49)
3 - You'll Have Time (5:18)
4 - That's Me Trying (3:48) (lyrics by Nick Hornby)
5 - What Have You Done (1:46)
6 - Together (5:39)
7 - Familiar Love (4:00)
8 - Ideal Woman (2:23)
9 - Has Been (2:18)
10 - I Can't Get Behind That (3:00)
11 - Real (3:08) (written by Brad Paisley, for Shatner specifically)

The continuing celebrity of William Shatner is, I think, something of a mystery to most right-thinking people. Until recently (with his turn on The Practice, and the following spin-off show, Boston Legal), he'd done more or less nothing of note, let alone critical acclaim, for 30-odd years. His sole venture into the recorded world (before his work with Ben Folds), 1968's Transformed Man, was very poorly received. Even in the role he is most known for, that of Captain James T Kirk on Star Trek, he was immediately trumped by Patrick Stewart. Maybe the only thing that's kept him going is the adulation of the world's legions of Star Trek devotees, but for whatever reason, he has remained firmly within the bounds of public awareness; everyone knows William Shatner.

^The Transformed Man LP. Released in 1968, and badly received by more or less everyone. It records the young(er) Shatner's readings of various Shakespeare passages and poetry excerpts, as well as spoken word interpretations of a couple of popular songs. It was intended as a serious work, but it was largely ridiculed as a bad comedy album, and in fact his spoken word Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds and Mr Tambourine Man ended up on a Rhino compilation of comedic celebrity songs. Of course, many Trekkies claimed to "get" what Shatner was going for, and the LP remains a kitschy cult item of sorts, but the point stands that (in the words of some other reviewer that I can't bring myself not to copy), "the world needed another William Shatner album about as much as a big-screen remake of TJ Hooker".

Or at least it thought it did. Some thirty years after the perceived Transformed Man debacle, Shatner met and befriended one Ben Folds. Folds, just coming out on his own, away from his Five, was putting together a project to be known as Fear of Pop, and invited Shatner to lend his vocals to a track. He did - the track was In Love - and it was apparently one of the better ones on the album. More importantly, though (for the story of this album, anyway), it resulted in Shatner and Folds being rather good friends. Sometime in 2002, they were on the phone with each other, discussing possible material for an onstage appearance the one was to make with the other, when the possibility of a new Shatner album came up - a record company had contacted him about it. Shatner moved swiftly from "what do you think?" to "will you produce it?", and the core of the album was set. Has Been is at root a Shatner and Folds enterprise; to put it far too simply, Folds handles the music, while Shatner deals with "lyrics", writing down short pieces of poetry and scattered thoughts on his life for revisions and refinements into a musical context.

Initial reaction: it's a comedy album, surely, a novelty, put out by a has been actor to make a quick bit of money. Why should it be bothered with? And more, why should it be bothered with in the light of Transformed Man?

Well, to the first point, it's not a comedy/novelty album. The bombastic, tongue-in-cheek version of Common People, and the straight-faced, dryly humourous take on mortality in the gospel-tinged You'll Have Time may lead you to believe otherwise, but tracks like It Hasn't Happened Yet (a maudlin musing on disappointment and failure) will make you wonder. And then comes What Have You Done, which, despite being only 1:46 long, manages to be a very hard-hitting piece, and if you thought William Shatner could never move you.. With barely a hint of upright bass in the background, a heavy-voiced Shatner tells of finding his wife, dead, in their swimming pool. And that is when you realise, that this is not a joke.

This is the advantage that he has now; he has lived. He has a great well of experience to draw on, and he draws on it well. He's no longer young - in fact he's 73 - and the Shatner of Transformed Man is gone. Has Been is again a serious work, but Shatner (to use a cliche) knows now that he is Shatner, he is in on the joke, so to speak, and this gives him the ability to self-deprecate, to utilise satire and irony, which adds an immeasurably valuable streak of humour, but in a solid way, not in a novelty/comedy album way. This isn't something you can only listen to once; it has a lasting life, as I discovered in listening to practically nothing else for a good few weeks.

Shatner does not sing. He holds no illusions that he is a singer, that the fact he is making an album somehow gives him talent, so he knows his limitations and sticks within them. One of his main contributions to Has Been is simply the words. With the exception of That's Me Trying (and the cover, obviously), every song/piece is based on Shatner, and all but one of them were written directly by him. I can't go overboard and make him out as an undiscovered poetic genius, but he is certainly clever and eloquent enough to be a surprisingly good writer, able to write seriously, heart-warmingly or light-heartedly, as the situation calls for it. It's impossible to give a decent account of the album as a whole, because each track is different. The one constant throughout is Shatner's other great contribution - his voice. His voice is that of an experienced actor, and it's a voice that demands, magnetically, that you listen to it. He can switch between levity and gravity very smoothly; his voice, as well as his words, able to convincingly switch between various styles. Just as important an asset to the album is his (in?)famous style of talking. Whether you know him from the original Star Trek, or his recent TV appearances/adverts, or even just through Family Guy, you'll know what I'm talking about. His stop-start, faux-awkward rhythm of speech is the stuff of legend, and, shockingly, it works perfectly with a musical backdrop. He speaks off-beat, out of time with the music, but rather than ruining it, it just makes for incredibly interesting listening. I think, had he spoken like a regular person, it would have been far more boring.

12-31-2004, 05:20 PM	#1
Bartender morrissey approved Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Lamuella Posts: 21,455	(?) William Shatner - Has Been Release 2004 on Shout! Factory records. This will be a long review, so just skip ahead to the short summary about two thirds of the way through if you can't be bothered. William Shatner - majority of vocals and lyrics Ben Folds - most music, in organisation if not his own actual playing Various guest artists appear throughout the album, some on more than one track, in various capacities. 1 - Common People (4:40) 2 - It Hasn't Happened Yet (3:49) 3 - You'll Have Time (5:18) 4 - That's Me Trying (3:48) (lyrics by Nick Hornby) 5 - What Have You Done (1:46) 6 - Together (5:39) 7 - Familiar Love (4:00) 8 - Ideal Woman (2:23) 9 - Has Been (2:18) 10 - I Can't Get Behind That (3:00) 11 - Real (3:08) (written by Brad Paisley, for Shatner specifically) The continuing celebrity of William Shatner is, I think, something of a mystery to most right-thinking people. Until recently (with his turn on The Practice, and the following spin-off show, Boston Legal), he'd done more or less nothing of note, let alone critical acclaim, for 30-odd years. His sole venture into the recorded world (before his work with Ben Folds), 1968's Transformed Man, was very poorly received. Even in the role he is most known for, that of Captain James T Kirk on Star Trek, he was immediately trumped by Patrick Stewart. Maybe the only thing that's kept him going is the adulation of the world's legions of Star Trek devotees, but for whatever reason, he has remained firmly within the bounds of public awareness; everyone knows William Shatner. ^The Transformed Man LP. Released in 1968, and badly received by more or less everyone. It records the young(er) Shatner's readings of various Shakespeare passages and poetry excerpts, as well as spoken word interpretations of a couple of popular songs. It was intended as a serious work, but it was largely ridiculed as a bad comedy album, and in fact his spoken word Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds and Mr Tambourine Man ended up on a Rhino compilation of comedic celebrity songs. Of course, many Trekkies claimed to "get" what Shatner was going for, and the LP remains a kitschy cult item of sorts, but the point stands that (in the words of some other reviewer that I can't bring myself not to copy), "the world needed another William Shatner album about as much as a big-screen remake of TJ Hooker". Or at least it thought it did. Some thirty years after the perceived Transformed Man debacle, Shatner met and befriended one Ben Folds. Folds, just coming out on his own, away from his Five, was putting together a project to be known as Fear of Pop, and invited Shatner to lend his vocals to a track. He did - the track was In Love - and it was apparently one of the better ones on the album. More importantly, though (for the story of this album, anyway), it resulted in Shatner and Folds being rather good friends. Sometime in 2002, they were on the phone with each other, discussing possible material for an onstage appearance the one was to make with the other, when the possibility of a new Shatner album came up - a record company had contacted him about it. Shatner moved swiftly from "what do you think?" to "will you produce it?", and the core of the album was set. Has Been is at root a Shatner and Folds enterprise; to put it far too simply, Folds handles the music, while Shatner deals with "lyrics", writing down short pieces of poetry and scattered thoughts on his life for revisions and refinements into a musical context. Initial reaction: it's a comedy album, surely, a novelty, put out by a has been actor to make a quick bit of money. Why should it be bothered with? And more, why should it be bothered with in the light of Transformed Man? Well, to the first point, it's not a comedy/novelty album. The bombastic, tongue-in-cheek version of Common People, and the straight-faced, dryly humourous take on mortality in the gospel-tinged You'll Have Time may lead you to believe otherwise, but tracks like It Hasn't Happened Yet (a maudlin musing on disappointment and failure) will make you wonder. And then comes What Have You Done, which, despite being only 1:46 long, manages to be a very hard-hitting piece, and if you thought William Shatner could never move you.. With barely a hint of upright bass in the background, a heavy-voiced Shatner tells of finding his wife, dead, in their swimming pool. And that is when you realise, that this is not a joke. This is the advantage that he has now; he has lived. He has a great well of experience to draw on, and he draws on it well. He's no longer young - in fact he's 73 - and the Shatner of Transformed Man is gone. Has Been is again a serious work, but Shatner (to use a cliche) knows now that he is Shatner, he is in on the joke, so to speak, and this gives him the ability to self-deprecate, to utilise satire and irony, which adds an immeasurably valuable streak of humour, but in a solid way, not in a novelty/comedy album way. This isn't something you can only listen to once; it has a lasting life, as I discovered in listening to practically nothing else for a good few weeks. Shatner does not sing. He holds no illusions that he is a singer, that the fact he is making an album somehow gives him talent, so he knows his limitations and sticks within them. One of his main contributions to Has Been is simply the words. With the exception of That's Me Trying (and the cover, obviously), every song/piece is based on Shatner, and all but one of them were written directly by him. I can't go overboard and make him out as an undiscovered poetic genius, but he is certainly clever and eloquent enough to be a surprisingly good writer, able to write seriously, heart-warmingly or light-heartedly, as the situation calls for it. It's impossible to give a decent account of the album as a whole, because each track is different. The one constant throughout is Shatner's other great contribution - his voice. His voice is that of an experienced actor, and it's a voice that demands, magnetically, that you listen to it. He can switch between levity and gravity very smoothly; his voice, as well as his words, able to convincingly switch between various styles. Just as important an asset to the album is his (in?)famous style of talking. Whether you know him from the original Star Trek, or his recent TV appearances/adverts, or even just through Family Guy, you'll know what I'm talking about. His stop-start, faux-awkward rhythm of speech is the stuff of legend, and, shockingly, it works perfectly with a musical backdrop. He speaks off-beat, out of time with the music, but rather than ruining it, it just makes for incredibly interesting listening. I think, had he spoken like a regular person, it would have been far more boring.