REVIEW: "Has Been"

William Shatner
Has Been
© 2004 Shout! Factory

William Shatner’s musical career has often been the subject of mockery, rather than praise. Though a multitalented performer, singing is not among the man’s skill-set. Syle, however, is and, if it showed anything, his 1968 debut album The Transformed Man showed a very distinctive style of spoken word outsider music. While that album may be considered one of the worst albums ever made, Shatner has proceeded to hone and adapt his musical style over the years, from his classic performance of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” to his commercials for Priceline.

For the most part, his deliberately campy style has been used purely for comic effect. But, in 1999, Ben Folds saw a greater potential in Shatner’s voice and used him in his project, Fear of Pop. This began a creative relationship that ultimately led to 2004’s Has Been, an album featuring spoken word poems (mostly) written by Shatner, arrangements and production by Ben Folds, and numerous celebrity guests. The result? Nothing short of amazing.

Let me add a condition to that praise: This is an album that needs multiple listens. In my experience, at least, the first time I listened to it, I was overwhelmed; I didn’t know if I should laugh or shake my head. Was this some sort of ironic statement? A joke? A serious musical effort? The more I listened to it, the more I realized that it was all three.

The album starts off with one of it’s strongest tracks, a cover of Pulp’s “Common People” that far exceeds the cheesy eurodisco of the original. Though the vocal delivery is surprisingly similar, Shatner’s version manages to inject far more actual emotion into the song’s sentiment. He does what all good covers should: pay homage to the original while making the song his own. The backing vocals from Joe Jackson seem to be there to cover for Shatner’s limited range, but nonetheless work well enough.

“Common People (feat Joe Jackson)” (no video)


As good as it is, however, “Common People” fits oddly with the rest of the album; it is the only cover (with the rest of them written by Shatner and his collaborators) and thus lacks one of the key features that binds the rest of the album, for all of its musical variation: the strong and deeply personal authorial voice of Shatner. Ben Folds’ influence on the music is clear and the various talent on individual songs (such as Henry Rollins on “I Can’t Get Behind That”) clearly show their participation, but this is always Shatner’s show.

Shatner is a complicated man, and each track on this album clearly shows a different layers of his personality.

Some of the songs are reactions to his celebrity status. Whether it be his challenge and satirical retaliation to those who call him a “Has Been” (in the album’s title track)…

“Has Been” (no video)


…to the much more personal message of “Real” where he apologizes for not being able to live up to the standard set by his never-fail screen personas like Captain Kirk.

“Real (feat Brad Paisley)” (fan video)


(Though, the more I listen to “Real” the more it sounds like Clark Kent denying that he is Superman.)

Other topics are taken on with a similar dichotomy, such as morality. “You’ll Have Time” has a clear message “Live life like you’re gonna die/Because you’re gonna.” While it is expressed with no small amount of tongue-in-cheek humor, it is still a genuine sentiment, with it’s disquieting list of people who had died within the past few years.

“You’ll Have Time” (fan video)


On the other side of the coin is the shattering “What Have You Done,” a frank, poetic description of his discovery of the body of his wife, Nerine Kidd-Shatner, who had drowned in their pool. The simplicity of the track and Shatner’s whispering voice, drive home the tragedy of this event.

“What Have You Done” (fan video)


The album isn’t flawless; some songs try too hard or not hard enough, such as “It Hasn’t Happened Yet.” While its sentiment is genuine and moving, the song itself is a little too simple, too subdued, for its own good.

“It Hasn’t Happened Yet”


The problem is in part exacerbated by the superiority of this live version, which manages to capture the message just as clearly with more energy:

“It Hasn’t Happened Yet” (live)


As a whole, however, this album never fails to deliver, provided the audience is willing to listen closely. There is a lot of emotion and subtext here that may surprise those whose first thought of Shatner’s musical talents is “Rocket Man.”

RECCOMENDED IF… you have the patience to give outsider music a fair try. On a casual listen, the album may seem silly; Has Been demands a lot more effort from it’s listeners than the typical album.

MP3: CD: