WILLIAM SHATNER
"Has
Been" (Shout Factory; 2004)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
If you're like most of us, you probably know two things for certain about William Shatner: 1) He played Captain Kirk on the classic television series Star Trek (and the subsequent films) and 2) His vocal stylings are the stuff of legend ... and not good legend, but rather exactly the opposite (check out the Rhino CD release, "Golden Throats," for example).
But "Has Been," Shatner's latest CD, will teach you a few more things about the Emmy Award-winning actor. First and foremost, he's a pretty good lyricist and/or poet. Two, he's got some great friends in the music business.
Produced and arranged by Ben Folds, "Has Been" is a collection of surprisingly intimate and insightful "songs" that play a little like Tuesday night at the Coffee House. The music is tight and poppy while Shatner's slightly more than spoken word delivery (it's far from singing) is dramatic and poignant without ever crossing over into camp territory.
Take for example, "Real," the final track. Here, Shatner talks about being a savior of worlds on television and movie screens, but being nothing more than human in reality. Or "That's Me Trying," in which Shatner speaks to his daughter, talking about time lost and relationships to be re-kindled. The stark, strictly spoken word openness of "What Have You Done," in which Shatner explores the death of his wife, is stunning in its honesty and candidness.
As you may have deduced from its title, however, "Has Been" isn't only a collection of dark, provocative introspections. The title track is a funny and biting attack on those who consider Shatner a laughing stock (a laughing stock with an Emmy Award and a enormous stack of cash, by the way). "I Can't Get Behind That" is a sort of screaming match between Shatner and guest Henry Rollins about the pet peeves that bother them most in life. You can't help but laugh out loud when Shatner says, "I can't get behind so-called singers that can't carry a tune, get paid for talking. How easy is that?" Then there's a pause before Shatner continues, "Well, maybe I could get behind that." A cover of Pulp's "Common People" starts the whole thing off, and comes closest to Shatner's earlier folly but, in the end, still manages to work just fine.
In addition to Folds and Rollins, also joining Shatner on "Has Been" are Jon Auer, Adrian Belew, Matt Chamberlain, Joe Jackson, Lemon Jelly, Aimee Mann, Brad Paisley, Henry Rollins and Sebastian Steinberg.
"Has Been" is one of the year's best surprises. Rough Edge readers may not find anything to bang their head to here, but if you're in the mood for something that will make you use your head - and perhaps give you a couple of laughs along the way, you'll be hard pressed to find anything like this.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2004 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 19 Aug 2010 01:34:12 -0500.
