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Has Been

William Shatner Format: Audio CD
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 445 ratings
$9.43

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Track Listings

1 Common People
2 It Hasn't Happened Yet
3 You'll Have Time
4 That's Me Trying
5 What Have You Done
6 Together
7 Familiar Love
8 Ideal Woman
9 Has Been
10 I Can't Get Behind That
11 Real

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From pop-culture icon William Shatner comes Has Been, an album unlike anything you've ever heard before. Produced and arranged by Ben Folds and featuring numerous notable guest appearances, Has Been is the result of the collision of two great creative forces - a surprisingly pop-driven, lyrically potent collection of songs to enlighten and entertain. Included in the set of originals is William Shatner's version of the Pulp hit, "Common People."

Amazon.com

After his rendition of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" on the infamous Golden Throats album (though it first appeared on the Transformed Man LP), one could argue that the world needed a new William Shatner album about as much as it needed a big-screen remake of TJ Hooker. But Shatner's back all the same with an intriguing, introspective collection of mostly spoken-word tracks that are all the more compelling when it becomes clear that Has Been is, in fact, no joke. Ben Folds played on and produced the record, creating rich, melodic, and varied pop musical backgrounds to Shatner's world-weary, boozy-suave yet thoroughly impassioned delivery. Joe Jackson, Aimee Mann, Henry Rollins, Brad Paisley, and Adrian Belew also stop by to lend their divergent talents. Highlights include the Rollins/Shatner rant "I Can't Get Behind That" and the Folds/Mann/Shatner collaboration "That's Me Trying", which tells the painful story of an attempted family reconciliation. Shatner mixes a healthy amount of self-awareness with a just a dollop of self-mockery and then combines it all with plenty of raw vulnerability to create an effect that is surprisingly touching, highly entertaining, and unlike any music you've ever heard. --John Moe

Amazon.com Exclusive Footage
William Shatner was recently caught on tape by paparazzi responding to reports that some people hadnt yet heard his new album. See him read Amazon.com customer reviews of Has Been as he makes his case: high bandwidth, low bandwidth.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.62 x 4.92 x 0.33 inches; 3.84 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Shout! Factory
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ 2190926
  • Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2004
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 39 minutes
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ January 31, 2007
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Shout! Factory
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0002RUPH4
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 445 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
445 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

C. Wood
5.0 out of 5 stars Touching, personal, funny, and entertaining!
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2006
Verified Purchase
I can't believe I'm recommending an album by William Shatner. I was genuinely shocked by the quality of this album. I expected it to be silly or ridiculous, but instead it is heartfelt, honest, sincere, and funny. It features some surprisingly touching and personal songs from Shatner, whose music I've never enjoyed. But this album is very personal and very different from his previous work. In the song titled "What Have You Done" he talks about the death of his wife and how he found her when she drowned. It is disturbingly personal and tragic, but hauntingly well-performed and heart-wrenching. Shatner confesses his failure as a father in the song "That's Me Trying", and laments the missed opportunities for joy that are inherent to parenthood. But it's not all heartache and sadness. The song, "Has Been" is a humorous stab at the critics who mock and critique his career and his life. Some of these songs are hard rocking, like his duet with Henry Rollins (yes, he has a duet with Henry Rollins!). Some of the songs are jazzy, and others sound a little like pop-rock. But my favorite song on the album is the country song "Real". In this song, a duet with Brad Paisley, he sings honestly about his life and his career as an actor:

"I have saved the world in the movies

So naturally there's folks who think I must know what to do

But just because you've seen me on your TV

Doesn't mean I'm any more enlightened than you

And while there's a part of me

In that guy you've seen

Up there on that screen

I am so much more

And I wish I knew the things you think I do

I would change this world for sure

But I eat and sleep and breathe and bleed and feel

Sorry to disappoint you

But I'm real"

I am absolutely shocked at the quality of this album. True artists bare their souls through their medium. Many of todays performers aren't artists, they are just performers that sing someone else's songs. This album is so personal, and so true to his heart, that this album is, without question, one of the most artistic albums I've heard in years, and I love it. He expresses his heart through eloquent lyrics that are so honest, simple and personal that I was genuinely touched. A few of the songs are less serious, and he expresses his frustration at the world through lyrics that are less eloquent and slightly more profane, but very funny and with a genuine honesty that is like a breath of fresh air. I hope you'll give this album a chance, even though this passionate and expressive artist is named William Shatner. Yes, that's right. This touching album, with songs about finding his loving wife dead, being a bad father, and saving the world in the movies, is performed by William Shatner, and it's wonderful.
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Robert I. Hedges
5.0 out of 5 stars Shatner Comes Alive, Or, I Can Get Behind That
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2004
Verified Purchase
This CD is not at all what I expected. I have long been a fan of William Shatner's "singing" most notably on the Golden Throats CDs and on his remarkable album "Transformed Man" from many years ago. The reason that I liked the previous efforts was clearly due to the over-the-top cheese value of an untalented singer crooning out classics like "Mister Tambourine Man" and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" with severe rhythm impairment, not to mention original efforts like "Spleen" featuring such delicious phrases as "my bent skull" peppered throughout. Everyone laughed at these songs, and as he got older, so did Shatner himself. I thought it was great when he signed up to sing in the Priceline.com television commercials. He clearly realizes in his own self-deprecating way, that he is a poor singer, and that that is why people beg for him to sing.

When I saw he was releasing a CD of new material, I feared for the worst, but I was most certainly wrong to be concerned. Shatner still can't sing, but has now written material that largely allows him to get by with his sing-speaking technique that is more akin to a dramatic recital set to music than a real song. In this case, Shatner teamed up with talented pop star Ben Folds, who scored most of the music and produced the CD, and much to my amazement, the album isn't especially funny in the traditional sense, but it is good. Mostly it is interesting and introspective into Shatner's real life. Some of the songs are really dark and almost painful to listen to, where others are lighthearted and wacky. My favorites on the CD are "Real" written by country star Brad Paisley (who also sings on the track), and the odd title track "Has Been" which has an interesting backing track. My hands down favorite on the CD, though, is "I Can't Get Behind That" performed with co-writer Henry Rollins (!), which is at once a hilarious rant, and simultaneously a legitimate and valid piece of societal criticism. I too am especially annoyed by leaf blowers (the most futile machine in the universe) and inattentive drivers talking on their cell phones, and I love hearing Bill and Henry screaming about these issues and more.

This CD is absolutely impossible to categorize: it isn't so bad it's funny like "Transformed Man", and Shatner still isn't a great singer, but I really enjoy this CD. I like that Shatner is secure enough to relax and laugh at himself. It took guts to make this album (without trying to be excessively camp), and took guts for Ben Folds and other guests to put their reputations on the line collaborating on this. It was certainly worth the risk: without question "Has Been" is far better than anything currently in the Top 40 and is funny and charming to boot.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Ziegensittich
5.0 out of 5 stars Kaufen!
Reviewed in Germany on June 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
Einfach mal bei Youtube ein paar Songs als Hörprobe ansehen. Entweder man mag Shatner's Sprechgesang oder man mag ihn nicht. Ich persönlich liebe ihn und könnte dem Mann stundenlang zuhören - auch wenn er Telefonbücher vorlesen würde. Anspieltipp: It Hasn*t Happened Yet - grandioser Song!
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Ian Locke
5.0 out of 5 stars Spoken Word - Excellence
Reviewed in Canada on August 20, 2017
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Ben Folds teams up with William Shatner to produce this fantastic spoken word album. Shatner's undeniable voice and style present a great piece here, from comedy to something that is heartbreaking. "That's Me Trying" tells a beautiful story of a father attempting to reconnect with his daughter, while "Has Been" is a old style country song about not being what he once was. Very strong album - and worth a listen for anybody, even those who are not Shatner's fans.
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Rediconoclast
5.0 out of 5 stars NOT kitsch or post-modern - simply an extraordinary album
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2005
Verified Purchase
I bought this album after hearing Shatner's version of Common People featuring Joe Jackson on the radio and enjoying it immensely. The purchase was made despite Shatner's previous excruciatingly embarrassing track record (including his recent UK TV adverts - eek!): I reasoned that since Ben Folds had a hand in the album, it couldn't be that bad could it?
Thankfully, not only wasn't it bad, it was one of the most enjoyable and interesting CDs of 2004.
Many of the tracks are intensely personal and one gets the impression of an artist coming to terms with his life, his mistakes and mortality and baring his soul for all to see. 'It Hasn't Happened Yet' (about his perceived lack of success), 'That's Me Trying' (about his estrangement from his daughter) and the soliloquy 'What Have You Done' (about his wife's tragic death) display a stunning (almost shocking) truthfulness and honesty that I have rarely experienced in popular music. Truly courageous stuff.
Not that there aren't laughs: 'You'll Have Time' had me rolling with laughter despite it's subject material - why a song with the central message that 'You're Going to Die' is so funny evades me. 'Ideal Woman' is a light-hearted cha-cha-cha, Tex-Mex examination of the imperfections of relationships and the excellent Spaghetti-Western style 'Has Been' defiantly cocks a snook at his critics regarding a subject that has obviously rankled Shatner over the years. 'I Can't Get Behind That' is a straight two-handed rant about everything and nothing with Henry Rollins. 'Familiar Love' is a light, but oddly touching love song.
The only weak track on the album is the rather nebulous 'Together' which simply fails to engage.
The closing track 'Real' is Shatner echoing Leonard Nimoy's 'I am not Spock' plea, ('I am so much more') but no less entertaining for that.
As expected, Ben Folds arrangements and musical input does not disappoint.
I suspect that this album was a hugely catharthic and liberating experience for Shatner. This is an artist allowing us to view some private snapshots of his imperfect life (as he perceives it) and what he has learned from it.
I, for one, am extremely thankful that he had the courage to put out this remarkable album - one to make you laugh and cry - listen without prejudice.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars ...might again?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2024
Verified Purchase
The fact that William Shatner can't carry a note is unimportant. His dry, spoken-word delivery expresses more emotion than 90 percent of so-called singers out there.

Got this album on CD when it came out 20 years ago, and over the moon we now have a vinyl.

Ben Folds' arrangements make this album. Shatner is the icing in the cake. It can flip between pathos and gut-wrenching humour often within the space of a song.

The cover of Common People is hilarious, but it is a testament to how strong of an album this is that that is, like, almost the least good song on here.
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steve stoic
5.0 out of 5 stars aquired taste
Reviewed in Canada on August 10, 2019
Verified Purchase
Runs a knife's edge between ironic social comments and farce. I love it.
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