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Has Been
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| Price | New from | Used from |
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Audio CD, Audiobook, CD
"Please retry" | $50.09 | $3.99 |
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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
- Best Sellers Rank: #40,842 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #1,214 in Broadway & Vocalists (CDs & Vinyl)
- #2,353 in Vocal Pop (CDs & Vinyl)
- #19,227 in Rock (CDs & Vinyl)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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"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.
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.
Top reviews from other countries
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.
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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