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Has Been
 
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Has Been [CD]

William Shatner Audio CD
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
Price: £8.37 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Has Been + Spaced Out - The Very Best of William Shatner & Leonard Nimoy + The Transformed Man
Price For All Three: £20.60

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Product details

  • Audio CD (4 Oct 2004)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Epic
  • ASIN: B0002XK4CO
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,523 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
Listen  1. Common People 4:38£0.89
Listen  2. It Hasn't Happened Yet 3:46£0.89
Listen  3. You'll Have Time 5:15£0.89
Listen  4. That's Me Trying 3:45£0.89
Listen  5. What Have You Done 1:43£0.69
Listen  6. Together 5:36£0.69
Listen  7. Familiar Love 3:57£0.69
Listen  8. Ideal Woman 2:22£0.69
Listen  9. Has Been 2:16£0.89
Listen10. I Can't Get Behind That 3:00£0.69
Listen11. Real 3:08£0.89


Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Ah, the ultimate musical joke. William Shatner, well known for his 60s Transformed Man LP (containing unequivocally the worst Beatles cover ever), returns to do what he does second-best, creating Has Been with help from his famous conspirators like Joe Jackson, Henry Rollins, Lemon Jelly, and Ben Folds. But the situation seems to be reversed--is Shatner deliberately playing up to his thespian tendencies for laughs?

Part of the appeal of his earlier album was that he was earnest and serious, despite the nonsense poured out. But here, the irony has turned in on itself creating one long paradoxical knot. Here's a 72 year-old actor narrating Pulp's "Common People" a song that defines Britain for anyone currently aged between 25 and 35, complete with a punk-rock middle-eight. It's impossible to discern if he's the joke or the listener is, or both, or neither. Likewise, the poetry by Shatner, backed by Lemon Jelly on "Together"--is this Lemon Jelly's toytown chillout gone too far? Whether it's good, and why depends entirely on the listener--is this the ultimate novelty record or something more credible? As Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel once said "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" --Thom Allott

Product Description

Famed for his unusually kitsch and incredibly unique approach to music, William Shatner’s Has Been is more of the same. Features the Pulp classic, "Common People", plus ten other tracks.

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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I work in a Library and this CD came up as part of an exchange between library's in the pop section. Those of us who heard it all have differing taste etc, but we just loved this album. Your' gonna die is hilarious and I thank Mr Shatner for bringing such joy to what can sometimes be a world too full of its own self-importance.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Wonderful! 27 Sep 2005
By Jason Mills VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This album is funny when it wants to be, serious when it wants to be, brilliant throughout. It's impossible to ridicule Shatner because he does it so well himself; he's got there first.

Ben Folds has created a superb musical environment for these songs(?), whilst Shatner's lyrics are often subtle and always honest. Did you ever see "Dumb & Dumber"? It's like that - it shouldn't work, but it does!

With input from Joe Jackson and Brad Paisley, among others, the album's only problem is that it's so good that it always draws your full attention. You have been warned!

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Stoofer
Format:Audio CD
Anyone aware of Shatner will instantly think of MR TAMBORINE MAAAAAN! or Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, which either arouse hoots of laughter, or immediate hatred from those with no humour.

"Has Been" opens with a cover of Pulp's Common People... while you may think that he's continuing in the same vein as Transformed Man, this is not the case and you cant help but take the album seriously once you're half way into it. Sure there are still smiles to be had, but they're of a different kind.

Produced by Ben Folds (of Ben Folds Five fame) and featuring Adrian Belew, Joe Jackson, Lemon Jelly, Aimee Mann, Brad Paisley and Henry Rollins (amongst others) the musical composition actually oozes class. In Transformed Man, Shatners monologues were back by Star-Trekkish music - this is not the case with 'Has Been' and Shatner can be heard to actually sing correctly with choral or orchestral backgrounds.

Opening with a strong cover of 'Common People' that will have the listener smiling, the album follows with "It Hasn't Happened Yet" which sets the tone for what the album really is - it's about where Shatner is at the moment, and is a fairly personal album.

You'll have time is a strong track 3 designed to provoke thought, will at the least leave you smiling when constantly told that "you're gonna die." Other memorable tracks are the title track "Has Been" which is a stab at armchair critics "I can't Get Behind That" for one of the best last lines of a song ever.

If you liked Transformed Man in any way, this album is far better in every way. You wont be laughing at Shatner shouting familiar lines as if threatening the Klingons as Kirk, but you will come away appreciating the man more. You may not play the album much, but it's worthy of being in a collection.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A good selection of songs that will make you , laugh , cry and think
Here Bill presents us with some great songs, some more serious some less. But personally I've found it a very pleasing complication so if you are a fan of Bill Shatner this cd is a... Read more
Published 10 months ago by L Medza
Funny, heartrending and with feeling
I first heard the "Common People" track on the radio, with the comment "It doesn't get much better than this" - and it doesn't, this track is - sung? - with feeling and anger. Read more
Published 14 months ago by RMurphy
One of the best albums of the last decade
If I would have to select my favorite albums of the last decade this one would definitely be part of it. It has some kind of depth to it, like a testament in a way. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ralph Schmidt
Remarkable
Thought provoking, often funny and a truly great album. There are no wasted tracks, this is an unpredictable listen that seems to get better each time. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Peter Shearn
Has Been, William Shatner - As the man says, `What Have You Done?'
After the ridicule he suffered for his recordings of `Mr Tambourine Man' and `Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' contained on his previous LP, `The Transformed Man', the idea of... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Victor
Worth a punt!
While not 100% successful, this is a really interesting project with some great tunes and some genuinely touching moments. Read more
Published on 6 May 2010 by Richard Holliday
Hysterical
Very seldom do artists produce light-hearted, fun, tongue-in-cheek material...but this album ticks all those boxes whilst still retaining musical harmony. Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2009 by Flee
Shocked
when this was recommended I thought it was a joke. Gave it a listen to see how bad it was and to my surprise I am blown away. A truly fantastic album. Fantastic. Just fantastic.
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by Mr. G. A. Heyes
Well well well
Bought after hearing the track Common People on You Tube and to be quite honest expecting a dire experience- how wrong could we be. Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2008 by A. P. Duff
Respect
So Shatner can't sing, so his Star Trek days are long gone. So what? Here we have a mature, self-aware human being who's been through some extraordinary times, but knows who he... Read more
Published on 6 May 2008 by Mr. G. C. Stone
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