Shatner All Talk On Another Album
William Shatner is once again the "talk" of the music industry.
In the 1960s, he achieved TV fame for his role as Captain Kirk in "Star Trek" as well as recording fame — or infamy, if you prefer — for his dramatic readings of lyrics to contemporary pop songs including "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "Mr. Tambourine Man."
In "Has Been," Shatner returns with an album of 11 recitations, mostly new. His collaborator is Ben Folds, who produced and arranged the album and co-wrote, with Shatner, many of its songs.
The lyrics, which Shatner says are "thoughts and experiences of mine that very few people have heard before," are performed in Shatner's trademark "chewing the scenery" style with some legitimately good musical backing by Folds and others.
Two of the songs are standouts if you can tune out Shatner's part, says Ron Berthel of The Associated Press. One is "Familiar Love," a 1950s-style ballad, complete with choir. The other is "Real," written by Brad Paisley, who also plays guitar and sings along. "Real" is a catchy country-flavored song with a good lyric: "I'd love to help the world and all its problems. But I'm an entertainer and that's all. ... Sorry to disappoint you. But I'm real." Paisley wrote the song for this album, but a version on which he sings alone would be terrific.
Some of the songs are downright depressing, just right for Shatner's mournful intoning. "That's Me Trying" is a plea to his long-estranged daughter for renewal of their relationship. In "It Hasn't Happened Yet," Shatner laments: "At my age I need serenity, I need peace. It hasn't happened yet." And "What Have You Done?" has minimal musical accompaniment as Shatner describes finding the body of a loved one (his third wife drowned in 1999).
Not depressed yet? Try "You'll Have Time." It starts with some quiet, somber organ notes. But the peace is soon startlingly shattered as Shatner proclaims, in a voice that sounds as if he were announcing the lineups at the ball park: "I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But you're gonna die!" Then he recalls, in rhyme, some famous deceased: "Johnny Cash, JFK, that guy in the Stones; Lou Gehrig, Einstein and Joey Ramone."
On a welcome lighter note, "I Want You To Be You" has a humorous lyric in which Shatner tells someone that she is perfect just the way she is — with several exceptions.
"I Can't Get Behind That" is a three-minute rant in which Shatner and Henry Rollins, backed by a frantic drum set, sound as if they are on the verge of nervous breakdowns as they take turns complaining about gasoline prices, student drivers, improper English, leaf blowers, Spam and — get this — "so-called singers that can't carry a tune, get paid for talking."
Shatner might have been serious when he made this CD, but many who buy it will do so for its campy appeal.
His earlier "The Transformed Man" album was received with derision in 1968, when it cashed in on his "Star Trek" celebrity.
The 73-year-old Shatner is currently starring on TV in "Boston Legal" with James Spader, both playing eccentric lawyers. He was a staple on early 1960s television before "Star Trek," even writing an episode of the series "Checkmate." He also played Spencer Tracy's aide in "Judgment At Nuremburg" (1961) and was one of "The Brothers Karamazov" (1958).