Wednesday, April 25, 2007



Shatner a musical talent?

It is true.

UPDATE - For Sal
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
More good stuff at Amazon.com, including music clips.

2 comments:

Sal DeTraglia said...

Shat? Musical talent?

Obviously, my friend, you haven't heard his performance of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" on the legendary "Golden Throats" LP.

http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Throats-Great-Celebrity-Sing/dp/B0000032C1/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6002744-9315143?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1177646820&sr=1-1

It's howl-inducing.

Sal

Headless Blogger said...

Sal - I am well aware of LSD and the Golden Throats performances. They were even featured in a TV special for The Shat's Has Been CD.

Bill has gotten smarter with age, surrounding himself with gifted musicians (Ben Folds & Joe Jackson on this) and "phrasing" rather than singing his lyrics. It really works on the Has Been CD. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eISBTBwWKeE