Has Been

Has Been (2004) is William Shatner's second musical album after 1968's The Transformed Man. The album was produced and arranged by Ben Folds and most of the songs are co-written by Folds and Shatner, with Folds creating arrangements for Shatner's prose-poems. The album features guest appearances from Joe Jackson (on a cover of Pulp's "Common People"), Folds and Aimee Mann (backup vocals on "That's Me Trying"), Lemon Jelly (on "Together"), Henry Rollins, Adrian Belew (on "I Can't Get Behind That"), and Brad Paisley (on "Real", which he wrote specifically for Shatner).

For the grammatical construction "has been (to)", see have been. For the word "has-been", see its Wiktionary entry.
Has Been
Studio album by
William Shatner
ReleasedOctober 5, 2004
GenreIndie rock, spoken word
Length39:49
LabelShout! Factory
ProducerBen Folds
William Shatner chronology
William Shatner Live
(1977)		 Has Been
(2004)		 Exodus: An Oratorio in Three Parts
(2008)
Singles from Has Been
  1. "Common People"
    Released: 2004[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Guardianneutral[3]
Pitchfork Media7.5/10[4]

History

Joe Jackson explained his involvement in an interview, saying, "That came through Ben Folds, who's a big fan of mine. You’d have to ask him how he got hooked up with Bill Shatner, I don't remember. But I think he did a really great job of putting an album behind Shatner that is fun and not completely cheesy, though when it is too cheesy, it's deliberately so. (laughs) It's just a very musically satisfying record, and when he asked me to be a part of it, why would I not? How could I refuse? I went to Nashville for a few days and hung out with the two of them, and we created a couple of masterpieces."[5] He ultimately said about working with Shatner, "He's wonderful, very musical, and very funny, because he's so obviously in on the joke".[6]

Originally, Weezer and former U.S. President Bill Clinton were set to be featured on the album but by the time Weezer responded, Clinton had already backed out.[7][8]

In 2007, a ballet called Common People, set to Has Been, was created by Margo Sappington (of Oh! Calcutta! fame) and performed by the Milwaukee Ballet.[9] Shatner attended the première and had the event filmed. This footage became William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet, a feature film which premiered at the Nashville Film Festival on April 17, 2009. The documentary also features interviews with Shatner, Folds, and Henry Rollins.

Track listing
  1. "Common People" (Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey, Russell Senior) – 4:40
  2. "It Hasn't Happened Yet" (Ben Folds, William Shatner) – 3:49
  3. "You'll Have Time" (Folds, W. Shatner) – 5:18
  4. "That's Me Trying" (Folds, Nick Hornby) – 3:48
  5. "What Have You Done" (W. Shatner) – 1:46
  6. "Together" (Lemon Jelly, Elizabeth Shatner, W. Shatner) – 5:39
  7. "Familiar Love" (Folds, W. Shatner) – 4:00
  8. "Ideal Woman" (Folds, W. Shatner) – 2:23
  9. "Has Been" (Folds, W. Shatner) – 2:18
  10. "I Can't Get Behind That" (Folds, Henry Rollins, W. Shatner) – 3:00
  11. "Real" (Brad Paisley) – 3:08

Personnel

Musicians

  • William Shatner – vocals
  • Joe Jackson – guest vocals (1), piano (3), cowboy vocals (9)
  • Lindsay Jamieson – drums (1)
  • Ben Folds – bass guitar (1), synthesizer (1), piano (2, 4, 7), Wurlitzer granny organ (3, 8), guest vocals (4), background ahhs (4), electric piano (8, 11), tack piano (9), drums (11)
  • John Mark Painter – guitars (1, 3, 7), bass guitar (2, 4, 8), background ahhs (4), cowboy vocals (9), baritone guitar (9), trumpets (9), bass guitar (11)
  • Louisville Common People's Choir – background vocals (1)
  • John Auer – guitars (2, 4, 8–9), background ahhs (4), electric guitars (7), cowboy vocals (9)
  • Matt Chamberlain – drums (2–4, 7–8, 10), percussion (9–10)
  • Fleming McWilliams – Goddess of Yosemite (2)
  • Kim Richey – gospel choir (3)
  • Webb Wilder – gospel choir (3)
  • John Davis – gospel choir (3)
  • Jared Reynolds – gospel choir (3)
  • Carmella Ramsey – gospel choir (3)
  • Sebastian Steinberg – bass guitar (3), upright bass (5, 7, 10), cowboy vocals (9)
  • Aimee Mann – guest vocals (4)
  • Lemon Jelly – programming (6), all instruments (6)
  • Benita Hill – choir (7)
  • Laurie Wheeler – choir (7)
  • Nick Wheeler – choir (7)
  • Curt Bol – choir (7)
  • Henry Rollins – guest vocals (10)
  • Adrian Belew – guitar (10)
  • Brad Paisley – guest vocals (11), guitar (11)

Technical

  • Ben Folds – producer, arranger, mixing, art direction
  • Joe Costa – engineer, mixing
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Alan Wolmark – executive producer
  • Smog Design, Inc. – art design
  • Jeri Heiden – package design, photography
  • Ryan Corey – package design
  • John Heiden – package design
  • Frally Folds – photography

Charts

Album
Chart (2004) Position
Billboard Top Heatseekers[10] 22

Song
Song Chart (2004) Position
"Common People" Triple J Hottest 100, 2004 21

See also

References
  1. "William Shatner - Common People". Discogs. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  2. Has Been at AllMusic
  3. Wyse, Pascal (1 October 2004). "William Shatner, Has Been". The Guardian. London.
  4. "William Shatner - Has Been". Pitchfork.
  5. Ragogna, Mike (July 2011). "Chatting With Joe Jackson And Earl Klugh, Plus Mick Harvey's "The Ballad Of Jay Givens" Video". Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  6. Quill, Greg (30 March 2008). "First he loved Manhattan - now he loves Berlin". Toronto Star. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  7. "Cult heroes: Ben Folds, the bespectacled piano man forever flouting convention". TheGuardian.com. 18 August 2015.
  8. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Ben Folds on Getting William Shatner, Bill Clinton & Weezer on the Same Stage | The Rich Eisen Show". YouTube.
  9. "The William Shatner Ballet". Milwaukee Ballet. Archived from the original on 2015-04-04.
  10. Has Been Billboard chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
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