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I was watching a rerun of Family Guy in which Stewie the
megalomaniacal toddler dream-sequences himself as a lounge act. The
song is
Rocket
Man, as performed (if that is the word) in the
style of William Shatner on his classic, craptastic album The
Transformed Man. Shatner has been a joke for decades for his
talking song performances, including that selfsame Rocket Man
at the Saturn Awards back in the late 70s. And he knows he's a joke,
parodying himself as spokesperson for Priceline. So a new album by
Shatner isn't to be taken seriously, especially one with a name as
self-effacing as Has Been.
But to my everlasting surprise, Has Been isn't half bad.
It's still Shatner talking rather than
singing.* But he's backed up by some
real talent. And rather than just reciting someone else's lyrics, he's
using his own words to express a point of view. The results are
surprisingly interesting. Maybe there's some life in the old guy
yet.
| * |
For which we can all be grateful. If only Leonard
Nimoy had been half so wise; I still have nightmares about
The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins. |
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