William Shatner's much anticipated new album "Has Been" will hit stores o­n October 5, 2004. The album was produced by musical artist Ben Folds and is being distributed by Shout! Factory. It contains a wonderfully diverse collection of personal songs and heartfelt verse, much of which was written by Bill himself. The album was recorded at Javelina Studios in Nashville, Tennessee (the same studio where Elvis Presley performed) and it has already gotten some very good reviews. "Esquire Magazine" raves that it's "so droll and profound that we're thinking Grammy."

You might wonder why Bill decided to another album, especially after the ribbing that he took for his 1968 album "The Transformed Man" that was largely understood. Late last year, Bill was contacted by Richard and Garson Foos of Shout! Factory. They wanted to make an album with him. Coincidentally, as Bill was meeting with them in his office, the phone rang and Ben Folds was o­n the line. Bill and Ben had worked together several times in the last few years, the first time back in 1998 when Bill performed a song o­n Ben's "Fear of Pop, Volume 1" album and a couple of years later when Ben went o­n to appear in some of Bill's Priceline commercials. So, when the phone rang and Ben was o­n the line, Bill immediately thought of bringing in Ben to produce the album, and the concept was set into motion. It was Ben's idea that Bill write the lyrics to a good many of the songs. Ben fashioned the songs around them. "These are thoughts and experiences of mine that very few people have heard before," Bill explained. "I wanted to share them with my loved o­nes."

The <em>Los Angeles Times</em> says that the album "...at times veers toward the spirited, creative works of longtime spoken-word artist Ken Nordine....Of course, while it&#39;s a serious record, it&#39;s not without humor, as indicated by the ironic wink of the title..." Kari Wynn of Rockfeedback.com gave the album four stars and went o&shy;n to say, "...detailing every morsel that makes this the funniest album of the year would take up more space than rockfeedback&#39;s servers could handle. o&shy;ne to be heard to be believed." An early review from the CD-Reviewers.com website says, "HAS BEEN is an unbelievably great collaboration between William Shatner and Ben Folds. A MUST HAVE for any music fan! The album is clever, witty, hilarious, thought provoking...and at times absolutely bone chilling!"

The album takes its title from o&shy;ne of the songs o&shy;n the album with the same name. It&#39;s a reference to words Bill heard some use to describe him recently in a tabloid. He says of the term, " Has been implies failure. Not so. Has been implies history. Has been was. Has been-might again!"

Bill and Ben had a wonderful time working o&shy;n the album together. "If I thought that there were heaps of artists who were willing to be as honest, vulnerable, creative and as trusting with their producer as William Shatner has been with me, I&#39;d just be a producer," said Ben.

"Has Been" features the talents of a number of name artists. Aimee Mann, Joe Jackson and Henry Rollins contribute vocals to several of the songs, while Brad Paisley wrote a song for the album specifically for Bill, and he performs it along with him. It&#39;s called "Real."

Here&#39;s the track listing. Previews are available at

1. Common People (4:38) featuring Joe Jackson
2. It Hasn&#39;t Happened Yet (3:46)
3. You&#39;ll Have Time (5:15)
4. That&#39;s Me Trying (3:45) featuring Aimee Mann and Ben Folds
5. What Have You Done (1:45)
6. Together (5:36) - featuring Lemon Jelly
7. Familiar Love (3:57)
8. Ideal Woman (2:22)
9. Has Been (2:16)
10. I Can&#39;t Get Behind That (3:00) - featuring Henry Rollins
11. Real (3:08) - featuring Brad Paisley

Bill will sign copies of the album at Tower Records o&shy;n Sunset Boulevard at 8:00pm o&shy;n the first days of its release. If you&#39;re interested in getting your copy signed, you&#39;ll need to purchase the CD at the store during the day and get a wristband. Later in the month, Bill will perform selections from the album live at the historic El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, accompanied by Ben Folds and Joe Jackson. The concert is already sold out!

If you haven&#39;t had the opportunity to hear previews of the songs yet or if you would like more information o&shy;n the album, we invite you to visit the website

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