Transformed Man [Original recording remastered]

1. King Henry the Fifth/Elegy for the Brave

2. Theme from Cyrano/Mr. Tambourine Man

3. Hamlet/It Was a Very Good Year

4. Romeo and Juliet/How Insensitive (Insensatez)

5. Spleen/Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

6. Transformed Man

Transformed Man,William Shatner,Geffen Records,Pop,Pop Vocals,Rock/Pop

Transformed Man [Original recording remastered]

Average customer rating:

Cosmic Genius
So bad it's good!!!
An album with a split personality
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Shatner's Second Best!

The Transformed Man
William Shatner
Manufacturer: Geffen Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Has Been
Spaced Out: The Best of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner
Golden Throats: The Great Celebrity Sing Off
In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy
Ultra-Lounge: Wild, Cool & Swingin' - Artist Series Vol 3

ASIN: B0006J2G9I
Release Date: 2004-12-07

Tracks:

King Henry the Fifth/Elegy for the Brave
Theme from Cyrano/Mr. Tambourine Man
Hamlet/It Was a Very Good Year
Romeo and Juliet/How Insensitive (Insensatez)
Spleen/Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
Transformed Man

Customer Reviews:

Cosmic Genius.......2006-11-28

Captain Kirk not only saves entire galaxies while impressing buxom beauties, but also manages to bare his soul in the most extraordinary collection of song and poetry the universe has ever seen. I dare you not to cry at the aching despair of "Spleen." It's okay, let it out, because in a few moments you will rejoice with sheer exuberance to the strains of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Captain Kirk truly makes this psychedelic gem his own. I personally wish he would cover every Beatles song, because only with his magic touch could they achieve greatness.

Bob Dylan and Shakespeare also benefit from the genius of Kirk, as do many others. I'll be honest. I actually feel my I.Q. soar to superhuman levels when I listen to this disc. You owe it to yourself and society to bring this glorious masterpiece into your life. Under the guidance of the Captain, you too will be... TRANSFORMED!

So bad it's good!!!.......2006-11-28

I found this bizarre gem in the used bin at Soundwaves in Houston. Bought it up and never looked back. After many years, it is still the most sought after (and frequently borrowed!) CD in my collection.

Hats off to you Captain Quirk! Nobody does it quite like you (and maybe that's not a bad thing after all!)

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. Mr Shatner!!

An album with a split personality.......2006-11-14

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Mr. Tambourine Man, It was a Very Good Year... Mr. Shatner's refreshingly innovative and entertaining renditions of these classics are iconic in their own right and well worth listening to multiple times.

King Henry, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet... well, I'll just say I have seen Mr. Shatner give superb performances and in comparison I regard these efforts as, um... not his best work to date.

It is hard for me to listen to this album in its entirety.

I do hope that Mr. Shatner enjoyed making these recordings. He has earned more than enough laurels in his long and distinguished career entertaining us to be allow leeway in the remainder of his career for fun and experimentation in whatever endeavors he chooses.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!.......2006-08-09

Ok, let's get this straight! Musically/theatrically, it gets a 0/5. Comically, it's PERFECT!!! I mean, this makes me laugh so hard I cry. You can't take this seriously. He ACTS out SONGS!!! It's like intepretative dancing, but vocally, and really REALLY BAD!!!! This really should be under comedy.

Shatner's Second Best!.......2006-07-25

I'd have to say that this is Shatner's second best music CD, the best being Has Been. I'd recommend this to any Shatner fan!

Average customer rating:

Un-listenable
A horrible shriek, like some wandering and landless spirit, wailing in despair.
One of the funniest albums ever devised
Spleen Venting Caught On Tape!
A Comedy Messterpiece-Ham Is Served!!!!

The Transformed Man
William Shatner
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Classic | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General | Comedy | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Spaced Out: The Best of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner
Has Been

ASIN: B0000014WS
Release Date: 1995-10-10

Tracks:

King Henry The Fifth/Elegy For The Brave
Theme From Cyrano/Mr. Tambourine Man
Hamlet/It Was A Very Good Year
Romeo And Juliet/How Insensitive (Insensatez)
Spleen/Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
The Transformed Man

Customer Reviews:

Un-listenable.......2006-05-28

This album is unbearable. I don't see how anyone can listen to an entire track. What was Shatner thinking?

A horrible shriek, like some wandering and landless spirit, wailing in despair........2005-10-28

The Transformed Man is an ego trip of intergalactic dimensions, a pompous "concept album" containing Shatner's "dramatic readings" of song lyrics and passages from poems and classic plays, all set to bombastic music. Cuts are sequenced in pairs, to reflect opposite perspectives on the same subject (and to demonstrate Shatner's dazzling thespian range). The passage from "Cyrano" illustrating self-reliance is paired with Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", interpreted by Shatner as an anguished plea to his guru not to abandon him (MR. TAMBOURINE MAAAAAAN!!! he bellows, in the identical line reading he used for his famous riposte from Star Trek II: "KHAAAAAAN!!!"). Romeo's declaration of innocent love is tied to "How Insensitive", in which our Space Cowboy feels a twinge of guilt upon dumping his latest lover (knowing Captain Kirk, he'll rebound quickly). The depressing "Spleen" is followed by the "super elation" of Shatner's infamous evisceration of "Lucy!...IN! The Sky!...WITH DIAMOOOONDS!!!!". He sounds like Regis Philbin on LSD. For all of Shatner's self-proclaimed versatility, every cut follows the same pattern: he begins in a groggy, halting delivery, as if he'd just swallowed a whole bottle of Nytol...then gradually works up a head of steam, until at last, he's howling his lines at a volume that could raise an echo on the moon. While "Tambourine Man" and "Lucy" are unarguably two of the looniest records ever unleashed, the coveted Hubris Award goes to the duo "Hamlet"/"It Was a Very Good Year", in which Shatner pummels both the greatest soliloquy in the English language (Shakespeare's "To....be...Or! Not!...TO BEEE!") and a signature song of the greatest pop singer of the twentieth century, Frank Sinatra. Even Jack Benny couldn't put this much Ham into Hamlet! As for Sinatra: Shatner did Ol' Blue Eyes no permanent damage, but he might cause the listener to bust a gut. It's just a shame he didn't also read Macbeth, since it would provide the perfect review of this album: "A poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage. A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

One of the funniest albums ever devised.......2005-02-10

There is no possible way you can give this a one star review for its awfulness, because there's just no point. You absolutely have to give it 4 or 5 stars on its entertainment value alone. I, like millions of others, grew up watching Star Trek, but I would recommend that people become attached to Captain Kirk before listening to this puppy, because you will either cringe or throw yourself off a bridge if you listen to 'The Transformed Man' and then watch Star Trek. It'll just ruin everything. Now I must say Shatner wasn't quite as bad as he seems with the poetry filler, but I just listened to this album a month ago and haven't stopped laughing. Trust me, with 'Mr. Tambourine Man' and 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' in your life, done in the drunk-as-hell Shatner style, you'll live longer.

Spleen Venting Caught On Tape!.......2004-10-11

Listening to Shatner's new CD "Has Been" made me go back and re-appraise "Transformed Man." Unlike "Has Been", this CD is totally over-the-top, and borderline maniacal. I have loved Shatner's singing for all the wrong reasons ever since I first heard him on the "Golden Throats" CD. Here we get to savor those tracks "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" (I particularly love the last screamed line of "Mr. Tambourine Man"), but I think the best part of this CD are the Shakespeare monologues and especially the bizarre and brazenly hammy "Spleen" in which Bill rants about various issues confronting his "bent skull" at sidesplitting length.

I don't know if Shatner knew how bad this was when he recorded it (he now says he did, but I have my doubts) but surely this is one of the greatest CDs that I own for pure entertainment value. Without exception, every single person I have ever played this for has had a strong reaction of some (very diverse) sort. I think of this as one of the most valuable recordings in history, not because it is so great, but because it is the best example of "extreme singing" in existence. I hope for a modestly priced reissue of "Transformed Man" soon (and hope for the Nimoy catalogue to be re-released as well.)

Love it or hate it, you surely can't ignore it. This CD gets my highest possible endorsement for audio cheese.

A Comedy Messterpiece-Ham Is Served!!!!.......2004-09-28

Even a fan of more "serious music" like this Owl needs a good laugh now and then too.

After crashing his motorcycle in the desert (some time not long after the original Star Trek series was cancelled), Shatner claims to have had an "otherworldly" experience that inspired him to make this album, in collaboration with composer/arranger Don Ralke.

What ensues is a collection of high-camp bombast that would make the likes of Yes blush with embarassment (remeamber "Tales From Topographic Oceans"?), among the highlights are:

1) "Spleen" the "creepy old house on a stormy night" intorduction to the even more bizarre deconstruction of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" (featuring groovy backup singers). Ya just gotta love how---he breaksss--up----SENNNNN-TEN--CEEEESSS!!!

2) "Theme From Cyrano" is actually a artists rant I can get behind which then segues into "Mr. Tambourine Man" with a hilarious cartoonish woodwind intro and eventually more bleating trumpets than a Batman episode. Best yet is Shatner's desparate "junkie in need of a fix" delivery, culminating with his psychotic yelling at the end. Side-splittingly classic!

3) Saving the best for last, "The Transformed Man" shows Shatner at his over-the-top best as he attempts to meet God face to face!

The scary thing to me is, he was actually SERIOUS when he was doing this!