The Transformed Man
| The Transformed Man | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by William Shatner | ||||
| Released | 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 1968 | |||
| Genre | Outsider music, spoken word | |||
| Length | 37:08 | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Producer | Don Ralke | |||
| William Shatner chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
The Transformed Man is actor William Shatner's debut album. It was originally released in 1968 by Decca Records (Cat. #DL 75043), while Shatner was still starring in the original Star Trek series, and began his musical career. The album's cover nicknamed Shatner "Captain Kirk of Star Trek" most likely to boost sales and appeal to fans of the show. The concept of the album was to juxtapose famous pieces of poetry with their modern counterparts, pop lyrics. The album is best remembered for showcasing Shatner's now-famous vocal style—spoken word with dramatic pauses and flourishes. In the decades since its release, most of the album's tracks have been used satirically, either on compilation albums meant to showcase bad celebrity singing (the Rhino Records "Golden Throats" series) or by radio disc jockeys looking for laughs. On the other hand, many praise the album in the genre of spoken-word music.
In a retrospective review, Greg Prato of music database website AllMusic rated The Transformed Man four-and-a-half out of a possible five stars, although with serious reservations. He stated that when listening to the album, "it's unclear if Shatner is merely having a good time and goofing around, or if he's embarrassingly dead serious, and creating an overly indulgent work. Most of the album turns out to be a bit too tedious..." He also noted that "you cannot tell if Shatner is play-acting or painfully serious. The result is a must hear, (unintentional?) comedy classic," comparing this attraction to that of comedian Andy Kaufman.
However, in 2006, Q magazine ranked The Transformed Man No. 45 in their list of the 50 worst albums ever.
Furthermore, in 2016, the website Alternative Nation crowned the album number 1 on a "Top 10 Musical Oddities" list.
...
Wikipedia