William Shatner: Captain of the Starship

By now everyone's heard about William Shatner's The Transformed Man -- that infamous 60's recording where he sings Mr. Tambourine Man and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds -- but check out this other Shatner LP, an ultra-rare two-record set recorded live in 1978. It's a recording of an appearance at some kind of a Star Trek convention just before the first Star Trek movie came out (probably the lowest point in Shatner's career). Half of it consists of Shatner answering questions from the audience (where was the bathroom on the Enterprise?) and recalling inane stories from his career. On the other half, he performs dramatic poetry interpretations, including "Earthbound", "The Flight of Man" and a reading from H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds".

On the artwork for Transformed Man, Shatner appeared as Captain Kirk, in his full starfleet uniform. Here, however, licensing restrictions prevented Imperial House records from using any actual Trek material. Notice how Shatner is the captain of the "Starship", not the "Enterprise", and how his shirt, while similar to the one he wore on TV, lacks the official Star Trek insignia. If you look closely you might also notice that the space rifle he's wielding is actually an upside-down camera tripod -- talk about your low-budget photo shoots!

burper says:
I would pay a million dollars for this album. (01-05-2003)

Spock says:
What I wanna see is Patrick Stewart come out with an album like this. That would be fly, so fly in fact ti would be super-fly! (01-01-2003)

rangersteve says:
If I was dirty and drunk and ranting like this on a New York subway, I'd be called "crazy". (and I've seen people on the subway acting like this).
But Shatner gets to do a record. Maybe someone should record the homeless folks on the subway and release it on CD. It probably be better than this mess. (11-19-2002)

Christopher Trott says:
Would you want this guy to be your captain?? (10-23-2002)

Buck Satan says:
What are those things Shatner is holding?
Black Mambos? (10-18-2002)

goodjello (jello@GOD.com) says:
Mr. Shatner is so beautiful. (10-17-2002)

clang-on says:
Yeah, where "was" the bathroom on the enterprise? And where did the terds go? (the ones other than picard) Suppose they were shot into orbit around the planets. That could be positively dangerous, I mean have you any idea what a terd at seventeen thousand five hundred miles an hour can do to a space shuttle? I smell intergalactic lawsuit! (10-12-2002)

Ed Wohorlihy (yay-hoo@yahoo.com) says:
play it backwards...there's a message... (09-28-2002)

vince (litkak@aol.com) says:
shatner is a god!!!!!
sing on oh captain, sing on!!!! (09-12-2002)

s.goggin (zappamorrison) says:
where can I get a copy (08-16-2002)

Daredevil6 (daredevil6@excite.com) says:
Burn it! For the love of God, man, burn it now!!! (08-08-2002)

Courtney Cix (lapolia@hotmail.com) says:
Had´nt he refused fighteing Mr Norton in Fightclub it vould have been so much easier to live for Shatner (07-26-2002)

Little Hawk (teckserve@encode.com) says:
Look, William Shatner is the greatest. He simply has no peers. I have been making jokes at his expense on Mudcat Cafe (a folk and blues forum) for ages now, but I truly like the man. I just finished reading his book "Get A Life" and it's a hoot! A truly marvelous book that anyone could enjoy, unless they are devoid of humour and/or empathy. I love Bill Shatner. Shatner rules!!!

I agree that the album cover is truly tacky! Marvelous!!! Thanks for providing the site!

- LH (07-25-2002)

sean (threetorches@yahoo.com) says:
did you see this guy on politicly incorrect?
the mans wigs are in the running with burt reynolds.the album doesnt suck quite as bad as ahoura's,but as far as im concerned i request leonard nimoys above all because it just shadows all the others in comparison! (06-12-2002)

Capn Picard says:
No talent hack! And he can't do Shakespear to save his life. Leave it to a REAL actor, you worthless hoser. (06-04-2002)

a red neck says:
Jim I wish you would make a nother movie, I know not all the people would be there that has been there. Dont let all the bad words stop you for doing what you wont to. Boldly go ware you want to (05-20-2002)

no name (mch_dim@yahoo.gr) says:
please someone send to me photos with little boys
naked,fucking,sucking ckock anything

my e-mail:mch_dim@yahoo.gr (05-19-2002)

Schraff (laschraff@hotmail.com) says:
Ugh. I can think of a million different ways Shatner could put his mouth to better use than singing. Okay, maybe a dozen, I'm not *that* creative... (03-29-2002)

Captain Ambience (ThriftStoreRadio@cox.net) says:
Uh, whoa...a fellow captain...better stick with the Captain Beefheart Lp's instead. Skary stuff...but really, really kewl. (03-27-2002)

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