Each of the first five tracks pairs Shatner reciting a monologue from a piece of classical literature (William Shakespeare is featured three times) with a spoken word interpretation of a contemporary pop song, with either section intended to complement the other thematically.

[citation needed] In a retrospective review in 2011, 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.

[5][6] In 2016, the website Alternative Nation crowned the album number 1 on a "Top 10 Musical Oddities" list.

[7] Because Shakespeare's and Rostand's work had lapsed into the public domain at the time of the recording, they are not credited on the album.