What Artist(s) Should Macca Assimulate Into His Musical Bag of Tricks?

[Paperback Writer]

As an early Beatle, mid-Beatle, late-Beatle and solo artist Macca has proven not only his genius creativity, but also the ability to "nick" the best music of other musicians and  roll it into his bag of McCartney music and have it emerge - totally disguised as Macca music.

Accepting this as fact, what musicians, groups' influence would you like Paul to incorporate?

I'll go first: Bruce Springsteen

Paul on piano, some horns, Wix on piano, another lead guitar - a New Orleans' - "wall of sound" - Bruce Springsteen sound for some numbers would not only be nice - but actually a return to Macca's own Wings Over America sound.
How about a studio CD of this?!

Your pick?

[mervap]

Actually, Bruce could slot nicely into that group...it would likely sound more like his recent "Seeger sessions" CD, which was great.

It's really tough to pick a sound that Paul has not already "nicked" that would sound good to me....I'm thinking of more collaborative efforts (i.e. Elvis Costello). I'd have loved to see Paul hook up with somebody like Joe Jackson or Billy Joel.

[2 of 3]

Just watching The Concert For George makes all kinds of collaborations dance in your head. When was the last time you saw Macca that restrained, and also that good? THe guy really needs the competition factor in his music. I agree with Merv...Costello back into the fold would be great....but so would anybody else that would make him say...yikes, I better  pull my socks up here....(blank) just wrote a song that makes mine sound like Take That! 

[EddieV]

When was the last time Paul colloborated with someone on a song?? Whole Life, no he wrote that himself. Must have been for Driving Rain, when his son was helping out!

My point is that Paul wants to decide everything or am I wrong? (Hopefully I am)

[Kylenz]

He 'battled' a fair bit with Nigel (Godrich) on the Chaos album, but the last actual collaboration was probably with U2 on Live 8? I would like to see him work with a contemporary rock songwriter with passion and energy in his songs, perhaps someone like James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers. Their voices and delivery would blend quite well, and could come up with fresh songs similar to Veronica and My Brave Face with Elvis Costello in the 'Flowers' era. Lots of guitar, and lots of good melody. Thom Yorke or Neil Finn would only bog him down into a sea of melancholy or run him around in circles stylewise.

A good quirky suggestion would be The Cardigans. I'd like to hear Nina and Paul sing together, and again, their songwriting styles are compatible too - they would come up with interesting tunes. Nina has already sung on smash hits with Tom Jones and the Manic Street Preachers, she could do it with Paul too. It would be like an equivalent "Say Say Say" for 2008. Like a pop tune with bounce and gets airplay all around the world. This is what Paul needs. He's made some great albums in the last few years but it feels like years since he had a big hit single.

[2 of 3]

Thom Yorke or Neil Finn would only bog him down into a sea of melancholy or run him around in circles stylewise.

I have to say, I would agree with that statement. He can do the melody himself...but it's the edge that is lacking. Though both or those guys above are pretty much perfectionists, and that would make for some interesting fly on the wall conversations in the recording studio.

[Kylenz]

Oh yeah it's no personal slight on either of those guys, both of them are geniuses in their own right. I don't think it would be the right path for Paul to go down (even though both Thom and Neil were heavily influenced by Paul). Paul needs people around him to bring out the 'edge' in his melody as you say.

Paul did collaborate with Brian Wilson on A Kind Of You. I'd like to see him do something with someone younger, like Natasha Bedingfield or Melanie Chisholm. Mel C was too good for the Spice Girls. 

[mervap]

Melanie C....Her duet with Bryan Adams, "When You're Gone", was one of the best things on "On a Day Like Today".