I recently watched Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris’s Real Live Roadrunning concert film from 2006, and an excellent hour and 40 minutes it turned out to be. Reportedly born out of mutual respect for each other’s musical abilities, theirs was an unlikely collaboration, although one which proved to be irresistible. Their voices worked so well together; his gruff Dylanesque speak-singing wrapped up in her lovely pure harmonising, a melding which apparently neither of them tried to analyse too deeply. It’s perhaps a shame that only one album resulted from their partnership.
It made me think about other unlikely musical partnerships that worked well – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss maybe, and those that didn’t. David Bowie and Bing Crosby? Paul McCartney and Kanye West? Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue? Your thoughts please on bizarre collaborations that worked, those that are best forgotten about, or the fantasy ones that you would really like to have seen.
There was nothing about this collaboration that was unlikely. It was absolutely bound to happen at some point, MK had been on the outskirts of Nashville (metaphorically speaking) since working with Chet Atkins, if not earlier… and Emmylou was kind of going the other way, heading outwards from that world. They are both literary geeks and both left leaning. It certainly didn’t disappoint when they got into it, though… great work.
I agree, but it was unlikely on paper, and would have been unthinkable in 1978 when Dire Straits were releasing Sultans of Swing and Emmylou was still working through her Gram Parsons legacy.
see also Mark Knopfler and James Taylor, on paper maybe not, but Sailing To Philadelphia is a cracker
Fair enough. Mind you, Setting Me Up from the first album was almost instantly adopted by country bands on both sides of the pond.
I thought Bowie and Queen was an unlikely one, but it worked well. Shaky and Bonnie (RIP) was an obvious and a good one. The other Shakey (Neil Young) and Pearl Jam (Mirror Ball) should have been good, but for me it wasn’t. Lou Reed and Metallica was mostly a disaster. Wilco and Billy Bragg (recently reunited) produced about 2 and a half excellent albums. They did have help with the lyrics though. Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder not good
Yes, good call on Wilco and Billy Bragg.
One for the Orange Turd.
Yes Billy Bragg and Wilco is a really rewarding listen, especially the 3 disc box set version.
I heard the livestream of the reunion show. Instant joy. Everyone is having a blast and some old friends are remembered. Surely not the last time they do it. Live album…?
Generally all Solid Sound sets are released as official downloads for a fairly nominal price
I’m about to start a deep dig into my huge mountain of Wilco stuff, and I might add a few of those… I love this band…
Enjoy, make sure you check out Jeff Tweedy’s recent solo meisterwerk Twilight Override.
On the 2nd night of Solid Sound Wilco debuted 2 new songs. So hopefully something new coming reasonably soon from the band
Twilight Override is already one of my favourite albums. On some days I prefer solo Jeff to Wilco…
Good to know
Am I right in remembering some sort of falling out between Wilco and Bragg when they originally recorded the Mermaid Ave material? I was slightly surprised to see a reunion.
Haven’t listened to that stuff in years, but at the time I recall it being an exceedingly lopsided musical pairing, in Tweedy’s favour.
Don’t forget Natalie Merchant and Eliza Carthy were on the Mermaid Ave collab.
Tweedy and Bennett’s favour possibly. I think there were some disagreements about the arrangements and Wilco wanted to be more than a backing band which they proved completely. I guess things have mellowed over nearly 30 years (and Bennett is gone)
Natalie Merchant was also present at the live show.
Some Jay Bennett MA demos here (free):
https://jaybennettmermaidavedemos.bandcamp.com/album/jay-bennett-mermaid-ave-demos
Bowie and Jagger “it’s Live Aid, we must do something … that’ll do”
Freddie Mercury and Monserat Caballe – Fred explores the world of Opera, and a couple of years later soundtracks the Olympics on the BBC
Passengers and Pavarotti – Miss Sarajevo. Well intentioned and over time I have come to love it.
Bowie and Jagger were great, probably because they did it in a hurry and didn’t have time to over think it. MJ showing DB how it’s done.
Sorry. I can’t resist. 12 million views and counting.
At the time, when it first came on during Live Aid, I thought it was great. I still don’t mind it when it comes on. It’s a good cover of a fantastic song and I’m glad they didn’t attempt to write something new and poignant.
It’s kind of fun, but a pretty awful version I think
Bowie & Jagger falls into the “it was bound to happen” bucket. I love it unreservedly.
You seem to have placed Nick Cave and Kylie in the “didn’t work” box. I respectfully disagree.
No, not at all. They were meant to be in the ‘what does everyone think?’ box.
It was brilliant! Did you see the Kylie doc? Nick Cave brilliant on how they met and became friends then worked together.
Agreed. What seems unlikely in collaborations can in fact be somehow inevitable. The doc was very good.
Yes, indeed! Thoroughly enjoyed it!
I also liked Nick Cave and PJ Harvey from the same album. In fact, I much prefer Nick Cave when he’s with someone else.
I remember seeing NC and PJ Harvey performing together live on TV and it was clear that PJ absolutely adores him.
I think NC was the reason PJ had to be ‘rescued’ from London by her parents and taken back to Dorset. Or, rather, the ‘scene’ around NC. Allegedly.
Oh dear. That doesn’t sound good.
NC didn’t get clean until 1999/2000 – he was 43 by then (that’s between No More Shall We Part and The Boatman’s Call). From the little I know about smack addicts, it’s amazing he made it to be that old and still be alive.
I saw him at festivals during the early/mid-90s and he already looked like a corpse.
I saw him at the Pavilion in Glasgow (1990, I think) – Bad Seeds were excellent.
But Nick’s voice was shot and got worse as the gig went on. He looked like a stiff breeze would have blown him over…
At the time Sandy Denny and Robert Plant duetting on The Battle of Evermore was pretty rad but of course now is a well deserved classic.
Then there was the live Page/Plant version where Najma Akhtar stepped in. Different, but good!
Did anyone see Toyah and Fripp coming?
Almost. Their lockdown videos were far too revealing.
😉
(wiping the beer of the tablet screen right now)
Unwatchable after the first few. Embarrassing.
Well, I hope you stopped watching. Embarrassing stuff on t’internet, imagine!
I’m sure I read somewhere that it was an attempt by Toyah to stop Mr Fripp from sinking too far into his own head during lockdown/isolation, by making him do something absurd and against type. Some of it was unwatchable, who cares?
I heard that too. I have a lot of time for Toyah – she’s done some great music, she’s a trouper who’s managed a long career in a pretty ruthless business, and she doesn’t take herself too seriously.
They’re clearly well suited for each other, and given that my previous impression of Mr F was that he was an extremely intense and high-brow chap who didn’t suffer fools gladly, it’s been nice to see him cut loose and be, well, silly.
Still, some of the videos were probably best not watched with a fragile maiden aunt.
Toyah has done some great music? Guess I missed that
Well, I liked her. I am realistic enough to know that a “due for a reappraisal?” is unlikely to gain much traction down and the old A&H (na na na na na) but she was a good pop star and released a few good songs.
Well, apart from the Registrar, of course.
Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell is treading in the Plant/Krauss territory.
Superb. Saw them at Rock City when it was clear they’d had a fall out beforehand. The music clearly brought them together & it was a great gig with everyone smiling at the end.
Lanegan’s growl fair rattled the old rib cage though!
I think you mean Plant/Krauss trod the Campbell/Lanegan path
Ballad Of The Broken Seas preceded them by a year or so.
I used to have a CD of Martin Stephenson and Cathal Coughlan singing Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off. Odd bedfellows!
Then again there’s wordy songsmith Lloyd Cole and German ambient/krautrock pioneer Hans-Joachim Roedelius (of Cluster and Harmonia fame).
This is possibly the most bizarre match-up…
This was OUTSTANDING, with a perfect kiss-off:
Iggy’s got form doing quirky duets with blonde pop goddesses:
David Bowie and Bing Crosby
Grim…mind you, I dislike the song, so my view might be coloured by that.
Bowie makes a decent fist of the harmony.
I’m amazed that the ‘Peace On Earth’ counterpoint was specifically written for this song. They fit so well together that it sounds like an old standard.
I presume everyone’s watched the Will Ferrell/John C O Reilly version at least once. They deadpan word-for-word through the whole matey intro before doing an arguably better version of the song..
Love it. At least for about 5 days a year
“Good to know”.
Tammy Wynette and the KLF.
I think this is the winner. It was also really good.
An absolute banger from the 90s
And Bry and Sporty Spice.
Oh, yeah! That’s a perfect example. Unexpected and a brilliant song (easily mistaken for Squeeze).
“Sporty and Shorty”
Oh, here’s another. Nik Kershaw guesting here.
Chumbawamba & Black Lace famously covered each others songs, through a mutual link to producer and studio.
I think Black Lace actually appear on one of the Chumbawamba albums too, unable to remember which.
How about the legendary football commentator whose “head looks uncannily like London Planetarium” ©HMHB teaming up with cutting edge industrial funkists and former Sugar Hill rhythm section Tackhead. I have the picture disc…Do I win?
Yes.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DZfW4-nP2G1Q&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjh396s9NuVAxX6T0EAHZ11Hv0QtwJ6BAgGEAE&usg=AOvVaw24VA480_Ge7yd_d1UjsZdS
Here’s one from the atrocious category. I was tempted to add Macca and Stevie Wonder’s ‘Ebony and Ivory’ which used to make my stomach churn, but on hearing ‘Mull of Kintyre’ recently and reevaluating it as a decent song, I was afraid that listening to E&I might have the same effect.
I am delighted for Beoga, whom I’ve seen a few times, and few folkies can expect to play in front of such an audience.
But it is godawful.
Tom Jones’s animal lust set against The Cardigans’ insouciant Swedish cool
Btw I think that is magnificent
I think it’s an abomination.
I feel like Tom Jones has no feel for these songs he tramples over. He just does him. He had this return around the time of Kiss, somehow cool with all this easy listening revival maybe. For me he’s like a fart in a spacesuit with these collaborations.
Well he does him very well. The clip with CSNY is just massively entertaining, with Nash and Crosby trying to stop laughing
I’m not by inclination a Tom Jones fan but anyone who was once described by Otis Redding as the greatest soul singer he’d ever heard shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.
I kinda love him, but he would do anything for a fiver. Best when focused on his own show.
I’m sure I’ve posted it before, but there can be few stranger collaborations than Tom Jones and Nrw Model Army.
How about Bill Shatner with Ben Folds and Joe Jackson.
Oh yes!
Bassoon not featured.
That’s grim, although Captain Kirk has considerable previous when it comes to crimes against music.
Shatner has released a heavy metal album and is appearing at a Heavy Metal festival in Chicago (his rider is a joy to behold).
https://blabbermouth.net/news/william-shatner-announces-new-all-star-metal-album-featuring-35-hand-picked-metal-icons
It would be downright churlish not to include the creator of the very notion of the musical collaboration so here is is with…well what can one say. It takes a little while before one arrives at the actual ‘musical’ bit so feel free to fast forward for around a minute or so.
He even invented the mic drop, ffs!
And the gravity that makes dropping it possible.
We’ve got the best gravity ever.
I thought it was rather unusual when Ginger Baker played with Public Image Limited on “Rise”.
Sadly, the video for the song doesn’t show the always mild-mannered Mr Baker.
You meant to say Hilda Baker didn’t you?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!
You’re welcome.
That is grotesque beyond words.
Kim Wilde & Lawnmower Deths Christmas single was pretty unexpected…
Similarly, the KLF and Extreme Noise Terror.
A mate of mine is in Lawnmower Deth, he’s a thoroughly lovely human being. As genuine a chap as there ever was. Splendid fellow. He speaks in reverential tones about recording with Aunty Kim. Who was also a great sport, by all accounts.
As a teenager, I used to deliver Kim’s newspaper. This was mid-1980s, so a long timer before she hooked up with the, er, ‘Metal Bozo Clowns’. I do remember their early-’90s cover of Kids In America.
Quite appropriate for Kim Wilde to hook up with a band called Lawnmower Deth too, considering her interest in gardening.
What a thoroughly enjoyable thread. Thanks Boneshaker!
A few suggestions…..
Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle
Frank Zappa and Flo and Eddie from the Turtles
Matthew E White and Flo Morrissey
Two Norwegians and a Canadian..
Finally, Basil and Demis were a match made in foxy heaven..
Ah good, there you are. Where have you been? I hope you’ve got a note from your mum.
Thanks for asking. I’ve got a doctor’s certificate. In Danish,@thecheshirecat.
I was down at the Roskilde Festival in the company of my son (now 23). And what a great time we had. I’ll be writing a brief report here very soon. Hope you are enjoying the festival season.
Just about to head off on my three and a half week odyssey: Warwick, Sidmouth, Dartmoor and Cropredy. Just figuring out how to fit everything in the Landrover!
Your odyssey makes that Ullyses bloke look like a part-timer, @thecheshirecat.
You take care now. Don’t eat any of those lotuses and beware of foxy sirens!
A Geordie R&B singer and a funky combo from Long Beach was not an expected combination..
But how well they suited each other!
I think this should count as being very unlikely.
Gabriel Ear Wax?
I believe it’s just the name he gave to his production company I’ve tried to link it to cerumen to no avail.
Also published by ear pieces.
In other news I’ve an earwax removal appointment at 12.
Was this unlikely? I’m not sure. Worked though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8ZIErShjw0
Indeed it did. I really enjoyed that @Milkybarnick.
Not a collaboration anybody would have foreseen, as ‘shock rocker’ Alice Cooper recorded rather excellent this track with the great soul singer Betty Wright during the From The Inside sessions, criminally it was only used as the b-side for the How You Gonna See Me Now single. I know drink and drugs can impair your judgement, but bloody hell Coop, to throw away such a cracking track!
Jackie Leven collaborated with his great friend David Thomas on a few occasions, including a few shows as UbuDoll. I was going top post there version of You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling, but ever since JL shared his ideas for an accompanying video that would see him and DT cavorting across Brighton beach, hand in hand, dressed in floral mini dresses, with Mrs Slocombe hair and make up well, the images that it brings….. So here instead is the wonderful Paris Blue
This was rather unexpected.
Exile Cuban pianist, Bebo Valdes, who had been living in the Stockholm suburbs for many years, teamed up with a fiery young flamenco singer, Diego el Cigala, to record a very enjoyable album.
They sold out Stockholm’s Konserthuset. And what a very enjoyable gig it was.
Talking of flamenco, that Danny Thompson should team up with Toumani Diabate and nu flamenco stars, Ketama was a surprise.
Back in 1987, Andy Partridge of XTC teamed up with John Otway, the (Cor Baby That’s) Really Free Hitmaker, under the name Johnny Japes And His Jesticles to make a promotional single for Viz comic called Bags of Fun With Buster. You really couldn’t make it up.
I don’t think Leonard Cohen did many collaborations. This one worked rather well…
This list was an eye-opener.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/leonard-cohen-and-his-five-best-collaborations/
Elton John. Julie Felix.
Sonny Rollins!
The sound is appalling but this was a surprising duet…