Favourite Collaborations

[Benji]

Simple, name a few of your favourite musical collaborations.

The obvious one is Jay-Z/Linkin Park, I don't know many people who dislike that, it's such a well done crossover. I don't know why but I really love "Dilemma" by Nelly and Kelly Rowland, but then I'm always a sucker for the whole male/female duet in that style. "Where Is The Love?" by Black Eyed Peas and Justin Timberlake is awesome, it's just not the same when it's not Justin doing the chorus. The combo of older recorded vocals on the "Changes" cover by Butterfly Boucher/David Bowie with her more modern vocals is just wonderful. One I often forget it "The River" by Good Charlotte and M Shadows/Synyster Gates from Avenged Sevenfold, catchy as hell and the version without the A7X guys just isn't as good. I'm 100% positive I've missed something significant, but I'm too lazy to carry on

[METALMAN]

The most well known might be Under Pressure by Queen and Bowie. Paul McCartney's songs with Michael Jackson were fantastic. Arcade Fire and David Bowie too.

"Lost Art of Murder" - Babyshambles & Bert Jansch

All Of This - blink-182 & Robert Smith

Last Shadow Puppets. Not everyone's cup of tea but I was impressed by their album after a few listens.

Couches In Alleyways - Styrofoam and Ben Gibbard.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Under Pressure comes in first by a landslide.

[TheRossWalker]

Thirding the Under Pressure love.

Also,

is weirdly brilliant.

[SRN]

I am tempted to say Fuck... I'm Dead's and Engorged's collaboration thing. Although it isn't really a collaborative work of music in the sense of the word, more like a two-CD album where Fuck... I'm Dead made the first disc and Engored made the other but the whole things works as one release and one album. Although I have yet to listen to it, I am anticipating it to be good because Fuck... I'm Dead are viciously awesome. Maybe it will get me into Egorged too, who knows.

Yes I needed to add some Death Metal to this thread.

[Skummy]

SunnO))) & Boris' "Altar" is an incredible piece of work, some of the best material by either band, as well as involving a host of other collaborators - most notably Jesse Sykes, Earth's Dylan Carson and Soundgarden's Kim Thayil - it manages to take aspects of the sound of both bands and take it in new areas that are unique to the collaboration, it's really wonderful, haunting stuff.

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan's "Ballad Of The Broken Seas" is another fantastic collaboration, one of the best albums of the last few years in my opinion, as their voices and respective styles gel so unexpectedly well together into a really nice little whiskey-soaked alt.country album.

[METALMAN]

Is that Isobel Campbell, formerly of Belle & Sebastian? I might have to look out for her if so.

[foolinc]

Public Enemy/Anthrax ~ "Fight The Power"

[Skummy]

Is that Isobel Campbell, formerly of Belle & Sebastian? I might have to look out for her if so.

That it is, although stylistically the album's a lot more in Lanegan's direction than it is in Campbell's - mostly because as wonderful as it sounds on paper, I don't think I'd want to hear Mark Lanegan singing "I'm A Cuckoo". It's fantastic stuff, as I said, just nice country-tinged ballads, a cover of "Ramblin' Man", and the two just gel perfectly.

[Gabriel]

Cradle of Filth's collaborations with Liv Kristine of Leaves' Eyes and Dirty Harry (Nymphetamine and Temptation, respectively) are great.

I'm having a hard time thinking of some off the top of my head though, which sucks.

[Iain76er]

Public Enemy/Anthrax ~ "Fight The Power"

Bring The Noise actually, but yeah this.

...And Under Pressure.

[tristy]

I have a bootleg show from (i want to say) 2004 by The Mars Volta that features Saul Williams on Eriatarka. It's amazing, I think. While we're on the subject of Saul Williams, is collaboration with Trent Reznor (The Rise & Liberation of Niggy Tardust). It even has Reznor on backing vocals for "WTF!" and, I believe, "DNA". Saul does backing vocals on "Survivalism" too, AND does his own version of the song as well for a b-side to the single. Saul in general = awesome.

Others:

Corey Taylor & Apocalyptica ("I'm Not Jesus")

Buckethead's "Enter The Chicken" album

Peaches & Iggy Pop ("Kick It")

Oh, and the entire radio concerts with Trent Reznor & Peter Murphy featuring various guests like TV On The Radio, Atticus Ross, Jeordie White, etc.

[YI]

And my theory Metalman is me, but a bit further north continues...

"Couches In Alleys" by Styrofoam (ft. Ben Gibbard) - One of my favourite tracks EVER

"All Of This" by Blink 182 (ft. Robert Smith) - It just works so well, possibly their best 'newer' track

"Lost Art of Murder" - Babyshambles (ft. Bert Jansch) - Beautiful tune...beautiful album. Such an underrated band

"Pure Shores" by All Saints (William Orbit) - Not strictly a collab...but he wrote it, played the instrumentation etc.

"Black Coffee" by All Saints (William Orbit) - Again not referenced...but he played the instrumentation, mixed it and stuff.

"Roll On" by DnTel (ft. Jenny Lewis) - Absolutely stunning...and that's just Jenny Lewis

"Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts" by The Gaslight Anthem (ft. some bird) - She sings 1-line of the song as a backing vocalist, and an "Ahhh"...but it works so fucking well, making as stunning song that little bit better

"Nothing Better (acoustic/live)" by Ben Gibbard (ft. Jenny Lewis) - She didn't sing on the Postal Service version, but the acoustic versions with her are beautiful. Postal Service version is AMAZING too, just replace it as "The Postal Service (ft. Jen Wood)", awesome little duet

There's probably loads more, but my mind is blank.

[GRIFT]

I saw Feist and Conner Oberst do Mushaboom live and that was pretty sweet.

Also, Emmylou Harris and basically anyone. She is the queen of collaboration. One More Cup of Coffee with Bob Dylan is an easy favorite. Her stuff with TVZ is classic too.

Also Maynard joining in with the Deftones on Passenger resulted in one of my favorite Deftones' songs ever.

Edited May 8, 2008 by That Dirty Dirty Grifter

[YI]

Motherfucking "Signs" by Snoop Dogg (ft. Justin Timberlake).

I totally forgot about this song until I got in before and started flicking through music channels and it came on. Fucking brilliant song. If there's one 'classic' track, which will remain a 'classic' in like 15 years from now, from this whole bling & bitches era, it's fucking this.

[Nerf]

don't tell me nobodys mentioned Walk This Way yet.

[New Damage]

^ What he said... though hopefully not the fuck-awful (except for the number of hot chicks ) Girls Aloud & Sugababes version.

Also, "Hero" by Chad Kroeger (ft. Josey Scott [of Saliva]) and the current ECW theme, "Don't Question My Heart" by Saliva & Brent Smith [of Shinedown].

Now I really really hate Saliva, but in both of those songs its not Saliva that have made me like them. With "Hero" Scott barely does much except for 2 lines of a verse, and with the ECW theme, Smith carries it.

[DFF]

It was only live but...

Guns N' Roses and Sebastian Bach on 'My Michelle'

[Liam]

SunnO))) & Boris' "Altar" is an incredible piece of work, some of the best material by either band, as well as involving a host of other collaborators - most notably Jesse Sykes, Earth's Dylan Carson and Soundgarden's Kim Thayil - it manages to take aspects of the sound of both bands and take it in new areas that are unique to the collaboration, it's really wonderful, haunting stuff.

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan's "Ballad Of The Broken Seas" is another fantastic collaboration, one of the best albums of the last few years in my opinion, as their voices and respective styles gel so unexpectedly well together into a really nice little whiskey-soaked alt.country album.

Also Maynard joining in with the Deftones on Passenger resulted in one of my favorite Deftones' songs ever.

Second all of them.

'Dead End' by In Flames features Lisa Miskovsky, which is a pretty good collaboration, and one more in my sphere of things.