Paul McCartney to record with Bob Dylan?

What would a McCartney/Dylan/Byrne record sound like?
What would a McCartney/Dylan/Byrne record sound like?

Paul McCartney has expressed a desire to collaborate with both Bob Dylan and former Talking Heads mainman David Byrne.

Speaking to Absolute Radio, the ex-Beatle said, "Bob Dylan would be lovely [to collaborate with] because I admire him. And I was thinking the other day maybe David Byrne, because I like him too."

Meanwhile, McCartney also revealed that the lyrics on his new album Electric Arguments - a collaboration with producer Youth released under the moniker The Fireman - were largely improvised compositions:

"So we went in the studio and we just started to do something different, and because the other two albums had always been on the one chord, like Indian music, we decided we'd stick a couple of other chords in, so it went in a completely different direction.

"Then it kind of seemed like it might need vocals and words, so I said 'But I haven't got any songs', and therefore no words or melodies or anything. So at the risk of humiliation and compete and utter degradation, I went in through the mic and listened to the track that we'd made, and I just started going [singing]…making it up, yes."

The former Beatle also revealed that his recent gig in Israel coincided with a visit to the site that is believed to be the birthplace of Jesus.

McCartney said: "There is this... just a hole in the ground, and so you go away and you sort of think, and it kind of haunts you, this little black hole. I kept sort of thinking it looked more like an ashtray!"

Now now, Paul. There's no need to try to reignite the old "bigger than Jesus" debacle after all these years.

Chris Vinnicombe worked with us here on the MusicRadar team from the site's initial launch way back in 2007, and also contributed to Guitarist magazine as Features Editor until 2014, as well as Total Guitar magazine, amongst others. These days he can be found at Gibson Guitars, where he is editor-in-chief.