Stop, collaborate and listen

At the risk of putting "Ninja Rap" in your head (this is assuming that it isn't already there on constant repeat, which is pretty unlikely), the title seemed appropriate in light of this bit of news. A recent poll in England revealed that the British have a penchant for both zombies and goofy drummers in their preferred supergroups, the first and second-most popular being composed of the following:

Freddie Mercury, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John and Phil Collins (the thinking man's Phil Collins);
and Bono, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder and Ringo.

A little weird, but it did inspire me to run through a list of more recent and satisfying collaborations. Who could I be talking about? Ben Franklin and electricity? Sacco and Vanzetti? Schlemiel and Schlemazl? T and Rex? None of the above, actually, but those are all excellent guesses. Let's start with oldest to newest, blindest to significantly less blind.

Ray Charles & the Count Basie Orchestra "Ray Sings, Basie Swings": Bizarre, near-sacrilegious and yet surprisingly reverential, this is a collaboration between a lot of dead men who never actually collaborated. When reels of tape labeled Ray Charles and Count Basie were found, Concord A&R man John Burk thought he had found the Holy Grail. It turns out the two had only shared a bill, and there was another catch: Charles' vocals on the live recording were phenomenal, but his band wasn't recorded properly. Seeing a time-travelling opportunity that didn't even require a flux capacitor, the still-touring Count Basie Orchestra was called in to re-record all of the band's parts from some 30 years earlier. There have been some complaints about the modern recording fidelity clashing with the reel-to-reel vocals (I haven't picked it up yet to say one way or the other), but the idea is novel enough for a pat on the back or tip of the old hat, at least.

Mirah & Spectratone International "Share This Place": I just got this a couple weeks ago and it's fantastic in every way, from concept to execution (I'm working on getting the rights to include a track or two). Here's a punchy description of its inception gleamed, garnered and gathered from emusic (a very good indie-focused download service that I use).

In 2006, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art commissioned collaborators Lori Goldston and Kyle Hanson of Spectratone International to create an insect-inspired song cycle with K Records recording artist Mirah. Set to a suite of 12 short animated films by Britta Johnson, the resulting multi-media performance premiered at Seattle International Children’s Festival in May 2007. Influenced in part by the writings of 19th century French naturalist J. Henri Fabre (called “The Homer of Insects” by Victor Hugo), "Share This Place" also draws from Karel Capek’s surrealist Insect Play and a host of other sources. Layered with the luxuriant sounds of Spectratone International, Mirah’s beautifully delivered lyrics combine an epic scale and intimate tone.

In other words, it's the soundtrack to a concept film about bugs, meaning it could have been a complete twee disaster ("twee" and "precious" being the buzzwords for "indie gone bad"). Thankfully, it's very inventive and Spectratone International is just quirky and graceful enough to pull it off. Check it out first and foremost.

Bettye LaVette w/ Spooner Oldham & the Drive-By Truckers "Scene of the Crime": This is pretty exciting, swampy soul and rock from last year's greatest rebound artist. Does anyone remember how harsh I was on that awful Detroit soul/punk band a while back? This is what they should have been doing. LaVette's voice is punchy and powerful without stooping to acrobatic showmanship (it was affecting when Aretha did it, it's aggravating when Mariah Carey does it) and the band locks into a slippery and supportive groove that belies their own fascination with epic Southern Rock concept albums.

And finally, October's upcoming release from Robert Plant & Allison Krauss, "Raising Sand": If the first single "Gone Gone Gone" is any indication, this is going to be a surprise hit for Plant's recently revitalized career (see his last record and the upcoming in-concert collaboration between Led and Zeppelin). With maybe the best backing band you could ask for and the pitch-and-atmosphere-perfect T-Bone Burnett at the helm, this record is probably going to be the most surprisingly intimate and classic sounding record of the year. Fo' rizzle. Watch a video about the making of the album here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/8988/105-2023746-8374028

So now the question of the moment: what collaboration would you like to see? Let's stick to living musicians just to make it easier -- dead historical figures and any character from the Jim Henson universe are, as always, more than welcome.