Who wrote the Lucky Old Sun vocal intro?

[KDS]

The sad truth is, Brian has been very dry as a writer since TLOS. And when was the last album of all new material before that? Imagination? I'm not a fan of Macca's recent works, but he never stops cranking them out. I think Brian is more like a guy like John Fogerty or John Sebastian. He had one period where the musical ideas were just flowing out of him. Then there came a time when it just stopped. Most of his solo career has been re-recordings of older songs, or special projects like the Gershwin album. Record labels keep signing him up, hoping for a return of the 63-67 Brian. Then the collaborators are brought in, believing they can bring back the magic.

Well, there was also GIOMH, which wasn't too great.  Outside of some moments of inspiration, I think Brian's solo career (I'm lumping in TWGMTR as well) has been a mostly pleasant, middle of the road, listening experience. 

[HeyJude]

I think McCartney is willing to cede plenty of control *sometimes* at least when it comes to production; witness how he has had co-producers if not full outside production on most of his output post-1980. He of course had Nigel Godrich on board who infamously was not afraid to tell Paul some songs sucked.

He is, yes. As Mark Lewisohn says in that podcast you referenced, though, nothing really goes out there with Paul's name on it that he doesn't want going out, which I agree is something quite different but nevertheless speaks to his desire to control everything. I do still think that Paul wants to have the final word and that doesn't quite work in a true collaborative relationship. But this is pretty much what you already know.

It's definitely true that, like most artists including the BB's, McCartney has (and certainly *should* have) final say on what goes out. But signing off on something is a more passive action than refusing to cede control at earlier, "creating" stage of the music-making process. On rare occasions, McCartney has seemingly ceded artistic control (e.g. the awful Kanye track), but certainly he still signed off on it and made sure what was put "out there" was what he was okay with.

But generally speaking, he hasn't much sat down and done a lot of 50/50 songwriting/recording collaborations in recent decades, and much at all outside of the early years with Lennon.

[HeyJude]

Brian doesn't need Jeff Lynne to produce a record. Lynne is a master producer, of course, and I dearly love and have been influenced by the music he made, but his production mindset isn't the same as Brian's. That's about all I can say unless anyone wants to discuss more details on that.

The trap that seems to exist in any legacy artist especially those from the 60's is that many have a fantasy of them cutting records "like they did in the old days", like a vintage time warp back to 1966. many have tried, and tried very hard to get every detail right down to using vintage guitar cables and patch cords for fucks sake, but does it ever work? Is there ever anything close to the records being copied?

My dream Brian Wilson project is to let Brian do what he wants to do, cut some tracks, and I'll listen.

Most definitely agree that a truly Brian-centric project (meaning something as close as possible to Brian writing everything himself and recording it solo or nearly solo) is my desire as well.

But *if* we had to have a project where a collaborator/co-producer has a heavier hand in the process, Lynne would be my first pick. Yes, it would sound relatively different from Brian solo albums of recent years, especially sonically. It might in some cases, like "Let it Shine", sound like Brian singing a Jeff Lynne record. But I think it could work quite well; Lynne is sympathetic in a way that some other producers might not be. They speak fondly of each other despite a pretty short-term collaboration 30 years ago. Plus a big benefit for Lynne is that he's a singer and musician and songwriter but can give you any artist/producer split that is needed. If you just need a guy "producing" and nothing more, Lynne can do that. If you want some musicianship but not songwriting input, he can do that. If you want more involvement and some backing vocals and stuff, he can do that. If you want to co-write, he can do that. If you want finished songs, he can hand you those too.

But again to reiterate, I'd love a truly all-Brian album with 12 to 15 "Message Man" type tracks.

[KDS]

I think McCartney is willing to cede plenty of control *sometimes* at least when it comes to production; witness how he has had co-producers if not full outside production on most of his output post-1980. He of course had Nigel Godrich on board who infamously was not afraid to tell Paul some songs sucked.

He is, yes. As Mark Lewisohn says in that podcast you referenced, though, nothing really goes out there with Paul's name on it that he doesn't want going out, which I agree is something quite different but nevertheless speaks to his desire to control everything. I do still think that Paul wants to have the final word and that doesn't quite work in a true collaborative relationship. But this is pretty much what you already know.

It's definitely true that, like most artists including the BB's, McCartney has (and certainly *should* have) final say on what goes out. But signing off on something is a more passive action than refusing to cede control at earlier, "creating" stage of the music-making process. On rare occasions, McCartney has seemingly ceded artistic control (e.g. the awful Kanye track), but certainly he still signed off on it and made sure what was put "out there" was what he was okay with.

But generally speaking, he hasn't much sat down and done a lot of 50/50 songwriting/recording collaborations in recent decades, and much at all outside of the early years with Lennon.

I still can't believe that McCartney's song with Kanye has been in his setlist for the last several years.