Unexpected Collaborations
 

Sometimes artists cross paths and decide to work together to the surprise of one or both of their audiences. One of the most recognized examples is Metallica and Lou Reed' Lulu which was largely rejected by both fanbases (I think it's a solid album though). I find that unexpected collaborations tend to either be artists awkwardly stacking their styles on top of each other (see Jesu & Sun Kil Moon) or they can be a display of all sides really coming together and pushing their boundaries (such as Actress & London Contemporary Orchestra's Lageos). Both are welcome so long as they're unexpected, but I'm more interested in the latter. What are some of your favourites?

To kick things off, here's Faust with Dalek

William Shatner and Ben Folds and Henry Rollins, etc.

One collaboration that was a bit unexpected when I found out about it was Dirty Mac. Like most collabs short lived with very little material. Yer Blues was a Beatles song written by John Lennon. Dirty Mac were the nexus of 60s bands: The Beatles, Stones, Cream and the Jim Hendrix Experience. It was a one time collab for the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus film. I wish they did an album or two together.

Yer Blues - Dirty Mac (John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Mitch Mitchell)
5:15*·*YouTube

Symphony & Metallica. Michael Kamen pouring some symphonic goop over various Metallica tracks with pretty much only meh-to-bad results. Sounds very forced. Should have changed the original Metallica arrangements a bit to accomodate for a symphonic reworking. Just pouring a full orchestra on top of a completely unchanged metal song doesn't work at all.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PblCqNxincU

Alt metal band Dir En Grey and video composer Akira Yamaoka. One song from their 2014 album Arche getting a very nice reworking. Yamaoka turns it into a track that sounds like it was always his own and it works damn well.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOLPdbEIjwo

Boris and Merzbow. ****in' crazy dude.

Not really.

Black Sabbath and Ice T on not very good 90's Sabbath album Forbidden.

Vernon Reid and Bill Frisell


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_tXNZ0AR88

^

^Depends on the sequence in which you've heard things.

How is that unexpected? Rappers collaborate with everyone else in the genre like they're trying to fill a bingo sheet.

Trans Am and The Fucking Champs collaborated as The Fucking Am in the mid-00s to produce some serious 70s rock:



Also, straighedge lord Ian MacKaye and drugmeisters Ministry got together back in 1987-88 to make some pretty good music as Pailhead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOxwib8PoVE

with Jack White

Fela Kuti's Africa 70 with Ginger Baker. Of course, the results sound 100% Fela. I guess Ginger was just happy to be there.

I have this film and it's the wonderful and frightening world of Ginger Baker.
You get to see how his time with Fela came about, but you also see what a
mental mess this guy was, and still, is.

Chula Vista and MicShazam.
I expected a lot, but they really got lazy with it.

You wanna ball?
Go to the playground.

I guess I did need the "/s" after all.

I was just about to post that one. :laughing:

I remember seeing that on TV when it originally aired in the 70's.

It seemed weird as hell to me at the time and still does, even now.

I thought it was nice, if a little bit corny.

Bowie is a fine crooner, really.

How did this even happen?

"David Byrne and the Balanescu Quartet - Model"

Very, very unexpected with the pairing up of Tudor and Cage. Totally caught off guard with this collaboration. I am absolutely positively sure you will find this a truly astrounding piece where Tudor and Cage approximate the timbre, subtleties and nuances of a drone synthesizers with their own vocal gymnastics. I listen to a lot of synthesizer drone music on YouTube (so not to brag I'm sorta of an expert) and with my expertise I will testify to the fact that it is truly an amazing feat how close they come to experimental electronic synthesizer music without using a synthesizer. This pieces will leave you wondering how in the world did they do it.
Prepare yourselves to have your socks blown off:
Watch "John CAGE / David TUDOR -- Klangexperimente" on YouTube

Orbital remaking Satan with Kirk Hammett on guitar:


I'd say it turned out pretty good, though a bit lackluster compared to the original. At least this song got me into Orbital in the first place though!

Before nu metal was a thing, there was this. It's hard to imagine now, but combining rock and hip hop was a novel and exciting thing at the time.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...um_coveart.jpg

Teenybopper Shaun Cassidy's attempt to reinvent himself as a new wave pop singer with the help of Todd Rundgren...

This is a great idea for a thread and I'm sorry I can't come up with a better contribution than when two members of Traffic joined up with Can to produce the Saw Delight album. Not particularly popular afaik, the collab generated the fabulously OTT jam, Animal Waves. Unfortunately, on this clip it's cut in half and has the wrong album cover too - sorry guys, you'll just have to buy the album.

This is Nea being funny.

Proper cover with full tune.

A bit of a surprise, but not by much really (at least, for me)
because Rosko and Rebop were pretty much moonlighting guys.

PIL's "Album" had a bunch of musicians some people might be surprised to see there, like Ginger Baker, Steve Vai, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bernie Worrell, Jonas Hellborg, Tony Williams, Shankar & Malachi Favors.

The second of two albums by David Thomas & The Pedestrians featuring Richard Thompson on guitar...

Is that Dave Thomas from SCTV or Dave Thomas from Wendy's?

Back to the topic: Robert Fripp collaborations can be pretty unexpected. Like the time he collaborated with Peter Gabriel. Or the time he collaborated with Toyah and The Humans. Sounds like a funny thing to say but I didn't know the Humans even existed. Fripp collab'd with Gabriel on a few songs, but the names of the songs I don't remember, but the one I do remember oddly enough I Don't Remember.

Watch "Toyah & The Humans - These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ (Version 1) ft. Robert Fripp" on YouTube


Peter Gabriel unexpectedly collabing with Mr Frippertronics himself, get ready for your socks to be blown off ...
Peter Gabriel I Don't Remember

Why would a collaboration between Fripp and Willcox be unexpected?
By the time of the Humans, they'd worked together and had been
married for over 20 years.

Are you just being Nea again?

Also, that Gabriel track features Dave Gregory on guitar.

I don't remember, I don't recall that they were married. I really do not have a tabloidic knowledge of who's whose partner in Rock and Roll. Very few exceptions, like I know that Stewart Copeland of the Police had a relationship with/married/divorced Sonja Kristina from Curved Air.

No Self Control


That Gabriel track "also" featured Dave Gregory, besides Robert Fripp on guitar. In lieu of a four string electric bass Fripp's bandmate, Tony Levin, on Chapman Stick. Fripp played guitar on No Self Control without Dave Gregory.