Travelling Wilburys consisted of Orbison, George Harrison, Bob Dylan , Geoff Lynne (of ELO), and Tom Petty. They released 2 records that have just been re-released (Volumes 1 and 3!). I think they initially worked on a Bside for Petty, but ended up recording 2 releases together.

If Prince were to form his own travelling wilburys, who would you like to see it include? Be creative and don't just say Morris Day or other associates. (unless you want)

Do they have to be alive right now?

Great question. Lemme thinnk about this.

Meshell Ndegeocello -- for her jazz and funk chops

Susanna Hoffs -- for her pop sensibilities (especially retro, Dolphin-style pop)

Terence Blanchard -- I would love to hear him use TB's backdrops much like he has Claire Fischer's.

Marcus Miller -- y'all, this cat is the sickest Prince could join up with.

Peter Gabriel -- for the ethereal stuff.

Lenny Kravitz - Guitar (and give him a kamikaze headband just to confuse people)
Terence Trent D'Arby - Bass
Sheila E - Drums
Kate Bush - Keyboards
Tori Amos - Keyboards

Brendan said:

nahh, whatever

*Prince, for sheer versatility. I'd actually prefer his musicianship -- primarily on keys or leading the rhythm section -- in this project, rather than his voice.
*Maxwell, for the lead male voice. While equal in range, his vocal aesthetic is somehow more masculine to me than Prince's. Plus, Prince's voice is too immediately recognizable and might "tilt" the project.
*Sade, shared lead female vocal... for the "high-brow"/feminine/Euro sensibility
*Meshell, shared lead female vocal... for the gritter female presence. Girl ain't afraid to get ghetto or political, but unlike Prince, she's perhaps more convincing at it to a younger generation. And she's also still sexy. Plus the spoken word and thumping bass work would be hawt!
* Tricky (or some other Bristol Trip Hop type), lead producer, to bring the disjointed components of the others workably together for an ambient chill-out or dance vibe.

These would be the base members, I think. But I think it would be AWESOME on one or two tracks to bring in talent for layering. I'm thinking Jaco Pastorious, Terrence Blanchard or Marcus Miller (thanks threadbare), Ben Harper (whom I'm almost inclined to make a base member), some tabla and/or sitar player(s), and some insane organist whom I'd let go absolutely nuts on at least one track!

...And, darned, we need a drummer! I personally like Sheila's playing more, but I think John Blackwell is more of a powerhouse. Heck, this is fantasy... I'll take 'em both!
[Edited 6/26/07 21:07pm]

And, yeah, I know Jaco ain't with us any longer. But I can't immediately think of any melodic electric bass players.

Stevie Wonder on Keys
Meschell on Bass
Shelia on Drums
Carlos Santana on Guitar
Wyclef Jean and Wendy trading off on Guitar/keyboards/percussion
a pared down Sun Ra Arkestra for the horn section
Prince guitar/piano

EVERYBODY SINGS!

I think this is pretty HOT band, myself!

JudasLChrist said:

A hot line up. I'd buy it!

December1984 said:

Prince
Beck
Paul McCartney
David Bowie
Bono

December1984 said:

December1984 said:

The TROUBLING Wilburys

ufoclub said:

Now THIS is a SuperGroup

Do brothers do this?

wlcm2thdwn said:

AS long as no one onstage is prettier than Prince, he'd be down.

Prince - whatever
Paul Simon - acoustic guitar, vocals, lyrics
Paul McCartney - bass and background vocals
Seal - vocals and background vocals
The Edge - guitar
Bono - guest vocals on a couple of tracks
Katie Melua - guest vocals on a couple of tracks, and background vocals on all tracks

Would never happen, though - way too much ego for one room.
[Edited 6/27/07 7:56am]

Prince: Lead and background vocals, guitar, piano

Claudio Sanchez (Coheed and Cambria): Lead and bacground vocals, guitar

Sufjan Stevens: Lead and background vocals, guitar, banjo, violin, etc.

Flea: Bass

Renato: Keyboards, synths

Tori Amos: Lead and background vocals, keyboards, piano

Sheila E: Background vocals, percussion

Carter Beauford: Background vocals, Drums

Lead Vocals
Freddy Mercury
Aretha

Backing vocals
Prince

Guitar
Hendrix

Bass
Bootsy Collins

Drums
Keith moon

Percussion
Sheila E

Keyboards
Thelonious Monk
Prince

Horn section
Louis Armstrong
Coltrane
Miles

PANDURITO said:

Bono?

FuNkeNsteiN said:

Yeah, like... who's that?

Having read some of these, I think my pick is skewed a bit young. That band would be HOT... but they're not all "legends."

FuNkeNsteiN said:

even though I have never bought a single U2 item in my life, I recognize his ability to write and perform some good songs.

One

wlcm2thdwn said:

In the traditional sense? Sure. There was Levert Sweat & Gill (LSG). George Duke & Stanley Clarke, also.

It's seen more often in black producers joining forces with acts for albums:

Dr. Dre & 2Pac
Teddy Riley & Blackstreet
Marcus Miller & Take 6

The group would be called - "Soul Focus"

The Jammers:

- Prince (Vox/Axe/Keys)

- Meshell Ndegeocello (Vox/Bass)

- Raphael Saadiq (Vox/Axe)

- D'Angelo (Vox/Keys)

- Maceo Parker (Jazz/Funk Sax)

- Eric Leeds (Woodwind/Brass)

- Matthew Blistan - (Trumpet)

- ?uestlove (Drums)


The Voices/Backing Voices:

- Erykah Badu

- Bilal

- Ledisi

- Amel Larrieux


-- 1st album called = "Sould Out"
-- 2nd album called = "Played Out"

-- They then do a 3rd album and release it strictly on the net and call it "Vaseline & Record Companies"

...Nuff said.

Bandleader, conductor and solo-guitarist: Prince

Lead vocals: Van Morrison during his "Into the music" period

Background vocals: Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin

Lead-guitar: Ty Tabor (King's X)

Extra guitarist: George Harrison

Bass: Sonny Thompson (for the funky stuff) and Mike Mills (REM, for the pop / rock songs)

Drums: Michael Bland

Horn section: Eric Leeds and Miles Davis

Co-singer / songwriters: Lennon / McCartney

I forgot two:

Arranger / conducter of a small string section: Clare Fisher

Electronic beats: Matmos (Björk)

Nice idea, but it would never work.


Prince has such an ego, he doesn't seem to want anyones help when it comes to producing or even writing. The wilburys worked so well because they respected eachother and just had fun. Prince is a diva who likes to tell people what to do it seems.

Why He'd Get Scatman Crothers ,not to mention John Coltrane, and Wes Montgomery .