----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Douglas" <ccosmos_64@yahoo.com>
> So here's a question - who should Paul McCartney seek
> out at this point as a songwriting collaborator?

I've said for years that Paul should do an album with someone who 
respects his talents but wouldn't be so blinded by Beatle Worship that 
he'd be unwilling to say, "No, that sucks, put down the bong and try 
again."  It also would help if the person was both a songwriter and 
producer/arranger, whose own music suggested an affinity for the sort 
of ornate, glossy thing that Paul does so well (more RAM, ABBEY ROAD 
or VENUS AND MARS than WILD LIFE) but would also bring in influences 
that Paul's usual albums don't immediately suggest.

Actually, now that I think about it, this sounds like a job for Sean 
O'Hagan.  They can bond over the whole Irish thing, like he did with 
Elvis Costello.

S