Sir Paul McCartney has not only been the man behind some of the most famous songs and performances of all time, but he’s also recorded many of the best bass lines in rock history, for my money. It’s no wonder then that Travis frontman Fran Healy emailed the former Beatle’s management when looking for a guest bassist on his forthcoming solo album, Wreckorder (which also boasts a Neko Case cameo). In an interview with WRNR, Healy discussed the collaboration, saying that McCartney recorded his parts for “As It Comes” remotely and sent three takes back. Healy then edited (aka “comped”) the various takes for the final version. “I didn’t know whether I should or not ‘cause it’s, like, Paul McCartney. How do you comp a Beatle?” Healy joked. Entertainment Weekly’s Music Mix has an exclusive stream of the track, so check it out. If you like what you hear, watch Healy’s interview and performance of new songs on WRNR, and stream a different Wreckorder cut, “Buttercups,” below:

Update: Hear the Healy-McCartney song here.

It’s almost so easy to hurl insults at a band like Travis that a big part of me can’t help but love ‘em. Frontman Fran Healy and company place themselves readily into the fray, after all, and there’s hits in them hills, so STFU, I say. These Glaswegians get it.

Case in point: Healy has an album in the works, according to his blog (via So Much Silence via @Crumbler), and he’s tapped the best living singer, Neko Case, plus the best living Beatle, Paul McCartney, for cameo performances on his first solo album, Wreckorder.

“One of the biggest coups was getting Paul McCartney to play bass on a song,” wrote Healy. “I’m not sure what non McCartney songs he’s played bass on but I couldn’t think of many. Anyways his bassline is brilliant.” Take that, Ozzy! Healy also shared a demo to new song “Holiday” and provided a muted video of Neko Case laying down some vocals in the studio after a 3-day drive from Arizona for the sessions.

The record isn’t done yet, so we don’t have a release date, label, or tracklist to share, but (based on the info above) this thing will be a winner, right?