The Kanye West album Paul McCartney envied

Kanye West and Paul McCartney have collaborated over the years on the songs ‘Only One’ and ‘FourFiveSeconds’ alongside Rihanna, with the pair also performing together on stage at the Grammy Awards in 2015. One of the reasons they collaborated in the first place is likely due to one of Ye’s albums that the Beatle wishes he recorded himself.

During an interview with DIY Magazine, McCartney revealed his love of West’s 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. “That was the record of his that I really envied,” he said. “I thought, ‘Oh, he’s done some good stuff.'”

In the same breath, he also praised one of Ye’s collaborative albums. “Watch the Throne with Jay-Z [too]. I like that. It’s not like I’m a big hip-hop fan, but I went to see Kanye and Jay-Z and really came away thinking it was like urban poetry. I was very impressed. So when the word came that he wanted to work with me, I was flattered.”

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has often been described as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, and one of many classics in Ye’s catalogue including The College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation, 808s & Heartbreak and Yeezus.

Despite being loved by fans, West has spoken down on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in terms of his discography, claiming he simply made the album as a pretty package to please the masses. Instead, albums like Yeezus and 808s and Heartbreak are more rewarding for him.

“So many people rate My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as one of the best albums,” he SHOWstudio. “[But] Yeezus and 808s & Heartbreak are so much better and stronger. Dark Fantasy is almost like an apology record. ‘Power’ was the least progressive song that I ever had as a first single.”

He continued, “It was like me going back and spending six dedicated months – it took over two years to release the album – but six dedicated months piecing together what people liked about me, to make an entire bouquet that they loved, that was the most listenable, that was the least challenging.”

Kanye West compared My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to Thanksgiving dinner in the eyes of fans and claimed that his other projects are way more influential.

“People want to talk about how much they loved that like it was Thanksgiving dinner,” he said. “And how long has Thanksgiving dinner been cooked for? And it’s great, you don’t want anybody changing things on Thanksgiving dinner. But you take 808s or Yeezus, where these albums got completely panned when they came out, and then you see how they end up influencing things.”

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was released in November 2010 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 496,000 units in its first week. All-star features on the project came from the likes of Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Rick Ross, John Legend, Elton John and Bon Iver.