“That song has a pretty epic solo. I remember scratching my head a bit trying to figure out the harmonizer effects he was using”: This is one of the hardest guitar songs you could attempt to cover, according to cover pro Lord Phobos
With a hefty repertoire of covers under his belt, TWRP guitarist Lord Phobos pinpoints the song that he admits was “quite a tough one” to learn
(Image credit: Lord Phobos PR/Total Guitar Issue 386)
The enigmatic Lord Phobos is not only the lead guitarist of Canadian quartet TWRP – the backing band behind American comedic duo, Ninja Sex Party – but also a bona fide cover song aficionado.
With TWRP and Ninja Sex Party, the anonymous electric guitar star has released a series of cover albums entitled Under The Covers, which, as the name suggests, comprises reimagined versions of tracks from artists ranging from Pink Floyd to the Bee Gees.
With a hefty repertoire under his belt, Lord Phobos knows a thing or two about piecing together covers – and now he's revealed the song that was the hardest to tackle.
“Owner Of A Lonely Heart by Yes was quite a tough one because of all the weird changes,” he admits. “The switch into the bridge section is very unpredictable. That’s what I love about Yes, even when they make the most accessible pop, it’s still really complicated in strange and subtle ways.
“That song also has a pretty epic solo [played by Trevor Rabin]. I remember scratching my head a bit trying to figure out the harmonizer effects he was using.
“I debated playing the solo twice in different positions, but that was too hard. In the end, we just used an Eventide rackmount thing, set to a doubling effect with the wet sound pitched up to make it sound like two guitars. Some of the licks didn’t work too well with the effect on, so I had to change how I played certain lines!”
Despite having such a vast repertoire, Lord Phobos surprisingly doesn't use a ton of different pedals, as he has “never been a big pedal guy”.
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“My favorite pedal is actually a Boss SD-1. It’s such a great mid boost, even if it takes out some of the bass and low mids. And I’d actually say that flaw has become its main feature!
Lord Phobos just absolutely shredding on guitar - YouTube
“My other favorite is the Boss CE-2W. I love it so much in front of a clean amp. I can’t use it in front of too much gain, because it all gets a bit too washy. But for my clean sounds, that’s one pedal I couldn’t live without.
“I love Boss pedals… in fact, I’d love a ’board full of all their pedals. They’re affordable, they sound great, and look cool. No wonder everyone from Yngwie to Nuno swear by their stuff.”
Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.
