Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of “Till the End of the Day,” a rocking Kinks cover by the Verbs.
The song is from the band's new album, Cover Story, which will be released February 24 via Jay-Vee Records.
The Verbs were founded by drummer/producer Steve Jordan and Meegan Voss, frontwoman of the Poptarts and CBGB regulars the Antoinettes, plus bassist Willie Weeks (George Harrison, Eric Clapton, David Bowie) and Japanese guitarist Tamio Okuda.
"Meegan and I love the Kinks," Jordan told us. "I had the pleasure of producing a track for Ray Davies in our loft studio in New York. He's written so many great songs. Some should never be touched, but we thought this [1965 tune] is a very underrated classic, let's do it!
"We cut it twice. The first time was cool but a little too clean, so we cut it again with looser approach. We also did it layered. Tamio and I cut the basic, then Pino Palladino put bass on, then Tamio added the solo, Meegan played electrified acoustic guitar, then sang. Then I put two more guitars on myself."
"I used a cheap guitar and amp that was lying around my home studio," Okuda added. "I don’t remember the specific model."
All the songs on Cover Story were hits at some point; the band didn't try to do interpret obscure music, but simply honor their favorites. You can check out the complete track list below the Soundcloud player.
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“Even in the jazz tradition, you would cover a popular tune and make it your own," Jordan said. "We played a few of these songs live in Japan on our last tour and the response was fantastic. Most of the audiences hadn't heard these songs before but they just blended seamlessly with our original material. That was the confirmation for me.”
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
