“We really went out on some crazy limbs this time,” says The Compulsions frontman Rob Carlyle, speaking exclusively to BraveWords scribe Aaron Small about his band’s forthcoming trio of cover tunes.

On April 19th The Compulsions - headed by Carlyle on vocals, alongside bassist Ken Rich and current Guns N’ Roses drummer Frank Ferrer, as well as former GN’R guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal - will issue their version of “Revolution” by The Beatles, exclusively on iTunes (a teaser video is available below).

A common misconception is that “Revolution” was chosen to tie-in with the current political landscape in The United States. “I knew people would read into that, but that had nothing to do with it. You want to know why I really picked that song,” asks Carlyle. “I had a little writer's block and I thought re-recording ‘Revolution’, and some of these other songs, would somehow cure me. I think it worked because then I immediately wrote a bunch of new songs, which we're working on now for next year. When I was about eight or nine years old, The Beatles were my favorite band and the White Album version of ‘Revolution’ was one of my favorites by them. I always loved the vibe of that song.”

Next week’s iTunes only release of The Compulsions’ cover of “Revolution” will be followed by their unique take on the KISS classic “Shock Me” – due in August. “That track has been in the works since 2005/2006… I couldn’t fit it on a record; I didn’t know where to put it? Then I had the idea to put out some covers this year. But the reason I chose ‘Shock Me’ was I thought we could do it in a cool way. Everybody involved blew my expectations apart; especially Bumblefoot! It sounds like he’s got 20 fucking fingers, it’s insane. He did a tremendous job on that solo – and all the guitar work. When you do songs that people really know and love, you’ve got to represent, you can’t puss out.”

Rounding out the threesome of cover songs in December will be “Fascination Street”, originally done by The Cure. “We didn’t do it anything like them,” testifies Carlyle. “One of the reasons I wanted to do that song is; the lyrics are fucking filthy! If you actually listen to what he’s saying… it’s PG (parental guidance suggested) so you can get it on the air, but what he’s intonating is pretty dirty, in a cool way. When you’re doing this stuff you’re in kind of a vacuum. You have no idea what anybody’s going to think. You’re just doing what feels right and hoping that people will dig it.”  

Surprisingly, The Compulsions remain an unsigned, independent band. When questioned about the possibility of joining a record label, Carlyle replied, “I would love to, but nobody’s asking, to be quite honest with you. What labels are there? I don’t even know. I just saw something that Nuclear Blast put out – dude, it’s fucking horrific. I don’t know what they’re thinking? It’s an utter piece of shit, and they put it out. It’s a joke. I saw it on a website and in the comments section, people are laughing at it. Why did Nuclear Blast sign that band? Why are they not calling me up? First of all, I barely know anything about Nuclear Blast, but they’re a record label that seems to be active right now. The song is an embarrassment to everybody involved.”

Vitriol aside, the Guns N’ Roses connection associated with The Compulsions is a drawing card for a lot of people. Present day GN’R rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus left The Compulsions in 2015, only to be replaced by Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal – who used to play with Axl Rose. “I know Frank (Ferrer, drummer) and Richard from before they were in GN’R. In the ‘90s in the bars and clubs down here (New York City), they were probably the most red hot and well respected drummer and guitar player. To see them live – in whatever bands they were in – it sounded like Madison Square Garden wherever they showed up. It’s not cause I have some sort of GN’R fetish, although I think the band is amazing; especially the Appetite-era stuff. When it came time to look for another guitar player, I was looking for the best motherfucker in town. It’s all about the music. As far as being intertwined in the Guns N’ Roses world man, it makes people press play, it makes people read the article… but it’s definitely got its drawbacks too because the guys are super duper busy. The Compulsions would be a lot more active if I had my way. I want to work with the best guys for the music that’s in my head, and these just happen to be the guys.”

Adding to the GN’R cloak that envelopes The Compulsions is the fact that they’re going to cover “Dust N’ Bones” by Guns N’ Roses. “That was an online contest we did, but honestly ‘Dust N’ Bones’ is such a great song and when I heard that somebody recommended it, I know I could kill that. I don’t even know how we would pull it off cause they crushed it. I love how they did it on that album (Use Your Illusion I). But I’ve been told I have an Izzy (Stradlin) sort of vibe with my voice and how I approach things.”

The Compulsions released their debut album, Beat The Devil, in 2011. Sophomore effort, Dirty Fun, came out in 2015. It currently looks like the as yet untitled third album will see the light of day in 2017. “I’m saying that we’re going to put out an album but maybe I’ll divide it in half, or divide it into EPs. I’ve heard people say that now it’s better to have a constant stream of new material, rather than banging people over the head with a huge album. Attention spans are really short these days. Even if it’s a great album, you only have about three or four months – and that’s pushing it – to talk about it before people are moving onto the next thing. I’m just trying to figure out a way to constantly keep the name out there that’s interesting to people. Aside from being an artist, you’ve got to strategize in this incredibly weird, complicated wasteland we’re in right now.”

Looking ahead to the next batch of The Compulsions music, Carlyle reveals that he’s “a big fan of ten songs on an album; that’s enough. This time around I think it’s going to be seven originals and three covers. I know three covers is a lot, but Diver Down (by Van Halen) is five covers and five originals, so you can put that many covers on an album and still make it cool. But I’m not giving away what those three covers are just yet. They won’t be these three (‘Revolution’, ‘Shock Me’ ‘Fascination Street’), they are stand alone. But I think it’s a cool evolution of where we’ve been.”

Quite graciously, Carlyle has shared a rough instrumental mix of “Addicted” from the forthcoming third Compulsions album on the band’s official Facebook page. Both Frank Ferrer and Bumblefoot play on that demo. “I love that new track! Not to give too much away, but if you really pay attention, the way it starts out, I’m thinking maybe that should be backwards. I’m thinking of rolling the tape backwards, like a Hendrix-type thing, then slamming right into the verse. The vocals are done. Maybe we might add a little percussion thing? But I don’t think there’s going to be that much done to it.” The question beckons, what is Carlyle addicted to? “When you hear the song, you can read into it any which way you want.  Is he singing about drugs, pussy or rock ‘n roll? I mean, what else is there dude?”