What possessed you. . .. . .to get all metal on the Beatles? Listen, Beatles songs are the Holy Grail. They’re the best rock songs ever written. I recorded them totally faithfully—they just sound different. Billy Gibbons singing “Revolution,” or [Motorhead bassist] Lemmy singing “Back in the U.S.S.R.” is not exactly Paul McCartney or John Lennon. And, of course, all of the solo sections were lengthened to accommodate blazing, raging solos.

Did the more pop-oriented tunes lend themselves easily to heavier arrangements?

“I Feel Fine” is a good example. How do you make a stone pop tune like that heavy? Well, you put John Tempesta [Rob Zombie] on drums, Mike Inez [Ozzy Osbourne] on bass, Stephen Carpenter [Deftones] on guitar, and you have John Bush [Anthrax] singing. The result is a darker and slightly left-of-center presentation of the song. Stephen uses a 7-string guitar tuned to A to paint these dissonant, pastoral pictures. It’s totally unique. People are going to sh*t when they hear it.

What was your overall production strategy for the project?

It ain’t about recording! I mean, how bad can Billy Gibbons play? It’s about inspiring these awesome players to deliver amazing performances, and the best way to do that is to put the right song with the right artists. That’s the hard part. “Back in the U.S.S.R.” is the perfect lyric for Lemmy. Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades are kind of like Lennon and McCartney, so I gave them “Day Tripper.” Reduced to the obvious, it’s the proper tool for the proper job. But that’s where my expertise comes in, because I had a great vision for who was right for each song. When I close my eyes and see Eric Singer, John 5, and Lemmy—wow, I’d like to see that band play. Most of these artists will probably never play together again, but they’re on this record forever.

What skills do you employ to elicit great performances?

I do whatever it takes. Some guitar players need 30 passes of a song before they give me stuff I can use. Others—like Billy Gibbons—plow through it in one take. Some guitarists don’t want to be talked to while they’re playing, and others want me to direct traffic the whole way. “What’s happening now?” “Bridge!”

I’m also a pretty good salesman. There’s a huge difference between telling the artist they did something that’s raging beyond belief, and saying, “Gee, I’m not sure.” The producer’s job is to cajole and encourage, but, at the end of the day, you have to be able to say, “Dude! You’re done!” Finally, being a great producer is also about being a fan. Forget the technical stuff. Is the band turning me on? Is this blowing me away? Am I getting goosebumps? If the answer is no, then it isn’t right yet. If it’s yes—mission accomplished.