The Weeklings return, in advance of their new album, with a new, great take on "I’ve Just Seen A Face." I’m always up for a Beatles cover, especially if it reinvents the song, which happens here.

Rocky Weekling (John Merjave), lead guitarist of The Weeklings, was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Andrea Weiss: Why did you cover this particular Beatles song?

Rocky Weekling: Rubber Soul is one of our favorite albums. And, yes, we know "IJSAF" was on Help! in the UK. but growing up in the States in the 60s and 70s, that's how the US version of RS opens. When approaching the Beatles' music, we always feel a bit hesitant trying to re-imagine a Beatles classic, especially knowing how beloved the catalog is. But Lefty (Glen Burtnik) had an idea to change it up a little - to come in with a drum loop, start with the verse instead of the little guitar interlude that's on the original, and rock it up a bit. He changed the overall feel of it from a country two-step to a straight-ahead driving rock groove, so it really changes the vibe of the tune. From there, all four of us just cobbled away in the studio, but most of the interesting bits, including that nice vocal-in-the-round near the end, came from Lefty.

AW: Will this be on your upcoming album?

RW: Most definitely. In fact, we're working on the new album right now!

AW: Will there be more singles released from it?

RW: That’s the plan. We want to get new music out every few months and lead up to the new album. It's the way of the music industry at the moment, very singles driven.

AW: Do you feel this is a good introduction for people new to the band? Is it a good lead-in for young people just discovering the Beatles?

RW: The way things are nowadays, with the amount of music that's being created, from both signed acts and independent ones, anything that can get you noticed is a major plus. If someone is a Beatles fan and sees our version of "IJSAF," they might say, "What is THIS?" After that, their ears will have to judge it. Hopefully they'll like it and dig deeper into our catalog (it's all out there on all the streaming services).  As for the younger audience who is just now discovering The Beatles, it's hard to say. As long as it's out there - a new version with a brand new 2023 release date stamped on it - they might be a little more curious and click on it.