Bob Kulick has worked with Meat Loaf, Kiss, Balance, Skull and many more besides, along with a serious of popular tribute albums.

The latest of these is a reworking of songs associated with Frank Sinatra. The album entitled ‘Sin-Atra’ features a whole host of top draw rock and metal vocalists including Geoff Tate, Dee Snider, Anthrax’s Joey Belladonna, Mr Big’s Eric Martin and Devin Townsend who does a show stealing version of ‘New York New York’.

How did you come up with the ides of this tribute?

It came about after the Christmas album where we took all those great Christmas songs and turned them into something totally different where people had never heard them that way before. Lemmy, Dave Grohl and Billy Gibbons doing 'Run Rudolph Run' and the great Ronnie Dio, may he rest in peace, doing 'God Rest Yee Merry Gentlemen' with Vinnie Appice and Rudy Sarzo. We took that kind of formula as a way to take on of these Frank Sinatra songs and turn it into something it was never conceived for without reinventing it.

This is a rearrangement in a rock and metal way of some of the greatest songs ever written, rivalling even some of the Beatles songs.

Who came up with the idea of using Devin Townsend on 'New York New York'? That is a stroke of genius and an excellent version.

It was one of the last songs we recorded where we realised that unless we had the perfect singer, as it is the most famous Frank Sinatra song, it wouldn't sound right.

After listening to some of his albums that's when we realised Devin would be prefect for this song. He was one of the artists who couldn't come to the studio, most of the artists could. We had to trust he knew what to do as we supplied the track and backing, he did all of the vocal arrangements.

I remember the look on our faces when we got it back, one of the happiest moments as the guy totally made it his. That was the big lesson from this record, in that Frank Sinatra never wrote any of these songs, not a lick, not a melody.

But what he did do was make those his and made it his, so you believed every lyric he sang. Devin Townsend did this on this version and you can see online Devin Townsend kicks Frank Sinatra's ass all over 'New York New York'.

Do you have an idea in your head who you want to sing a particular song? Or do you see who is available, or do people come to you?

All of the above but mainly we try to concoct what the style of the song we want and make a list of who we want to sing it.

We came up with the 'Summer Wind' arrangement we thought Geoff Tate, here was somebody who could totally song this tune and be recognisable from the beginning and to be hold those notes.

We sent it too him, he usually likes to think about things and take his time responding but he came back to me straight away saying 'That is an insane arrangement, I have to sing that song.'

I wanted to see people who were excited to put their stamp on these songs as we were. To do the Frankenstein job and make them into something new. I love it, I would put a track on and people would say what the heck is that? It's 'Fly Me To The Moon'!

Funny you should mention that track. I am a big Cheap Trick fan and you wouldn't know it was Robin Zander, as his vocal style is very different.

We kind of pushed him. We had a good weapon between Devin Townsend and Glenn Hughes. Whenever there was an issue with a couple of guys who sang good but we played there songs and they'd realise good is not even close enough.

We'd say to them you haven't made the song yours yet. Once they heard that they really went out and sang their balls off!

I remember seeing Glenn Hughes at Wendy Dio's New Year's Eve party and him saying to me 'So I hear you terrorised everybody with my vocal I hear'. (Laughs) All the guys called him up saying we heard what you did with 'I've Got You Under My Skin' we had to go and change our performance.

'Witchcraft' with Tim 'Ripper' Owens is the most metal song and you wouldn't even know it was a song sung previously by Sinatra.

That was a song was not on the original list as you couldn't say it was one of his biggest hits but the lyric meant it was a song to be hammered.

We finally figured out Ripper Owens was the one to do the hammering! To me that track really came out amazing – the huge power chords, the way the orchestration sits in there. One of my favourite pieces and one of my favourite singers.

The one song rock fans may know if they don't know Sinatra is 'That's Life', made famous by Dave Lee Roth. How hard was it for Jani Laine to cover this one as many rock fans may thinks it's a Dave Lee Roth song.

Jani had come to the studio and had done things with us previously. He's a tremendously talented guy, given a bad rap by being in a band that really is not as good as he is.

I love them all but Jani Laine is extremely talented. At the time he was having a bunch of personal problems and asked specifically if he could sing that song.

It was perfect as we wanted him. If someone's life was in turmoil they would really bring themselves into the song like Frank did and that was the goal.

Ripper he totally did, Glenn Hughes, a couple of the other guys needed prodding. I had to get the cattle prod out a couple of times but the end results your hearing are worth it.

I have seen online comments saying Frank must be spinning in his grave but I didn't see that, I saw Cole Porter and other great songwriters standing their like the apparitions at the end of 'Star Wars '- Yoda, Darth Vader – watching the celebration that was what we saw. We know Frank hated rock music stylistically.

The label were like 'what?' when we pitched this album. But we said its not going to be cookie monsters but guys that can sing. They were happy to hear that.