Box Of Birds, A

OX OF BIRDS, the Church's twelfth album, is a collection of covers. The Church puts its all into these tracks, originated by the likes of Alex Harvey, the Monkees, Iggy Pop, Hawkwind, and others, and, though remaining fairly faithful to the originals, it manages to infuse each one with its own particular touch.
Standouts include: George Harrison's "It's All Too Much" (also including lyrical nods to a couple of other songs), which gets a vital, uptempo run-through, complete with peals of feedback; a wonderful reading of Ultravox's "Hiroshima Mon Amour", that simultaneously recalls the glory days of Euro-pop and New Wave, while retaining the Church's own psychedelic leanings; Television's "Friction", which provides Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes with an excellent opportunity to pit their twin guitar interplay against that of one of their primary influences; and an epic and reverential take on Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer", a song that the band has long performed live. More than just an entertaining peek at the Church's influences, BOX OF BIRDS is more than worthy of the band's vast catalogue.|