The Church - A Box Of Birds
Review by John Houdi
A Box of Birds, the eighth studio album by Australian rock band The Church, is a collection of covers that showcases the band's versatility and musicianship. The album features 12 tracks, each a reinterpretation of a classic song, ranging from The Beatles' "It's All Too Much" to The Byrds' "Eight Miles High."
The album opens with a psychedelic version of David Bowie's "All the Young Dudes," which sets the tone for the rest of the record. The band's signature dreamy sound is evident throughout, with lush harmonies and intricate guitar work. The standout track is their cover of The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb," which transforms the original into a haunting, melancholic ballad.
Other notable tracks include their take on Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl," which features a driving rhythm section and soaring guitar solos, and a stripped-down version of The Monkees' "Porpoise Song," which showcases the band's vocal harmonies.
Table of Contents
Download
Filename: the-church-a-box-of-birds.rar- MP3 size: 52 mb
- FLAC size: 599.3 mb
Tracks
| Track | Duration | Preview |
|---|---|---|
| The Endless Sea | 4:33 | |
| Decadence | 9:14 | |
| Cortez The Killer | 11:08 | |
| Friction | 5:11 | |
| All the Young Dudes | 4:10 | |
| The Porpoise Song | 4:28 | |
| The Faith Healer | 7:35 | |
| Its All Too Much | 6:10 | |
| Hiroshima Mon Amour | 4:27 | |
| It's All Too Much | 6:10 | |
| Silver Machine | 4:57 | |
| All The Young Dudes | 4:10 | |
| Cortez the Killer | 11:8 |
Video
The Church - All The Young Dudes (Mott the Hoople cover)
The Church - Decadence
Images
Catalog Numbers
- THI 57073.2
- 0112682ERE, COOKCD183
- TND 0188
- TND 188
- COOKCD 183
- D 32123
Labels
- Thirsty Ear
- Edel, Cooking Vinyl
- True North
- Cooking Vinyl
- Festival Records, Cooking Vinyl
Listen online
- écouter en ligne
- online anhören
- ascolta in linea
- lyssna på nätet
- escuchar en línea
- online luisteren
- kuunnella verkossa
- ouvir online
- lytte på nettet
Formats
- CD
- Album
- Cassette
- Promo
Companies
| Role | Company |
|---|---|
| Phonographic Copyright (p) | Cooking Vinyl |
| Copyright (c) | Cooking Vinyl |
| Distributed By | Edel Music Argentina S.A. |
| Licensed From | Cooking Vinyl |
| Published By | Sony Music Publishing |
| Recorded At | The Blue Room, Gävle |
| Mixed At | The Blue Room, Gävle |
| Mastered At | Node Recording Services |
Credits
| Role | Credit |
|---|---|
| Mastered By | Jay |
| Mixed By | Dave Trump, Tim Powles |
| Performer | Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, Steven Kilbey, Tim Powles |
| Recorded By | Dave Trump, Tim Powles |
| Artwork | Amanda Prince, Christopher Price, David Duchow, Jeff Westover, Mark Ezra Merrell, Marty Deveney, Peter Sucheki, Sven Stefan Karlsson |
| Artwork By | Marty Deveney, David Duchow, Sven Stefan Karlsson, Mark Ezra Merrell, Christopher Price, Amanda Prince, Peter Sucheki, Jeff Westover |
Notes
- A Collection of covers. Original Artists:
- 1: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
- 2: The Beatles
- 3: Ultravox
- 4: The Monkees
- 5: Kevin Ayers
- 6: Iggy Pop
- 7: Television
- 8: Mott The Hoople
- 9: Hawkwind
- 10: Neil Young
- 8 Different sleeves were designed by fans and are included in the release booklet
- A collection of covers.
- Recorded and mixed @ The Blue Room Studios, Gävle, Sweden except tracks 8 & 9 recorded @ Karmic Hit Studios, Sydney, Australia.
- 8 different sleeves were designed by fans and are included in the release booklet.
- ℗ 1999 Cooking Vinyl © 1999 Cooking Vinyl
- Made in England.
- Track 1: Published by Sony Music Publishing. Original artist: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
- Track 2: Published by Northern Songs Ltd. Original artist: The Beatles
- Track 3: Published by Island Music Ltd. Original artist: Ultravox
- Track 4: Published by Screen Gems - EMI Music Ltd. Original artist: The Monkees
- Track 5: Published by Warner Chappell Music Ltd. Original artist: Kevin Ayers
- Track 6: Published by EMI Virgin Music Limited. Original artist: Iggy Pop
- Track 7: Published by Point Music Limited. Original artist: Television
- Track 8: Published by Chrysalis Music Ltd. / EMI Music Publishing Ltd. / RZO Music Ltd. Original artist: Mott The Hoople
- Track 9: Published by EMI United Partnership Ltd. Original artist: Hawkwind
- Track 10: Published by Warner Chappell Music Ltd. Original artist: Neil Young
- 8 Different sleeves were designed by fans and are included in the release booklet.
- Recorded and mixed @ The Blue Room Studios, Gävle, Sweden except for All The Young Dudes and Silver Machine recorded @ Karmic Hit Studios, Sydney, Australia
- Mastered @ Node Mastering, London
Barcodes
- Barcode: 700435707320
- Barcode: 4 029758 126820
- Barcode: 7 11297 15832 8
- Label Code: LC:7180
- Matrix / Runout: COOKCD183 SP 64564 01
- Mastering SID Code: IFPI LV81
- Mould SID Code: IFPI KA01
About The Church
Australian rock band formed in Canberra in 1980.
Name Vars
- Church
Members
- Steve Kilbey
- Jay Dee Daugherty
- Richard Ploog
- Peter Koppes
- Marty Willson-Piper
- Tim Powles
- Ian Haug
- Nick Ward
- Jeffrey Cain
- Ashley Naylor
Summary by John Houdi
Comments
Another great album by The Church. This is an album of covers. "Box Of Birds" came out in 1999 and I've been playing it ever since. If you enjoy psychedelic music you'll love this album. Guitar wizardry. Gorgeous vocals and perfect drums by Tim Powles. Another thing I want to mention is Steve Kilbey's bass playing. This man should get an award. If you could isolate his bass playing on a few albums by The Church or even his solo albums you would agree. Check him out on a good pair of headphones... Please. I do admit I do not know how many songs on this album Mr. Kilbey is playing bass on. But I do believe he plays bass on most songs. Anyway, this really is a GREAT album to me. It has personality. It's very well thought out. Songs weave in and out of each other with the precision only The Church can do. For me most of the songs are obscure enough to want to know more about them and their original artist's. I'm always skeptical when someone covers a Beatle song. I usually cringe and turn red for the people trying to cover the Masters of popular music. BUT their are a few that have done it and The Church have with "It's All Too Much". I'm only going to say 'Check it out" cause you'll most likely agree. I could go on and on about every song and in detail try to convey what my ears hear but I really suggest buying this album. Put on a set of headphones. Fire up a pleasure stick (Or something) and let The Church envelope your mind with seductive beautiful intelligent Rock N Roll from the Psychedelic world. ... P.S, If you listen to "Cortez The Killer" without your mouth falling open with amazement, you really need to see a hearing specialist. ...PPS, The front cover art is composed of fan's art. About 8 lucky folks got their art as an album on this album. It's a foldout cover so if you get tired of one you can just flip it over to a different cover. Quite cool if you ask me :)
Why has Steve Kilbey not delved into a second career as a writer of film scores. He would be so brilliant at that. Or has he and I just missed it?
Hey. I I love your stuff. Just enthralled. I should be doing this kind of thing myself. But you are doing it. So much better than doing a lazy screensaver image with this timeless music. I came close only with a thunderstorm capture - slowdive, sugar for the pill. On my channel. Look see if interested. Again, thanks.
Superlative work Mr Ricker. ??
Great album. I think this was about the time when Steve got busted for H in America. Also, which came first BoB or Hologram? I get my years confused!!
one of the greatest Church songs ever, even though this is cover.
Great rendition from an equally great album, this was Kevin Ayers' tribute to Nico.
I was into the church throughout the ninties and then I discovered kevin ayers...
Tis
Different take on the song, not sure if I like it or not. I am glad to know that some active major musical people have shown that Ayers has had a positive influence on them.
The diversity of The Church explained by their unique covers LP. This is 2nd best after Hiroshima Mon Amour.
...not a bad version; a bit more whimsy & intent would have been the cookie... I like the subtle build-up; -a definitive *smack* into the outro, then a steady hard-driving repetition for a while before the decay would have had a better effect on me though... ...but then, everybody's a critic, aren't we? ;D ...may as well argue religion in a bar. (heh)
Lovely images as always, I always forget how long this song is in fact ~ just lost track of time~ that's how nice it is!
Originally by Mott the Hoople, not Ziggy & The Spiders.
Vale David Bowie RIP
sweet god. one of my favorite bands ever (been a fan since 1985) covering one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite artists. phew!
es una canción de David Bowie
Great version (and album). Thanks for sharing it!