Out of the Box

Why do musicians release cover albums? Sometimes they simply want to sing their favorite tunes (like Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs’ Under The Covers, for example). Other times it’s to cure writer’s block (just ask Mark Kozelek who has covered John Denver, AC/DC and Modest Mouse). All these reasons may apply to why power pop pioneer Dwight Twilley released Out of the Box — a collection of 20 covers — but by the last tune, a less trippy version of The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows,” it seems obvious that he mostly wanted to pay tribute to his influences (especially Beatles’ songs which pepper the album). Twilley tastefully sings within his limited range and fans will dig how he Twillifies each one of these classic staples, even if he sings “Secret Agent Man” to sound like “Secret Asian Man.”  His saucy take on T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” is worth the price of admission alone, as is the smokin’ rendition of Elvis’ “Little Sister.” And the best part? Somehow this all still sounds like late ‘70s/early ‘80s Twilley.