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On the Shelf 160: Chris Isaak
Mar. 6th, 2016 11:38 amBecause I tend to ponder things, I think about how hard it is for a band to have that enduring hit single.
We can talk of very talented bands that did get that one single but seem improbably in time- bands like Soft Cell, the Cardigans, Chumbawamba, Devo and others were only helped by a series of circumstances to make their song big at the right time. Even many of the bands that are called the greatest ever only had a very briefest of time on the pop charts- Talking Heads, the Clash, the Cure, New Order, Depeche Mode, Public Enemy etc...
None of this is a big relevation, of course, but in today's radio environment, even the greatest of bands get pigeonholed. Bands with decades of big hits are bands that we only hear the same 5 or 10 songs- Zepplin, Dylan, the Stones, the Who, U2, Madonna, McCartney, Springsteen. I am not talking the amount of songs that their fans know or the amount of songs that were hits or what would make a "Best of" cut. I am talking about about what makes the radio in 2016.
So, Isaak is the 'Wicked Game' guy and though he seems an improbable star in terms of the style he performed, he has had a great career. Of course, I know he is more than a One Hit Wonder - "Baby did a bad thing" is pretty well known and there's a half dozen other songs that many people should know.
Besides being a great singles artist, Isaak was a good album artist as well. From 1989-1998, there's five albums that are fairly solid. On top of being someone who put out a lot of good singles and a wealth of album tracks, I will give Isaak one more credit- he put together an album that is near perfect end to end and one of the best of its time- which is Forever Blue.
We haven't heard much from Isaak lately, and truly his career aspirations have been fulfilled. He also acted, and had a hit show on Showtime for 2001-2004, during the rise in premium cable TV, but before the glory days of Netflix and "binge watching." Isaak's career as of late sounds like the work of someone who is riding off into the sunset- a Christmas album (2004), the comeback with duets with stars like Michelle Branch and Trisha Yearwood (2009) and a covers record/Sun Records tribute (2011).
Not that any of this is bad, but because people like me worry about such things, the question was 'would Isaak be relevant again'?
The good news is that (November 2015's) First Comes the Night is the type of album that he used to make. It is steeped in the 50s sound that he has held dear for so long. It rocks, it croons, and has the mix that his albums always had. The good news is that it is pretty good throughout. It's not as good as Forever Blue, which is fine, and it may not be better than some of those other classic Isaak albums, but it gets pretty close. In any case, it gives you the feeling he is back and thats definitely a good thing.
We can talk of very talented bands that did get that one single but seem improbably in time- bands like Soft Cell, the Cardigans, Chumbawamba, Devo and others were only helped by a series of circumstances to make their song big at the right time. Even many of the bands that are called the greatest ever only had a very briefest of time on the pop charts- Talking Heads, the Clash, the Cure, New Order, Depeche Mode, Public Enemy etc...
None of this is a big relevation, of course, but in today's radio environment, even the greatest of bands get pigeonholed. Bands with decades of big hits are bands that we only hear the same 5 or 10 songs- Zepplin, Dylan, the Stones, the Who, U2, Madonna, McCartney, Springsteen. I am not talking the amount of songs that their fans know or the amount of songs that were hits or what would make a "Best of" cut. I am talking about about what makes the radio in 2016.
So, Isaak is the 'Wicked Game' guy and though he seems an improbable star in terms of the style he performed, he has had a great career. Of course, I know he is more than a One Hit Wonder - "Baby did a bad thing" is pretty well known and there's a half dozen other songs that many people should know.
Besides being a great singles artist, Isaak was a good album artist as well. From 1989-1998, there's five albums that are fairly solid. On top of being someone who put out a lot of good singles and a wealth of album tracks, I will give Isaak one more credit- he put together an album that is near perfect end to end and one of the best of its time- which is Forever Blue.
We haven't heard much from Isaak lately, and truly his career aspirations have been fulfilled. He also acted, and had a hit show on Showtime for 2001-2004, during the rise in premium cable TV, but before the glory days of Netflix and "binge watching." Isaak's career as of late sounds like the work of someone who is riding off into the sunset- a Christmas album (2004), the comeback with duets with stars like Michelle Branch and Trisha Yearwood (2009) and a covers record/Sun Records tribute (2011).
Not that any of this is bad, but because people like me worry about such things, the question was 'would Isaak be relevant again'?
The good news is that (November 2015's) First Comes the Night is the type of album that he used to make. It is steeped in the 50s sound that he has held dear for so long. It rocks, it croons, and has the mix that his albums always had. The good news is that it is pretty good throughout. It's not as good as Forever Blue, which is fine, and it may not be better than some of those other classic Isaak albums, but it gets pretty close. In any case, it gives you the feeling he is back and thats definitely a good thing.
