Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World (1989)

Isaak's third and breakthrough album, powered by the strength of the damn sexy Wicked Game, which was like nothing else on the radio in early 1991. Isaak croons like Orbison and is perfectly suited to moody balladry, but the attempts at roots rock here aren't that bad, they just don't measure up to the ballads. The songwriting is just okay, but I can't help loving the sound of the thing. Perfect for a late night summer car trip on the open road (I wonder where I got that idea?).

On a completely unrelated note, how great would a Chet Baker biopic have been if it had been filmed 25 years ago starring Isaak as Baker, directed by David Lynch??

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #7

Tracks: As you would expect, the dreamy Wicked Game is the star, but I also like the title track, Kings Of The Highway. Blue Spanish Sky (with a tasty, uncredited trumpet solo), and Nothing's Changed. The only skippable track is Forever Young.

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Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Christmas (2004)

Chris Isaak - Christmas (2004)

-in which Chris Isaak does his best to release an Elvis Presley Christmas album. Unfortunately, it sounds like 40 minutes of music for TV commercials for The Gap. In addition to Isaak's usual rockabilly, we get a little Farfisa ska, conjunto, Hawaiian slack key guitar, honky-tonk piano, and of course, moody ballads. This release is only for serious Isaak fanatics (that's not me).

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #109

Tracks: The only worthwhile tracks are Have Yourself A Merry Christmas and Let it Snow. Of the 16 tracks, 5 are originals by Isaak and they are quickly forgotten. Avoid at all costs: Pretty Paper, which sounds like something from The Lawrence Welk Show and the original Gotta Be Good which contains an inexplicable, disturbing Buster Poindexter imitation.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In the 1990's, I got in the habit of picking up 1 or 2 new Christmas CDs every year. That tradition continued until the purchase of this album. I just didn't want to take the gamble anymore.