Rating: NNN
Take one listen to (or look at) Chris Isaak and it won’t come as a shock that he counts the recordings that came out of Sam Phillips’s legendary Sun Studio as his biggest musical influence. While Isaak’s music has often paid homage to 50s rock ‘n’ roll and country, his new album, recorded at the still-standing Sun Studio, combines songs by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and other legends with a few originals that fit seamlessly with the classics.
He shines on the ballads, especially those by Presley, with whom he shares a vocal style. Things go a bit downhill on rockers Great Balls Of Fire and Pretty Woman, which he approaches with a gentleness neither Jerry Lee Lewis nor Roy Orbison brought to the originals. These are faithful renderings, not reinterpretations, so the lack of fire in the vocals is detrimental. It’s unlikely that anyone will prefer the covers to the originals, but Isaak’s fans will find plenty to enjoy in this rock ‘n’ roll love letter to a bygone era.
Top track: She’s Not You
