First Comes the Night
Chris Isaak
(Vanguard)
Three stars
Chris Isaak's latest album, First Comes the Night, delivers another full flight of songs directly out of the Roy Orbison songbook.
Isaak’s croon is extra smooth, while the tracks are laced with twangy guitar work and surf rock-tinged melancholy.
You’ve heard all this before, of course, because this is what Isaak has been doing for two decades. That’s not to say it is necessarily a bad thing – and the singer is probably the coolest cat in the past 20 years to explore the painful side of love.
The title track is about his broken heart. Please Don't Call, with its steady backbeat and lonesome guitar, is in the same vein. And when he sings in Perfect Lover that "I stand alone again/ I've lost my perfect lover," you get the idea.
But Isaak sounds as good as ever, and for his dedicated fan base, this release will hit the mark just fine.
Moreover, Isaak's airtight backing band, Silvertone, help to salvage a few tracks, such as the morbid Down in Flames, in which he wryly explores the deaths of the rich and famous.
artslife@thenational.ae
