Chris Isaak is best known for his biggest hit of all time “Wicked Game.” The video alone is one of the best videos ever made for obvious reasons. While he has had some other hits over the years, he has never broken through with another major hit, but at the same time, he has maintained a strong following and has created some great songs over the years. One album that I feel is one of the best albums of all time is ‘Forever Blue’ with classic songs such as “Somebody’s Cryin'” and “Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing.” The following are what I feel are the 10 best songs of Chris Isaak’s career.
1. Go Walking Down There from the Album Forever Blue – I consider this song to be Chris Isaak’s best song to date. Unfortunately, it is not one of his best known songs and is not even included on his “Greatest Hits” CD. The song has an upbeat tempo and has a really catchy beat to it, the lyrics are just amazing. The song clocks in at just 2:50 so it is quite short, but the final 45 seconds are amazing. He really gets into the vocals and belts out the last few lines and how it breaking up with this girl has just torn him apart.
2. Somebody’s Cryin’ from the Album Forever Blue – This song is one of his more popular songs and for good reason. It has Isaak’s signature feel to it that include some higher notes along with smooth guitar work and a great beat. Once again, it feels like a happy song when you listen to the music, but they lyrics are just heart-breaking. A classic Chris Isaak track.
3. Wicked Game from the Album Heart-Shaped World – The song that made Chris Isaak famous, as well as super-model Helena Christensen. The video become one of the most popular videos ever and according to Wikipedia, has been voted #13 all-time in VH1’s all-time countdown as well as #73 in Rolling Stones all-time videos. If you haven’t seen the video, please click here and you will know what all the fuss is about.
4. Speak of the Devil from the Album Speak of the Devil – Another classic Chris Isaak song in which the rhythm of the song is upbeat and you want to dance to it, yet the lyrics are almost depressing. This song however also has a lot more guitar work on it along with a great solo. This is one of the few songs where the band really gets a chance to rock out.
5. American Boy from the Album Always Got Tonight – This song was also the theme song to the Showtime series ‘The Chris Isaak Show’ that featured Chris Isaak, his band as well as an irreverent look at the rock industry. It’s a little different from his other songs in that the lyrics are not nearly as sad, in fact, it is probably one of his most upbeat songs he has written. It’s a fun song and is also the ring tone that I have for my brother Darin, who sort of looks like Chris Isaak.
6. Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing from the Album Forever Blue – I always preferred this version over the one that was made for the movie Eyes Wide Shut. This version doesn’t have the heavy electric guitars at the beginning which I think lets the song build up a lot more and gives it more depth and impact. The climax however is still just as great and is a fantastic start to a great album.
7. Please from the Album Speak of the Devil – Just a typical good song from Chris Isaak. Good upbeat tempo along with some lyrics that look at the problems that he has had with some girl and how she’s killing him with all these questions.
8. Flying from the Album Speak of the Devil – Yes this is the third track from the Speak of the Devil CD, which is Isaak’s 2nd best album behind Forever Blue. This song doesn’t have quite the upbeat tempo, yet is not as sad and slow as some of his songs have been. It shows off his talent as a song-writer and vocalist.
9. Graduation Day from the Album Forever Blue – A very underrated song that I feel doesn’t get enough recognition, even from Chris Isaak fans. It is almost a driving song with a steady rim-shot by the drummer and some good guitar work that is not over-powering. It is in the background almost eerily so. Just a great song.
10. Forever Blue (Acoustic Version) from the Album Best of Chris Isaak – While the original is also quite good, I think this version deserves the last slot. Without the extra background music, the lyrics take full stage in this stripped-down version that is the essence of Chris Isaak. It is his lyrics and the sadness of them that are so powerful.
While most of these songs can be found the on the Greatest Hits album, if that is the only album you have, do yourself a favor and pick up Speak of the Devil and Forever Blue. While I didn’t include a lot of those songs in this review, those two albums are fantastic.
Wikipedia “Wicked Game”, Wikipedia.com
Chris Isaak “Wick Game”, Chrisisaak.com
Chris Isaak “Discography”, Chrisisaak.com
