Chris Isaak

Isaak avoided the sophomore slump by building on his brooding retro vibe while also capturing more of his band's energy and bite. The results earned alternative radio airplay with "You Owe Me Some Kind of Love" and "Heart Full of Soul" (which helped the album dent the pop charts). The cinematic "Blue Hotel" and the country-noir "Waiting for the Rain to Fall" are standouts.

On the covers of both his auspicious 1985 debut, Silvertone, and this worthy follow-up,
Chris Isaak resembles an Eighties version of Elvis Presley, but play either one of these
records and you'll find that he is in fact the musical descendant of a more somber rock
pioneer – Roy Orbison. Chris Isaak is one tortured, talented guy; his songs of epic longing
and tragic heartbreak are beautifully crafted and for the most part surprisingly... More >

For me, the almost genteel formalism and romanticism of this dreamy foray into rockabilly's dark, hurtful, sensitive side is epitomized by the fiddle-as-violin that adds its sad color deep behind "Fade Away." Don't get me wrong, it sounds good. Whole damn thing sounds good. (Grade - B)