Chris Isaak’s Still Got It

Chris Isaak’s still got it, and that seems to be what he is trying to convey on his new record First Comes the Night.  Isaak hasn’t released a record of originals in six years, so it is refreshing to hear that smooth, masculine voice again, deep and warm like always. The Elvis Presley comparisons have always run rampant in conversations about Isaak, and it doesn’t hurt that he still has the dreamy looks to back it up, even at age 59. But with Night, it is clearer than ever that he is blatantly channeling the King of Rock and Roll.

Night runs the gamut between rockabilly and pop, with Latin accents and a bit of twang, and Isaak moves through the transitions with ease. For the most Elvis-sounding tracks on the disc, look to the doo-wop sweetness of “Love the Way You Kiss Me,” the old fashioned “Every Night I Miss You More,” and the sultry “Down in Flames.” The latter evokes images of Presley in his white cape and bell-bottoms, onstage in Vegas.

Isaak goes dark a handful of times on Night, including on the smoky “Reverie” and the chaotic, bluesy “Insects.” And it is not hard to imagine many of these songs making appearances in a black-and-blue-lit dive club, somewhere deep within a Tarantino film.

He can also still woo the pants off nearly anyone, “Wicked Game”-style. “Perfect Lover” is classic retro Isaak — all swooning drama — while “Kiss Me Like a Stranger” is a sexily mysterious tango.

But most of Night is a big ol’ romp of a party. “Don’t Break My Heart,” “Running Down the Road,” “Dry Your Eyes,” and “Baby What You Want Me to Do?” all remind us that Isaak is first and foremost a master of simple, straight-forward rock and roll that hits the spot, no matter what.