Chris Isaak Puts On A Show

It's July 22 as I write this and I see some of you probably caught Chris Isaak at the Desert Diamond Casino on the 18th, because there are now waiting lists on all of his albums here at the Pima County Public Library. I was also at the show and wanted to share my review. This was my third time seeing Chris Isaak and his band, the first time being in 1991 at the county fairgrounds on a chilly night and the second time in 2011 at AVA on a very hot July night.

Chris Isaak: In Love Again

I still remember the first time I heard Chris Isaak, way back in 1990. I was working in the back room at

Main and the radio was turned on at low volume. I heard this haunting melody, this voice, and wondered, "Wow, what is that?" It was "Wicked Game", a song I'm sure most of you have heard. The video is also pretty famous (or infamous; I always like to say every American male of a certain age is familiar with the video!) I remember going to Zip's to pick up the cd that Wicked Game was on (Heart Shaped World), but they didn't have it. They did have the album that was released previous to Heart Shaped World, the self-titled Chris Isaak (1986). There are some great tracks on that one, including "Blue Hotel", "You Owe Me Some Kind of Love" (awesome video), "Lover's Game", and "Lie To Me". In some ways I think this album has held up better over the years than Heart Shaped World.

Here's my "I met Chris Isaak" story. "Wicked Game" was quickly becoming a huge single...

Return of LET'S GO RETRO

Retro: Definition: denoting something associated with or revived from the past: retro dressing ; retro fashion

Prepare to travel back in time with a few modern musicians. I'm looking for artists who embody and sing and play music in the spirit of yesteryear- from crooning lounge singers, jazz singers to rockabilly bop of the 50s.
Put on your poodle skirt and dust off your blue suede shoes!

Diana Krall recorded a Nat King Cole tribute album and records jazz music with the spirit of Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald in her soulful songs. She recently released the album "Glad Rag Doll" and has a large selection of music that will transport you back into time, in another era. Her popularity is recognized- two Grammy awards and 6 million albums sold. Her music sounds like you have walked into a lounge in the 1940's- at least, how I imagine it, or have seen it in movies and standard albums of yesteryear.

Main instruments: Piano. 

OMG! They broke up!

I'm writing this as the news of Justin Bieber's breakup with Selena Gomez is all over the news. By the time I finish writing this up they may have gotten back together, but in the meantime let's talk about some great breakup songs. (Or as one of my coworkers mentioned, "Hey, it's the holiday season...isn't January the peak time for breakups and divorces?  Happy Holidays!")

You can't talk about breakup songs without mentioning Chris Isaak. In this case, however, he may have written an entire breakup album.