Rockabilly crooner Chris Isaak’s latest album is a 12-song, catchy lament on lost love, much like his previous records. Unlike those earlier offerings, the music is more of a letdown than what Isaak’s singing about. Many of the cuts are too slick, sounding as if they’d be more at home on a Tim McGraw record, and one can’t help but wonder if Isaak was more concerned with charting than with making a singer-songwriter album. While contemporary touches were present on his last album, Speak of the Devil, they did not get in the way of the songs as they sometimes do here. The title track is grittier than the rest of the album, but considering most of the album is melancholy, that isn’t saying much. “American Boy” is an annoying cousin to Alan Jackson’s “Gone Country,” except it sounds likes Isaak’s the one exploiting the genre this time. With different lyrics, this rocker could have been a winner. The guitar in “Let Me Down Easy” sounds like it was lifted from Sugar Ray. “Notice the Ring” falls flat.
What does work? Well, Isaak. The man is in fine voice throughout. Opener “One Day” pines with attitude. He lets lose his inner Orbison on tracks like the enjoyable “Cool Love” and “Worked It Out Wrong,” which highlight his admirable upper register. “Courthouse” hints at the country twang Isaak once openly sang with. Though Isaak has been treading the same territory for some time now, when he sticks with what he knows, it works. Production attempts at glossiness ruin his penchant for blue love songs. Perhaps the hands on the controls will know better next time, but give him credit for mixing it up a little.
— Dave Conklin
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