Isaak's heart is in 'San Francisco'

April Release Looks At Love, Romance

Billboard
April 3, 1993
By Melinda Newman

Abstract: Singer Chris Isaak will release his new album 'San FranciscoDays' on Apr 13, 1993 under Reprise/WB. San Francisco Days contains romantic songs such as 'Two Hearts,' 'New Girl,' and Neil Diamond's 'Solitary Man,' which were set to ringing guitars in upbeat and lonely tunes supporting Isaak's expressive vocals. The album is Isaak's follow-up to his 1989 record 'Heart Shaped World,' which was certified platinum in sales.

NEW YORK--"I love the idea of people who are misfits, people who have their own fashion: They're wearing the wrong color bellbottoms, their girlfriend has the wrong hairstyle, but the guy's going, 'Dig me. I'm with Marilyn Monroe,' and she's going, 'I'm with Tony Curtis.'"

The romantic notion of people who don't quite fit in yet still find happiness runs throughout Chris Isaak's new album, "San Francisco Days."

On "Two Hearts," he breaks into falsetto when declaring his love for someone whose aching heart needs another to help lift it; on "New Girl," he recalls seeing an old friend on the street, and sings: "The last time I saw him, he was laughing, she was by his side."

Though there are optimistic lyrics on "San Francisco Days," by no means does every song have a happy ending. There are ringing guitars that go from upbeat to unbearably lonesome while supporting Isaak's expressive vocals, which move from cautious joy to haunting heartbreak within seconds.

And, should anyone question whether Isaak's days as a loner are behind him, he ends the album with the definitive cover of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man."

"Anybody who rhymes 'paper ring' with 'part-time thing' is technically a genius," Isaak says. "Plus, just the fact that I did a Neil Diamond song is going to make my mom have more respect for me."

The follow-up to 1989's platinum-certified "Heart Shaped World," which spawned the giant hit "Wicked Game," is due April 13 from Reprise/WB.

"Wicked Game" and its sensual video paved the way for many imitators, especially in television advertising. However, Isaak missed all of the excitement. "At the height of when all that was happening, I was in that weird isolation called a tour bus, watching Foghorn Leghorn cartoons with a bunch of other itinerant musicians," he recalls. "I heard people were using it, but I knew I hadn't licensed it, so it was kind of nice to have someone stealing from me because I've stolen so much from other people."

Isaak conjures up images of "The Wizard Of Oz" as he describes his routine for writing and recording "San Francisco Days." "I'd ride my old Schwinn to the studio, but instead of a little dog in the basket, I'd have my guitar."

He reunited with longtime producer Erik Jacobson to record the project. "Erik is a total partner," Isaak says. "He's very responsible for the sound in a lot of ways. He makes sure the songs are in tune, on time, and not muddy at the bottom."

In addition to working with his band, the Silvertones, Isaak also brought in a few studio guests to play with him, including guitar whiz Danny Gatton. "I looked over at him one day and he's taking his own guitars apart. He's like the guys who have the hottest cars in town, they're thinking, 'It's perfect, but I can get a little more out of this.' He's a hot-rod guitar player and he can't slow down. It's like the guitar is built for 10 fingers and two hands, and he's got three hands and 17 fingers."

Also featured are Johnny Reno on sax and Jimmy Pugh on a B3 organ that crops up all over the place. "The organ is the king of instruments," Isaak says reverentially. "Instead of allowing the organ to just be in the background, I brought it in first and then I'd be like, 'Christ, why do I have to put a guitar with it?'"

Isaak finished the album last September. "I left the next morning at 6 a.m. for Katmandu to film Bernardo Bertolucci's "Little Buddha", and called the label and told them I left the tape in a red box on the shelf."

Once filming was completed, Isaak returned in time to direct the video for first single "Can't Do A Thing To Stop Me." "I directed it not because I'm talented, but because I work cheap and my schedule is always open for me.You call directors and they'll say they can do it next March. I was really under the gun this time."

While Isaak takes an active interest in how Reprise handles his record, he pretty much leaves the noncreative decisions to the label. "One way I work well with a record company is I never want them to tell me, 'We think you should sing like this' and I don't tell them that a certain song should be the single for the 17-to-20-year-old market in Kansas. I'm kind of harebrained when it comes to picking singles."

Next up is a long tour that begins this summer. Though Isaak's loopy sense of humor often has the audience cracking up between the songs, he takes performing very seriously. "My work is done before I get out there. I rehearse the band, I never miss soundchecks--we do them long and hard--I make every one get dressed and when we go out there, I believe in being totally prepared. It's like once we hit the stage, the work's all done; now we can play." With the next several months already mapped out, Isaak is thinking ahead to what he'll record next. "Though I don't think I'd do a country album next, I'm sure I'm going to eventually do one. Erik and I are always talking about what country songs we like and the band is always doing Jim Reeves and Lefty Frizell tunes," he says. "I'd also like to make a Hawaiian record, but it's not like what I'm doing isn't expressing myself because all those other things are already in there. We call it pop and that allows me to kind of mix it all up."

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