Chris Isaak - San Francisco Days

MINE

Dreamy, dreamy Chris Isaak.  The only bad thing I can say about this album is its cheesy K-Tel front cover, with all the songs listed on it.  I mean, urgh!  But the songs are - dreamy.  That gorgeous voice, beautiful, country-style songs, and the only time I've ever enjoyed a Neil Diamond song.  No, wait - I loved the Urge Overkill version of Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon in Pulp Fiction.  (YourZ sez: what about the Ups & Downs version of Solitary Man - always liked that one).

I've seen him live once, when he wore that amazing mirrored suit (how heavy must that thing be?)  And I'm fairly certain my knickers melted when he jumped into the audience, to stand on the back of the seats ONE ROW IN FRONT OF ME to serenade the screaming girls.  Hubba, hubba.

My only other Isaak story comes second hand - following a visit to the South Australian wine country.  I met up with a publicist who looks after artists during their annual Under the Stars concert.  She told me he's the nicest star she's ever met, no trouble at all and only too happy to speak to any number of journos, shake hands with fans, and so on.  One of the guys with her was telling Isaak his wife had just had a baby and was devastated she couldn't attend - so he got the man to phone her and chatted for a good five minutes.  What a guy.  The publicist said that was in extreme contrast to the Australian artist supporting him, who acted like a complete diva.  I'm naming no names, but she was popular on a kid's talent show and has achieved success in France.

Anyway, I love this album - my first Isaak - and look forward to listening to it more regularly.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Oh, he's so nice, isn't he?  Kind of makes me wonder if he has a big closet full of a secrets yet to be revealed or that maybe he's gay.  (Before I get inundated with death threats, please note I don't believe this myself). 

For someone who has been around as long as Chris has and given just how pervasive the cult of celebrity has become, he is amazingly untarnished.  I find it particularly refreshing he has been able to keep his private life very much to himself.  Of course, there is plenty of speculation about him (mostly on forums most likely administered by fan clubs), but for the most part, that's all there is.

He has the sort of voice that makes all the girls swoon and the reputation for being a gentleman and a funny and genuinely nice bloke.  He has carved an enduring career out for himself playing country-tinged old school rock, the kind of music that continues to be popular regardless of current trends.  To top this off, he is over 50 years old but still looks 20 years younger, the bastard!

Frankly, this music has never been my cup of tea (I prefer strong coffee with a dash of diethylamide for effect - look it up, kiddies).  I find it all a bit safe and polished for my liking.  Still, it isn't so bad it makes me wanna retch.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://www.chrisisaak.com/

In our collection we also have Forever Blue

James Hunter - The Hard Way

MINE

Listening to The Hard Way is a bit like dropping into an episode of Mad Men.  James Hunter effortlessly recreates the feeling of early-60s smooth American white-people's music - although sometimes with a hint of dangerous rock-and-or-roll.  It just makes me want to reach for a pitcher of martinis and light up a Lucky Strike.

Just how good is that show, anyway?  And what is it about American TV in the Noughties that it reinvented itself with these OMG scripts and fuck-off acting?  Right now I'm panting for the DVD of the latest series - too long to wait for it to be screened in the Antipodes.  But I'm also enjoying Dexter, as mentioned in our sidebars, and we just gulped down the entire four series of The Wire available here, plus the sheer excellence of Breaking Bad.... and we're still waiting for more spin-off goodness of Battlestar Galactica after the series ended (sob).

It used to be US television was far inferior to the British product.  But now YourZ and Mine(self) spend time nudging each other over the excellent sets and furnishings in Mad Men (we're both Eames-era junkies) - or gripping our seats in the rollercoaster writing of Breaking Bad - or checking our watches to see if we can squeeze in just one more episode of The Wire before bedtime.

But all this isn't telling you how I feel about this album.  And I'm not as passionate about it as I am about Mad Men.  I guess I don't mind it - but frankly I'd rather listen to some recordings of music from back in the day - like my Stax Collection - rather than new music sounding like it was recorded back in the day.  Oh, but that doesn't include Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, who can play at any party I throw from now till whenever.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN


YOURZ

I'm a sucker.  Just ask Mine.  She probably has countless examples of why I am, of this I have no doubt.  But at least I know what I am.  This can go part way to help alleviating losing great amounts of hard earned dollars to snake oil salesmen or con artists trying to sell me national monuments.  But put a pretty girl behind a counter who knows how to use her, erm, charms, and I've already paid for whatever she's trying to sell.

Such was the case when I walked into my local music store and the young, firm beauty behind the counter was sashying around while listening to The Hard Way.  In other circumstances, things might have gotten embarrassingly hard indeed.  Thank goodness for air conditioning and a modicum of self-control, let me tell ya.  The end result was predictable though; I walked out of the store with this CD in my hot and somewhat sweaty palms.

James Hunter is a Englishman who sounds like a lot of the old soul and RnB singers (the first, true and only RnB as far as I'm concerned).  He sounds like a lot of the music my parents loved and listened to when I was growing up, music I find weirdly comforting, given I'm generally a rock pig.  Hunter is talented, unpretentious and in possession of a very fine soul voice.  But what really sets him apart is he not only writes all of his own songs but he plays a mean guitar too.  The authenticity is undeniable and he has garnered fans in people such as Willy Nelson, Chris Isaak and Van Morrison, as well as nominations for a number of the more prestigious music awards.

Personally, I like the ska flavour of Carina, the rockin' Don't Do Me No Favours (the yelps he pulls off in this are pure joy) and the bossanova-flavoured She's Got A Way.  But it's the last track, Strange But True, which comprises only Hunter's vocals and an acoustic guitar that stays with me long after this recording finishes. 

As Mine said, this music would have no problem finding a home in the soundtrack of Mad Men.  Sure, it might have been done before, but James Hunter has a way of making it his own and wow, daddio, what a way it is.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP, shake up a dry martini and shimmy 'till dawn

For more information: http://www.jameshuntermusic.com/