Chris Isaak’s crackling yodels and reverberated surf guitar brought a sold-out audience to their feet last year at Carmel’s Sunset Center. At the center of it all was the singer-songwriter’s biggest hit – possibly one of the biggest hits of the ’90s – the steamy and cinematic “Wicked Game.”
When Isaak takes the stage Friday at the Golden State Theatre, you can expect a dose of “Wicked Game.” But this time, it’ll be surrounded by the musician’s first batch of new material in over five years. These new songs are off the 59-year-old’s recently released 13th record, First Comes the Night, which captures Isaak’s first experience recording in Nashville. It also marks Isaak’s first leap into a world beyond his quintessential blend of rockabilly retro and vintage surf. There’s a Jerry Lee Lewis piano-rock foot-stomper “Insects,” a vibrant country two-step “Every Night I Miss You More” and even a spicy Latin-flavored party tune “Don’t Break My Heart.”
This freshness is the result of the songwriting machine that is Nashville; Isaak participated in writing sessions with top Nashville songwriters Gordie Sampson, James Slater and Natalie Hemby, who have scribed hits for folks like Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Martina McBride. Isaak also cozied up with Nashville’s slew of masterful country music technicians. Dave Cobb, who’s known for his work with Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell, produced a pair of tracks, while Paul Worley (Dixie Chicks and Lady Antebellum) produced seven.
After finishing the album, Isaac told USA Today that “the record could have been recorded anywhere, but it was recorded in Nashville because Nashville’s the best place to make a record.”
Isaak says that while he was in Nashville all he did was make music and eat barbecue. The only reason he wouldn’t move there, he adds: his mom is in California and he has to take out the garbage once a week.
In addition to working with some of Music City’s top talent, Isaak also brought on his longtime producer Mark Needham to produce a few tracks in Los Angeles.
CHRIS ISAAK 8pm Friday, Dec. 11. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $49-$104. 649-1070, www.goldenstatetheatre.com
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