Beyond The Sun

Cover albums can be a tricky thing, especially when the singer is particularly known for their ability as a songwriter. I think this is why Chris Isaak's last (partial) album of cover tunes, 1996's BAJA SESSIONS, is still my least favorite Isaak disc...it just doesn't represent him the way his other albums do. Needless to say, I was a little worried when I found out that he was doing a full album's worth (or two...I went with the deluxe two disc set!) of Sun studio classics....after recent cover projects from the likes of Cyndi Lauper and Huey Lewis and the News, a visit to Karaokeville was a real concern. Well, I'm happy to report that nothing could be furthr from that end result...BEYOND THE SUN is an absolute winner on every level! Not only does the album feature Isaak's best vocals to date, but he manages to honor these classics while still making them his own. (In fact, if you didn't know better, you would swear many of these songs were Isaak originals!). Since there's so much material to cover, and I don't want to short change anything, I'm going to do something different with this reveiw...rather than going deep into each track, I'm just going to do bullet points on each one, highlighting the things that really jumped out at me each time. Let's go! "Ring Of Fire" ~ Opening seconds are close to a Johnny Cash rip-off, but by song's end Isaak rights things, comfortably wearing this Cash classic. "Trying To Get To You" ~ A totally boppin' lead vocal, killer guitars, SO smooth! "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" ~ Romantic, yet spirited. Great arrangement. (And I'll tell you right now..watch out for piano player Scotty Plunkett...trust me, you've been warned!). "Great Balls Of Fire" ~ Covers of this song usually sound SO cheesy, but Isaak just NAILS it! Loose, lively, relaxed...the track's AMAZING! One of the disc's best vocal, it's rivaled only by Plunkett's playing. Seriously...he almost steals the show right out from under Isaak, both here and elsewhere throughout the disc. Abso-frickin'-lutely brilliant! "Can't Help Falling In Love" ~ At first you think this is nothing more than a standard Elvis imitation, then you realize....Isaak is just that good. Nuff said. "Dixie Fried" ~ My favorite track. I've wanted Isaak to do a rock album ~ no ballads, just rock! ~ for years, and this track gives a hint of what that album could sound like. A musical party, Isaak's vocal is fun, fresh and fiesty, dancing over the rollicking rockabilly arrangement. (Once again, Plunkett just shines!). Love, love, LOVE it!!! "How's The World Treating You" ~ The song just doesn't fit Isaak, but a nice enough vocal, coupled with spot-on instrumentation. "It's Now Or Never" ~ Once again, the "cheese" factor is always a threat with this song, but Isaak brilliantly sidesteps the dairy and goes straight for romantic/dreamy/hypnotic. And that last note?!? MAN, O MAN!!! "Miss Pearl" ~ A kickin' rocker. Great vocal, even better guitar and organ! "Live It Up" ~ One of two originals. High energy, great vibe, relaxed, assured lead vocal. VERY nice. "I Walk The Line" ~ Earnest and honest, Isaak just grabs this baby by the tail and doesn't let go. Yes, it will always be one of Johnny's iconic signature songs, but right now? Right here? It's all Isaak's. "So Long I'm Gone" ~ There's just something about this cut that seems...shallow...and phoned in. One of the album's few weak tracks. "She's Not You" ~ This cut could have been on the radio 50-60 years ago...in other words, Isaak knocks this one out of the park! Romantic, seductive, infectious...a real winner. "My Happiness" ~ I keep going back and forth on this one...at times I think it's a bit calculated (the hiccup in the vocal), and I think it would have benefited from a stronger harmony vocal, but other listens..I like it. We'll call this one a draw for now! Disc 2 kicks off with: "My Baby Left Me" ~ Arrangement, vocal, instrumentation...they all shine here. Sheer perfection. "Oh, Pretty Woman" ~ Another dangerous song to cover, but Isaak aces it. He doesn't overdo the growl, he doesn't try to be Roy...he just enjoys himself and the song. The result? By pulling things back and underplaying it (vs. Overplaying it, which most people do when covering this song!), it fits him like a glove! "Doin' The Best I Can" ~ Doo-wop heaven. Killer lead vocal, angelic backing vocals. Sweet! "Your True Love" ~ Not bad, but not amazing. Just sort of...O.K. "Crazy Arms" ~ Sort of has the same cookie cutter vibe as "Your True Love", but this track is saved by Plunkett's piano. "Lovely Loretta" ~ The second original, it's not as strong as "Live It Up", but I love the whistling and the little "Yeah!" "Everybody's In The Mood" ~ Another favorite. Totally swingin', everything just gels here...great boogie-woogie arrangement, smooth lead vocal, great harmony vocals, nice little touches (sweet harmonica!). Much like Rick Vito's excellent BAND BOX BOOGIE album, this cut has a classic feeling to it, but it also feels new and exciting. One of the prime examples of why BEYOND THE SUN works so well. "I'm Going To Sit Right Down And Cry" ~ Nice groove, but the vocal veers too close to Presleyland. "Love Me" ~ Another track that's a little too over the top. Love the backing vocals, though! "Doncha Think It's Time" ~ Has a nice lilt to it. Smooth, stylish, sublime. "That Lucky Old Sun" ~ The perfect album closer. Relaxed and bluesy, yet from the heart. Nice. Very, very nice. All in all, I have to say that BEYOND THE SUN is definiutely one of 2011's most pleasant surprises. Between this gem and 2009's equally strong MR. LUCKY, I can't wait to see what Chris Isaak does next. Rock on, Chris! (As with all my reviews, I'm docking the disc half a star, not for not including the lyrics as usual, but because I would have liked to have known why Isaak chose each of the songs. With the liner notes as extensive as they are, that's the one area we seem a little shortchanged!).

I'm just going to be honest here -I have listened to Chris Isaak over the years but never really got into his music (although I loved Wicked Game once upon a time - am sick of it now, though). He's very talented and incredibly handsome. His smooth, velvety voice (when he sings softly) and retro style is what makes his music worth listening to, but some of his past music videos are a real turn off to me because they're just too sexually charged for my liking.I didn't really keep up with his music because of that, so I guess a couple of years must have gone by since the release of this album before I heard about it - and when I did, I checked out some interviews that were posted on youtube before deciding to buy this - and even then, it sat in my Amazon cart for weeks before I went ahead and actually made the purchase.When I played it, I was pleasantly surprised! Wow!He performs these classic songs in the spirit and style with which they were written - and he does a beautiful job! I could not believe my ears!THIS is what he was cut out to do, and it is - by far - his best work ever. These songs fit him like a glove - and with his retro style (which I really like, by the way) it's a perfect match all around. The way he just breathed life into these old classics while preserving their essence is remarkable. I think the original artists, who are no longer with us, are smiling down on him right now, and I'm betting that the ones who are still with us are rather impressed.I'd also like to state that this is an album that I'm not hesitant to let my kids listen to - my 8 year old is suddenly a big Chris Isaak fan now - her favorite songs on the album are Crazy Arms and Ring of Fire. So there you have it - a terrific work of art by Chris Isaak that is suitable for the whole family.Highly recommended.

Wow and wow again. What an amazing album of great rock n' roll classics whose souls live on through Chris Isaak and his dedicated band of musicians. Each song on here, well apart from track 10 which Chris Isaak wrote himself, are essential classics performed in their heyday by the likes of Roy Orbison ('Oh Pretty Woman'), Johnny Cash ('Ring of Fire' and 'I Walk the Line'), Jerry Lee Lewis ('Great Balls of Fire'), Elvis Presley ('Can't Help Falling In Love' and 'It's Now Or Never') and Carl Perkins ('Dixie Fried' and 'Your True Love') to name just a few of the artists who recorded in the famous Sun Studio, Memphis in the late 1950s early 1960s.Although Sun Studio was one of the recording studios used for this quite staggeringly beautiful and tremendous foot tapper of an album, four other studios were used as well for additional recording. Which ever way you look at it this is possibly Chris Isaak's finest piece of work he has ever done. What a wonderful achievement and his voice perfectly catches the mood and the bounce in all the songs he covers on here. The one he wrote 'Live It Up' is also pretty amazing and bouncy in its delivery.All in all then, this album is a brilliant and wonderful tribute to the great artists that walked through the main doors of Sun Studio in Memphis. All the tracks are the same length as the original ones when they did it all those years ago. I'm sure the above mentioned artists and the others whose tracks also feature on here will be listening to this album somewhere and tapping their feet along to the beat of this fantastic effort. Long live rock n' roll! Love it.

I bought this CD with a little trepidation, as I tended to agree with the BBC review - why buy this when you could listen to the originals. I am so glad I decided to have it. Chris must be the only artist who can make such a terrific job of redoing versions of the greats. Every song seems to so suit his voice, which has a tender quality to it, as well as the rock and roll quality. I am a big fan of Elvis and Roy Orbison and always avoided going to see tribute acts who usually murder the music. I saw Chris perform on british tv recently and was very impressed with him, never having heard of him before. So much so, I am going to see him in concert in Glasgow in October.My favourite tracks are "How's The World Treating You" - Chet Atkins, Doncha' Think It's Time" - Elvis Presley (never thought I would say this, but I think he sounds better than Elvis on this) and "That Lucky Old Sun". His musicians sound fantastic, especially the piano player. My only regret is that he did not include his version of Roy Orbison's "Only The Lonely" which is lovely. The Collector's edition is worth the extra for the additional tracks (28),love the retro black mini LP lookalike disc and the booklet,with lots of great photos. Sam Phillips would have loved "Beyond The Sun".

A brave move to record an album that features mainly covers of such well known classics. Also many have tried re-create the sound and "feel" of the Sun studios over the years with varying levels of success. (Even RCA struggled with Elvis' first session with them back in 56.) Added to this everyone with a passing interest in rock and roll and 50/60's pop will know most of these songs and there was always the danger of them being pale comparisons...or worse still stray into karaoke territory!. However this cd blows away all reservations from the off with a bright and breezy reading of Ring of Fire through a number of Presley, Perkins and Orbison tracks that deserve to be heard in their own right. Chris adds his own vocal style and approach that is faithful to the original but different enough to keep the listener interested. The use of one or two slightly less familiar songs such as Presleys I Forgot To Remember (taken slightly faster but with the same shuffle drum beat) add flavour to a really strong collection. Even on the really well known hits Isaacs never tries to sound like the originals with keys and arrangements tweaked to perfection to suit his own style. I did will him on to hit the high note at the end of Its Now or Never though!!...which he does without sounding strained.Overall a great album and a welcome return for a great artist paying and playing due respects to his own idols....and I suspect this will be the reason that most will pick up this CD

If you are expecting 'Blue Hotel' or 'Wicked Game' (or similar) go for 'the Best of...'Chris takes us away from his usual moody guitar sound to the world of Memphis, Tennessee - revisiting a heap of old classics from the fifties and sixties, including Messrs Orbison, Cash et al.The album is outstanding for a number of reasons: First, the musicianship and vocals are first class and secondly, the re-interpretations of these wonderful songs (some fifty years old now) is sympathetic and respectful.What a wonderful indulgence and beautiful offering.There seem to be three versions of the album. Go for the Collectors Edition for all 28 tracks - anything less is to sell yourself short.

A long-time fan of Chris Isaak, I discovered him during a dark time in my life, and his music mirrored my feelings at that time.Now in a happier place, I happened to hear a radio interview he gave about this new cd, and he was so enthused about his work. He too had been to dark places, and has come through them.The whole cd is covers of work which originated at the Sun Studio's, where Elvis first recorded.Chris puts his own inimitable style onto the tracks he's chosen, and I thought he's covered each one in a new way.If you are a fan of Chris Isaak's darker music, you may not like this, but I'd give it a try, it's well worth the money.