Chris Isaak San Francisco Days CD

Personnel: Chris Isaak (vocals, guitar); James Calvin Wilsey, Danny Gatton (guitar); Tom Brumley (steel guitar); Jimmy Pugh (Hammond B-3 organ); Rowland Salley (bass, vocals); Kenney Dale Johnson (drums, vocals); Jim Keltner (drums); Johnny Reno, Prairie Prince, Frank Martin, Jeff Watson, Christine Wall, Cynthia Lloyd, Joni Haastrup, Ron Thompson, Kenny Aronoff, Rick Knoch, Mia Rose Antonelli, Poplar Haines.
Personnel: Chris Isaak (vocals, guitar); Danny Gatton (guitar).
Recording information: Dave Wellhausen Studio; Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA.
On the follow-up to his breakthrough album HEART SHAPED WORLD, Chris Isaak continued with his dusky, Sun Records-influenced sound, while expanding his horizons just a bit. Despite the self-consciously retro album cover (everything down to the typeface suggests that it might have been released in the 1960s), Isaak doesn't merely replicate the feel of romantic ballads from bygone rock & roll eras; rather, he updates them for the '90s with very subtle touches of jazz, funk, and blues boogie.
But none of this is to say Isaak is experimenting wildly. SAN FRANCISCO DAYS still channels Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison, updating the smoke-filled sound of twangy country ballads and laid-back, electric guitar-driven tunes from the '60s with pristine, high-end production. The combination is a winner, thanks in large part to Isaak's rich, knee-weakening croon, which is well showcased throughout. With its strong batch of songs, SAN FRANCISCO DAYS is in some ways an even better listen than HEART SHAPED WORLD.
Having found himself with a fluke hit single thanks to "Wicked Game," Isaak's next move was interesting enough -- namely, for a long while, nothing. Heart Shaped World's follow-up came four years later, after Nirvana and Dr. Dre rewrote the musical rules for what turned out to be the rest of the '90s. As a result, San Francisco Days more than any of Isaak's earlier albums seemed more timeless, more enjoyably out of place, than before, an effect heightened by the intentionally '60s-styled cover art and design, right down to the listing of the song titles on the front. But while the emphasis on the surface was traditionalism and continuity, in fact, San Francisco Days was the most quietly experimental collection Isaak had yet recorded, wedding his clean and classic approach, backed by his ever-reliable trio and as always produced by Erik Jacobsen, with a variety of newer musical touches and quirkier arrangements. Thus the barrelhouse piano toward the end of the swooning title track or the quietly sassy female backing vocals on "Can't Do a Thing to Stop This" and "Move Along," not to mention the dark rumble of feedback mixed with fuzzy rhythm box (!) that provides the core of "Round N' Round," the vocal growl at the end a surprising touch. The work of guest Jimmy Pugh on Hammond organ on various tracks is also noteworthy, adding some quietly funky smoke to the proceedings. This certainly doesn't describe the whole album, and those won over by "Wicked Game" and its crystalline vision of smoldering appeal and emotional sucker punch will find much to love with the deceptively gentle lope of "Two Hearts" and the slow, stripped-down "Waiting." There are also plenty of good-time numbers well suited to Isaak and company's sly style, like "Beautiful Homes," while a concluding cover of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man" wraps things up on a fine high note. ~ Ned RaggettRolling Stone (5/13/93, p.104) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Features Isaak's loveliest singing--from a low whisper to a full-throated cry, like Roy Orbison strolling down Market Street...a stunning record...These songs are swollen with real characters and real stories..."
Entertainment Weekly (4/16/93, p.52) - "...The music is as well crafted as rich Corinthian leather..." - Rating: B-
Q (5/93, p.96) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...full of irresistable pop songs laced with a curious, almost ironic, melancholy..."
Musician (5/93, p.90) - "...Isaak's ascent may have been fueled by a combination of retro-cool and sleepy-eyed sensuality, but what carries this album is the music, pure and simple..."