Chris Isaak begins his third decade as one of the most distinctive recording artistsand the epitome of modern coolwith his first career-spanning retrospective. Best Of Chris Isaak CD features every hit, led by "Wicked Game," and including many fan favorites such as "Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing," plus four previously unreleased tracks: an acoustic "Forever Blue," a cover of Cheap Tricks "I Want You To Want Me" and two new Isaak-penned songs, "King Without A Castle" and "Lets Have A Party." The CD+DVD package adds a DVD of 20 videos, including a half dozen songs not on the CD. Chris Isaak has done a good good thing.
Product details
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer
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No
Product Dimensions
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6.25 x 4.55 x 0.5 inches; 1 Pounds
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I'm a latecomer to the music of Chris Isaak. Sure, I saw the video for "Wicked game" and thought it was good, but I never bought any albums until about a year ago. While going through a break up, I was seeking out music to drown my sorrow, and was given the suggestion to check out Isaak. I bought one album, and after a couple of listenings, went back and bought three more. I swear, he was writing about my particular situation in several songs. For those that wish to know that they are not alone when feeling the pain of unrequited love, or if you feel that you were "done wrong" by your girl, these are your songs. Besides the subject matter, it doesn't hurt that the band can actually play, and Isaak can actually sing. In a world of manufactured "stars", it is nice to know that some musicians can actually do music.
As for the DVD part of this combo set, it is very well done. Technically, it is basic 2.0 stereo, which was a bit of a let down in a world of 5.1 surround sound, but this is not a limitation. I played the disc in 2.0 and it sounded pretty good. I then set my receiver to Dolby Pro-Logic II, and the sound got even better. It might not be true 5.1, but the music engulfed me and was very balanced from all of the speakers. In short, as I said, the rendering is not a limitation for listening enjoyment. One very unusual thing for a music DVD is the inclusion of Isaak's commentary for each song. I thought this might be some ego driven thing, but no. Chris Isaak is very funny. He has a dry, self-depreciating style of humor that is devoid of ego. The music alone is great, but the commentary is also terrific. Besides the commentary during the songs, also check out the "preamble", where Isaak very cleverly makes light of the production value. While watching very low tech pencil drawings of Isaak and his band in the studio, hear Issak's voice saying, "we were going to use film, and then hand puppets, then they gave me this pencil." And his request to the viewer about to watch the videos which span many years, "While watching the videos, see if you can see when in out career we became bitter." Funny stuff in the context of the visual.
The bottom line, this is a fine "get to know Chris Isaak" set for the uninitiated, and for fans, a chance to hear and watch the music from this talented group. You might also find, as I have, that he is also a very funny guy.
Amazon often writes me and says they won't post a particular review as it doesn't fall within their guidelines. They offer zero clue what the perceived problem was. They will not communicate further and refuse a valid review. I simply waste time writing reviews for Amazon. Amazon behaves like a dictatorship asking for free speech then repressing it.
That being said, your product is just peachy. It works as advertised. I will likely buy it again. I will recommend it to all my associates. There you Amazon, I hope this falls within your criteria for the reviews you beg me to write for you for free.
I love Wicked Game so much I got the new collection for a better sound quality. I like Voodoo and that one is missing, I would have replaced Blue Spanish sky with Voodoo because it is a little sad for me. I never heard of King Without A Castle, but it is right up there with Wicked Game and I love it as well. Instrumental version of Wicked Game is missing, but I didn't like it because you could still hear the vocals slightly. I like the fanmade instrumental on youtube, but it would be nice to have an official instrumental. Never really got into the albums, being a headbanger, but this song King Without A Castle is great, I'll have to pick up some albums in the future.
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