Chris Isaak, Beyond The Sun (Rhino) *** (From York Press)

Chris Isaak, Beyond The Sun (Rhino) ***

11:13am Friday 3rd February 2012 in CD reviews By Julian Cole

THE best Chris Isaak songs combine soaring vocals with a hint of menace, such as on Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing. It’s a shame he didn’t drop a spoonful of that sour milk into this respectful soup of songs associated with Sun Studio of Memphis.

Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis are resurrected and the versions are very faithful, which is part of the problem. Why do we need to hear Ring Of Fire, Walk The Line, It’s Now Or Never or Oh, Pretty Woman again unless it is to shake them up? Isaak’s versions are a pleasure, but it seems a pointless pleasure, high-class karaoke more or less.

Only two songs really come to life, Miss Pearl, originally sung by the almost-forgotten Jimmy Wages, and the new composition, Live It Up, a lively pastiche. As for Great Balls Of Fire, somebody seems to have called the fire brigade and put out the flames.