Vanguard Records

By Greg Petty

Chris Isaak finally got to record and produce the music album he has always wanted to do and the result is the time travelling Beyond the Sun. Isaak grew up in a family that loved the music of Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. These performers laid the foundation for what rock n roll was to become. Isaak recounts that he almost played the grooves of all those 45’s and LP’s and when they skipped he just put a penny or two on the needle arm of the suitcase record player. Remember those? I think many of us had one and it was my prized possession when my older sisters handed it down to me – it even had detachable speakers! I was also the beneficiary of my sisters’ sharing the songs of these same performers with me and teaching me how to dance.

The one thing that all these great artists from the past have is that they were discovered and managed by the legendary Sam Phillips of Sun Records in Memphis. The other part of Isaaks’ tribute on this album is that they went to the Sun studio (yes it is still there) to play and record this album. I think Johnny, Elvis and Jerry Lee were there with them during the recording. Cowboy Jack Clement, famous for his studio musicianship with many of Sam’s performers and for recording Lewis’ Whole Lot of Shakin Goin On, plays on this album as does the consummate professional Waddy Wachtel.

Isaak relates that the songs of these performers, and the support of his parents, were instrumental in helping him understand that he really could do what he loved most of all – play music and not have a “real” job doing something else. So while you may think of Chris Isaak as the suave, accomplished ballad rocker he is famous for being, Beyond the Sun immediately lets you know these musicians are his true roots and inspirations.

Chris “channels” both Johnny Cash and Elvis and songs by them are the first two songs on the album. Cash jumps out at you when you hear Isakk’s vocals on Ring of Fire and his guitar work along with Hershel Yatovitz licks brings Cash and Luther Perkins back to life. I was also pleasantly surprised, until I thought about his previous vocal work on his own songs, at how well he can sing exactly like Elvis on Trying to Get to You and It’s Now or Never. I think you will also enjoy his version of Jerry Lee’s Great Ball of Fire. If you love these legends from the past, give Isaak a chance to prove to you that their musical influences are alive and well.