The Daily Deep Cut

The editors at JamsBio like to think of ourselves as music fans first, not critics, and that’s the sensibility we strive for at JamsBio and that we seek in other sites as well. That’s why we’re so jazzed about Damn Fine Day, a site that each day profiles a deep album cut that’s been overlooked, but deserves a place in everybody’s collection. In the name of spreading the gospel about great music, we present “The Daily Deep Cut,” where we add our two cents about the songs featured on Damn Fine Day. Once you read our unique take, we’ll send you over to Damn Fine Day so you can stream the full track and download it if you like. Sometimes we might even suggest another deep track from the same album or present some other novel twist on what their hawking.

Chris Isaak’s self-titled second record from 1986 was a revelation to me, a voracious 15 year old music fan always on the hunt for new sounds. In this case it was an old sound delivered by the smoothest dude I had ever heard. Of course my discovery of Isaak, which was initially based more on his image than his music, led me back to the 1950s and the original purveyors of his brand of reverb-laden crooning rockabilly – Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and most of all, Roy Orbison. I wasn’t much of a retro-ist at the time, mostly keeping an ear out for the latest sounds of the day. But with one spin of Isaak’s “Blue Hotel” I officially became “retro,” diving deep into Elvis’ Sun Records catalog, digging up Orbison’s classic Monument singles, and becoming hip to the wonders of early Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Charlie Feathers, and Wanda Jackson.

Soon after Chris Isaak was released, I won tickets to see him live at a nightclub in Houston that was housed in an old bank building. I was so excited! The only problem was that you had to be 21 to enter. I called the club and begged them to let me attend. They agreed, but only if my parents came with me. Being the music fans they are, my folks obliged and the rest is history. My love for Chris Isaak only intensified after that night and I remain a huge fan. His silky croon and lush reverb-soaked songs still give me chills. And my love for all the artists Isaak turned me on to continues to burn strong as well.

Before heading over to Damn Fine Day to hear the Chris Isaak tune that turned me on the classics, listen below to his cover the iconic Roy Orbison track, “Only the Lonely.” It’s guaranteed to give you goosebumps.

“Only the Lonely” by Chris Isaak (from The Baja Sessions, 1996)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

No Comments »