Heart Shaped World

About

It was only a matter of time before Chris Isaak found a mass audience for his moody revisions of pre-Beatles pop/rock. 1989’s <i>Heart Shaped World</i> became his breakthrough album thanks to the tormented charm of its single “Wicked Game.” This goosebump-inducing midtempo tune provided a concentrated dose of Isaak’s masochistic artistry, brought to life by his deep murmurs and keening moans, and those intrigued by “Wicked Game” discovered a wealth of similarly heartache-laden tracks on its parent album. Isaak reaffirms his mastery of concise, emotion-drenched songwriting on tracks like “Nothing’s Changed” and “Don’t Make Me Dream About You.” His fractured romanticism gets a Latin twist on “Blue Spanish Sky” and crosses into the shadows of savagery on “In The Heat Of The Jungle.” And he sheds some of his gloom to rock a little on a cover of Bo Diddley’s “Diddley’s Daddy.” <i>Heart Shaped World</i> marks a further refinement of Isaak’s self-created role as rock’s king of tormented love.

via Apple Music

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