Hear Chris Isaak’s Moody ‘Please Don’t Call’ From His New Nashville LP
“Jake Owen? Who is Jake Owen?” asks Chris Isaak, seated in a corner of Nashville’s Hermitage Hotel, sipping a bottle of water underneath an ornate cathedral ceiling that’s painted like a clouded sky. It’s early afternoon, and he’s just handed his trusty sidekick — a fluffy white Maltese terrier named Rodney — over to his manager, and has a few hours to go before he’s due to arrive at the evening’s festivities: the ACM Honors, hosted by Owen.
“Is he a good country singer?” Isaak asks Rolling Stone Country. “He must be, because he’s hosting the show.” Later, the 59-year-old artist will change out of his dark slacks and polyester-looking Oxford into a dark suit to honor songwriting squad Felice and Boudleaux Bryant — a legendary team to some, a veritable “who?” to others. Isaak, of course, falls into the former category. He might not be able to identify contemporary country stars, but he can faithfully croon through a cover of “Bye Bye Love,” written by the duo and recorded by the Everly Brothers, with a timeless and moody reverence, as Rodney waits patiently in the wings.
“I couldn’t tell you who is in country music today,” he says, his famous crystal-blue eyes a little bloodshot from his recent travels — a tour and trips Down Under to serve as a judge for The X Factor’s Australian version, have left him a little ragged. His hair however, shaped into a mature pompadour, shows no sign of fatigue. “I guess it’s a good thing, though, because when I go to these awards things, people always have to tell me: ‘He’s somebody important.’ Well, I don’t know. What do I know? My kind of country stuff is Hank Williams and Ernest Tubbs and Hank Snow. Hardcore, old-fashioned.”
Isaak is hardcore and old-fashioned too, with a dose of quirky modernity. It’s what’s made songs like “Wicked Game” (and its smoldering, love-on-the-beach video) so iconic that it’s hard to see him and not expect him to be covered in grains of sand — or Helena Christensen, for that matter. His ties to country have always been strong, pulled even tighter on his forthcoming LP, First Comes the Night, his first collection of original material since the release of Mr. Lucky in 2009. Not only was it recorded in Nashville, but the project was produced by two of the town’s most revered song wizards from opposite sides of the spectrum: Paul Worley (Dixie Chicks, Lady Antebellum) and Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell). He also connected with several local songwriters, including Natalie Hemby, who helped to craft “Please Don’t Call,” premiering exclusively on Rolling Stone Country.