Chris Isaak: Always Got Tonight

For such an enduring figure, Chris Isaak remains tough to pin down. A survivor of an '80s new-traditionalist-rock movement that never quite took root, he's become something of a man out of time, continually polishing a classic sound even as general interest continues to drift away from the early days of rock 'n' roll. At the same time, Isaak seldom sounds less than contemporary. Though his hits can be counted on one hand, he continues to serve as a specter of what good popular music could sound like. The new Always Got Tonight is Isaak's follow-up to 1998's dispiriting Speak Of The Devil, which was seemingly intended as a last grab at the big brass ring, but found Isaak at his most brazenly commercial. (He brought in Diane Warren to co-write a song, and trimmed off much of the personality that his past work with longtime backing band Silvertone had more or less guaranteed.) Since then, Isaak seems to have resigned himself to a life of semi-stardom, even allowing that status to become the central joke in Showtime's charming sitcom The Chris Isaak Show. But semi-stardom suits him. A fine return to form, Tonight offers a relaxed set of moody songs about love, cheating, heartbreak, and other venerable topics, all delivered with passionate effortlessness. Ballads have become his trademark, and he doesn't shy away from them here. "Life Will Go On" breathes new life into its titular cliché, while "I See You Everywhere" recalls the haunted landscapes of Isaak's 1995 masterpiece Forever Blue. While his latest only occasionally summons the emotional demons of that album, that may be just as well, particularly given his handling of up-tempo numbers like "American Boy" (The Chris Isaak Show's theme song) and "Let Me Down Easy," a should-be hit if ever there was one. Isaak may never find a comfortable niche, but as long as his work remains this winning, niches can wait.