Customer Reviews

Forever Blue

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4 star:		(10)
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I've been a Chris Isaak fan for over a decade or so, and I'd say that "Forever Blue" is undoubtedly his best album. "Baja Sessions," "Heart Shaped World" and "San Francisco Days" are amazing (and his other albums are really quality too), but "Forever Blue" stands head and shoulders above them all. Every song on it is top notch, the songs on the album fit very well together thematically, and there's a great range of material on it.

"Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" opens the record with a gritty guitar line. Up next is "Somebody's Crying" which is a sweet sounding pop tune, but one that actually relays a tale of heartbreak. "Go Walking Down There" is probably the most aggressive song Isaac's ever written and finds him railing against someone that broke his heart and the song has a hypnotic, driving beat. The title track "Forever Blue" is a quiet ditty with guitar and the lightest percussion. It is the ultimate mopey breakup song. This is the song I would always put on repeat when I'd split up with somebody and it helped get me through some tough times. "Goin' Nowhere" is a sarcastic tune that finds him over his grief and is actually funny because he's just ripping on this girl.

The album incorporates driving rock, quiet ditties, country-esque steel guitar and a host of other great things. This is the ultimate breakup record. It will lift you up when things have gone splitsville. More importantly, its Chris Isaak at his musical finest.

I own all of Chris Isaak's albums (and some non-album tracks). I have come to consider Forever Blue to be Chris's true masterpiece. Not only are there no bad songs, every song is a heartbroken gem, full of wonderful hooks and sung with emotional power. This is one heck of an album. Isaak wrote this one right after the break-up with his girlfriend, and sometimes depression brings out the best music.

The band is excellent throughout, silky smooth on the ballads and absolutely smoking on the faster tunes such as "Go Walking Down There."

I enjoy all of Isaak's albums, but Forever Blue is the one I keep coming back to the most. Some of his other albums have songs that, while never actually "bad" songs, annoy me at times: "Voodoo" on Silvertone, "Wild Love" on his self-titled album, "In The Heat Of The Jungle" on Heart-Shaped World, "Round and Round" on San Francisco Days, "Like The Way She Moves" on Speak Of The Devil. Not so with Forever Blue. This is one album I enjoy thoroughly from beginning to end. (Baja Sessions also comes in at a very close second.)

Anyway, just buy it! This is the perfect introduction to Isaak's work.

Forever Blue continues Chris Isaak's streak of making winning retro-rock albums. This album doesn't vary from any of his previous releases, but who cares. Mr. Isaak and his band, Silvertone, are a well oiled machine and Forever Blue is a polished, high quality release. "Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing" is a raunchy rocker that simmers and comes to an explosive boil. "Somebody's Crying" is a jangling rocker while "Graduation Day" is a spooky, haunting tune. "Go Walking Down There" is another pounding and driving number. The title track is a soft lullaby and is one of the best vocals performances of his career. If you like Chris Isaak, then Forever Blue is a must have and if you're not a fan, then this is a great introduction to his work.

Chris Isaak's explorations of heartbreak and the misery we inflict upon each other reach a peak in "Forever Blue." Whatever you're feeling bad about, listening to "Forever Blue" will take the edge off, leaving you feeling safe in the knowledge that someone else has got it worse. Isaak's soaring vocals and deceptively complex guitar work conspire to engage the listener in the spiritual, emotional and personal demon hunts that make up the bulk of the tracks on the album.

The opening track, "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing," demonstrates the range of Isaak's voice. Beginning with verses delivered in rapid-fire monotone, Isaak's voice soars in the chorus, with Isaak singing "feel like crying" in a voice that transforms in an instant from a disconsolate wail to a scream of near-incoherent rage that sounds like he feels more like putting a fist through a wall than crying. Isaak captures sorrow, rage and confusion unforgettably, in less than three minutes.

The more radio-friendly "Somebody's Crying," evokes the surf/rockabilly fusion that is Isaak's trademark, and captures the central theme of the album--dishonesty. In each of the tracks, somebody's lying about something--and it's usually the narrator lying to himself. Isaak is deft wordsmith, able to delineate subtle shades of meaning and complex emotions in simple melodies and in a very short period of time. Not one of the songs on "Forever Blue" is more than four minutes long, and not a minute is wasted.

"I Believe" is definitely the most complex track on the album, both musically and lyrically. In the lines, "I believe the angels listen, God hears us pray/ I believe in a beautiful day/ I believe it's going to work out okay. /But not for you. /And not for me," Isaak returns to the theme of narcissism and the notion that, somehow, the world has it in for the narrator, and, by extension, the listener. The disconsolate lyrics are delivered against a driving, almost peppy tune that enhances the sense of isolation and loneliness delivered in the words. Isaak's words and music constantly belie each other throughout the album, driving home the message that love--good or bad--is always complicated.

"Forever Blue" is essential listening, and a vital part of any album collection.

I bought "Forever Blue" after reading the reviews here and was not disappointed. It's one of the few albums I listen to straight through. There are no bad tracks! Some songs are more mellow than others, but all are good and very listenable.

'Somebody's Crying' was the big single; I enjoy it, but my favorites are Graduation Day, Go Walking Down There and Shadows in a Mirror.

The band is great; it sounds like they're playing just for you. The musical style is simple, charming, nostalgic. Chris' voice is earnest and intimate, smooth, but achy, and when he sings (in Shadows in a Mirror), "Oh, and I, I still need your love/I can't see my life, darling, without you" it's like he's Orbison, only better.

This is my only Isaak album, and I hesitate to buy one of his others only because I'm afraid he couldn't make a better one than this.

Over the years, I have come to realize that Forever Blue is Chris Isaak's true claim to fame. Where "Heart Shaped World" delivered sporadic flickers of brilliance, this album offers a consistent thrust of great music, ranging from the heart wrenching rockabilly of "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing," "Go Walking Down There" and the rollicking "Goin' Nowhere" to the eerie whisper of ballads (an NOBODY does ballads like Isaak) like "Graduation Day," Shadows In A Mirror" and "Don't Leave Me On My own." This album is unique in that it is the perfect compliment to rainy days, but also a great soundtrack to a few long, sunny hours at the beach. Isaak dug up the prism of emotions within him and explored every color on this record. It is simply one hell of an album, and Isaak will have a nightmare of a time if he thinks that he can top it. At this point in his career, he can only explore and perfect different musical directions.

Following his mainstream sucess with 'Wicked Game' Chris Isaac released 'Forever Blue' to conflicting reviews from critics who compared this unfairly to Wicked Game.

Let me put this to you straight, if you loved Wicked game and i know no one who didnt then Forever Blue is in the same mould , arguably better.

2 of the most moving songs I have ever heard are on this album and even though 90% of the soongs are excellent its worth having alone just for 'Graduation Day' and 'Changed Your Mind' , Isaac is not the only star he has fantastic support from his band 'Silvertone' they are responsible for the haunting guitars and instrumentals which leaves you feeling chilled out and uplifted.... If you love love songs and moving lyrics with beautiful background music then you'll truly love this, if however you want something more UPBEAT of Isaacs then go for 'San Francisco Days' or 'Baja Sessions'.

If none of the above I know a great self help club for the Musically deprived.

"Forever Blue" is one of my all time favorite Chris Issak CD's. (and, I can speak to them all...my CD collection proves it) And, this one certainly rises above some of the others. With hits such as "somebody's crying" and "baby did a bad thing", I think others will tune into his music, but there's so much more to him than those few songs. This CD is packed with classic Issak songs that make your heart melt. He's smooth, intense, sexy and so talented. The band is amazing and there isn't a flaw to be found. Without a doubt, this is a CD for all fans of Chris Issak.

Out of all Isaak's discs, this is the most lovelorn of them all. Written in a postbreak-up period, the hurt of "Forever Blue" is oozing out of every strained note, the angered stutter of "Bad Bad Thing," and the parting glance during "The End Of Everything." Even the sweetly sarcastic note to his girlfriend in the disc tray feeds into the heartbreak of this album.

Like most of Isaak's music, the sound is rich in retro and thick with reverb. It doesn't vary much from "Chris Isaak" or "Heart Shaped World" other than it feels a lot more personal this time. It invests the songs with a bit more emotion than usual, and did make a bona-fide classic out of "Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing." And in Chris Isaak's heart shaped heartbreak world, that is a good thing.

I've enjoyed a few Chris Isaak albums, from his debut, to "Heart Shaped World", but this is his best front to back. It's very consistent, from the mood, to the quality of the songs. Some of the better tracks here are "Somebody's Crying", "Graduation Day", "Things Go Wrong", and "Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing", which became popular years later. "I Believe" is a good one too, as well as the great closer "The End Of Everything". It's hard not to make comparisons to "Orbison" and "The King", I mean, he does sound like "Roy", and looks and style wise, he is the modern day "Elvis". Just without the popularity. Maybe he'll release a "Greatest Hits" soon. Until then it's "Forever Blue".