Romantic Renditions Chris Isaak’s New Album ‘Baja Sessions’ Is A Quiet, Gentle Record Full Of Sweet Love Songs

Chris Isaak, a handsome guy with an upturned nose and a rockabilly haircut, has suffered the inevitable comparisons to Elvis Presley. Some folks have skewered Isaak for that, but much of the criticism has been ridiculously unfair. Isaak explores a rockabilly sound favored by the early Elvis, but also has a dreamy, haunting voice that makes him more of a Roy Orbison for the ‘90s.

Isaak, who scored a runaway hit in “Wicked Game” a few years ago, is back with a new, unplugged-style album, “Baja Sessions,” which shows his subdued, romantic side. It debuted at No. 33 on Billboard’s album chart.

“The original title was ‘I Want to Sex You Up,”’ he says. “Hey, I’m kidding. I never felt comfortable with sex. But romance I feel comfortable about. I’ve always wanted to make a quiet, gentle record, something that has sweet romantic love songs.”

Isaak drew his inspiration from a mellow surfing vacation in Mexico. “You get a station wagon, three guys and some Skippy peanut butter, and all of a sudden you have a surfing vacation.”

Asked when that vacation was, he adds, “About two haircuts ago.” (Meaning two months to us other earthlings.)

Quips aside, Isaak has fashioned one of the prettiest records of the year. Most of the songs have sculpted acoustic melodies (and sometimes slide guitar overlays) with drums often played with brushes. There are gorgeous originals such as “Back on Your Side” (heard on Isaak’s “MTV Unplugged” last year), the wistful “Waiting for My Lucky Day” and the blues-moaning “I Wonder.”

The songs evolved organically, to say the least. “We’d bring our acoustic guitars on the beach and jam between surfing and walking around,” says Isaak, who hails from Stockton, Calif. “We tried to borrow a kick drum because we only brought down a snare. But the drum had been sitting in the rain behind a bar and had wasps in it.”

The recording was not done in the Baja (“the equipment is a little shaky there”), but the result captures that take-it-easy feel. Isaak nods to Orbison by covering his “Only the Lonely,” giving it an inspired new arrangement.

“I didn’t want to do it with the full orchestration. Roy has the perfect version of that; and nobody is going to sing it any better than he did. The arrangement I have is really stripped down. It’s just me and acoustic guitars.”

While music remains Isaak’s focus, he continues to pursue a film career. He appeared in “Little Buddha” and has a couple of new roles, though he laughs when he mentions them.

“If people want to spend $16 to see two films, they can see me for two minutes,” he says. “I’m in Tom Hanks’ ‘That Thing You Do.’ I play a recording engineer who really doesn’t like music. In ‘Grace of My Heart,’ I play a deadbeat lover of someone who scrounges off a woman. Hey, I’m being typecast!”