Chris Isaak – Round ‘n’ Round

In 1993 Chris Iaasak released the album San Francisco Days. I’ve had this album playing at work, where I listen a lot. It is well-balanced and very likable. I picked this song for the guitar sound of James Wilsey, it’s a little different from his reverb playing because it has more crunch to it. He is the guitarist who played the guitar for Wicked Game and made it memorable with that dreamlike quality. 

San Francisco Days was his fourth studio album, was inspired by the city, and features some rock, blues, and his unique singing style. He is a guy that I know because of Wicked Game but like Greg Kihn, there are more things to like but the hits by him. He did have a hit on this album called Can’t Do a Thing (to Stop Me) that peaked at #7 on the Billboard Alternative Charts and #36 in the UK. I will post it above Round ‘n’ Round at the bottom.

When Chris was growing up he was influenced by 1950s rock and roll and country music. Two of the artists that influenced him were Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison. You can hear those two artists in his work, especially Orbison. He developed a unique singing style and he can be called a crooner. He released his first album, Silvertone, in 1985. He did get some critical acclaim but not much commercial success.  That all changed with this third album Heart Shaped World with the single Wicked Game which was featured in the David Lynch film Wild At Heart.

Chris Isaak on making San Francisco Days: “I kind of set out to make this one a little bit different, People did say that the other albums were very similar. But I’ve always felt like I had something legitimate to say with that style. Otherwise, it would be like a painter saying, ‘I already used blue in my early paintings, so I’m not using it anymore.’ Still, I always want to learn some new tricks.”

Round ‘n’ Round

Here we go round & round.
State your case and then sit down.
Tell me why you want to go,
I don’t love you anymore.

Here you go mad again.
Tell me that your just a friend.
Tell me something I don’t know.
I don’t love you anymore, I don’t love you anymore, yeah.

When I do go, I’ll let you know.
It might hurt you, but I don’t think so.

Here we go round & round.
State your case and then sit down.
Tell me why you want to go,
I don’t love you anymore, I don’t love you anymore, I don’t love you anymore.

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

42 thoughts on “Chris Isaak – Round ‘n’ Round”

  3. I love the whole package. The guitar, his voice, the songs. Just a great sound. There used to be a music store where I live that I used to frequent at least once a week. One day when I was browsing I overheard another customer describing the “Wicked Game” video to the clerk. She had no idea what he was talking about. So I went over, politely butted in, and told him the name of the singer. I guess I missed my calling.

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    1. Yes you did miss your calling. I do have some sympathy with him… it’s hard to describe that song…it’s so dreamlike. I really like this album though. He changed it up a bit for this.

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  5. The man is too whiny for me. It’s full of broken hearts and lovesickness. However, a few songs with real riffs and a successful ghost town atmosphere stand out from this all too tastefully presented sadness.

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    1. I’m glad you had it. I was really impressed. I really only knew the one song well. Like I said in the review…like Greg Kihn…there is more in there.

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      1. I got on his train for the second album. Been a fan since. He’s another one that carries the torch for the music I like. I remember seeing Silence of the Lambs at the theater. Who pops up on the screen for a couple scenes?Chris baby.

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      2. After I wrote this and lsitened to him more…he does have that Orbison/Elvis thing going on but not copying it at all…just that vibe and made it his own.
        That slipped my mind about him being an actor as well…he was in Twin Peaks as well.

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      4. Well CB you made me go to the google dictionary…I’ll have to remember Pugilist…Bailey got me on Twin Peaks after I got him to watch Eraserhead.

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    1. Phil, it does have that Gretch look but I’m not sure. I know he plays a Gibson 335 some but that is not this one I don’t believe.
      Oh yea…he has the hair!

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      1. My late friend and our lead guitar player had as many as 20 classic guitars. He had a Chet Atkins model Country Gentleman that was in perfect condition. He would bring it to a gig once in a while, or his Charlie Byrd hollow body Gibson, they both sounded beautiful.

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      3. I didn’t own a Gretch but wanted one. I got my Gibson 335 in 1965 and that was my one guitar, nothing came close. I did own a Rick 12, but couldn’t keep the little beast in tune for more than two songs.

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  12. Even though I think “Wicked Game” is a killer song with a great sound, it remains the only one I can name by Chris Isaac. For some reason, I never got around to exploring him. “Round ‘n’ Round” and “Can’t Do a Thing” sound pretty good. I totally agree his singing is reminiscent of Roy Orbison and Elvis – not bad influences to have!

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  14. Pingback: Chris Isaak – Round ‘n’ Round – MobsterTiger

  15. Thanks for the nice write-up on one of my favorite artists, as well as also acknowledging the remarkable talent of his first guitarist, Jimmy Wilsey. Unfortunately, Jimmy is not the guitarist on “Round and Round” – that’s all Chris Isaak. This is not easily found on the internet, but I remember an article years ago that documented that Chris played guitar exclusively on “Round and Round”, which is also why it doesn’t have much of that reverb and echo that Jimmy is so closely associated with. Chris’ sound has always been basically completely dry and a bit crunchy, and he dialed up the crunchiness on this track (played either on his Gretsch or Gibson ES-335), channeling old blues and rockabilly. The only track on the “San Francisco Day” that we know features Jimmy Wilsey is “Can’t Do a Thing (To Stop Me).” He may have played on some others, but it’s not obviously him on anything else.
    I hope that helps!

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    1. Oh ok thank you…sorry for that mistake because I didnt find that anywhere…I did another post on Jimmey Wilsey’s solo career. I forgot which song. I like Isaak alot but alss Wilsey’s guitar playing.

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      1. Thanks. I looked for that information online, and couldn’t find it anywhere, but I do have a VERY clear memory of reading it somewhere years ago, in some sort of a print publication. It stuck with me because it was so unexpected! Now I’m feeling very curious to find that info somewhere….. Anyway, that really shouldn’t detract from Jimmy’s genius. He was amazing. I actually got to meet him briefly in 2016, and he was a truly nice man. Such a tragic and sad ending for such a hugely talented guy….

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      2. Thank you again. I tell people…I dont’ mind being wrong if I can get something right. Maybe he was in the studio when Chris played the guitar and no one recorded it properly…well record it fact wise.

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      3. In case you have any interest in going a bit deeper on Jimmy Wilsey, there is a great biography of him published just a few years ago. According to that, Jimmy became quite bitter and resentful that he wasn’t given any writing credit for Wicked Game, which he felt he deserved due to his guitar hook being such a huge part of the track’s appeal and distinctiveness, and yet he did not see a dime from its massive success. As a result, as the recording sessions for the “San Francisco Days” album began, Jimmy was mostly a no-show, increasingly feeling alienated from Isaak, retreating into drugs, and planning on quitting. Whether he quit or was fired depends on whose story you believe. But it sounds like Jimmy was really not around very much at all during the recording of that album. The other two major guitarists that did play and were credited on the album were the rockabilly/jazz virtuoso Danny Gatton and Jeff Watson of Night Ranger, both heavy hitters. But to this day nobody knows who played what parts on that album, which is pretty frustrating, since there’s all sorts of great guitar playing, but it’s impossible to know who did it. Everybody really tapped into the “Chris Isaak (or more accurately, Jimmy Wilsey) Guitar Style and Sound”, and did a fantastic job. Anyway, this is the book:
        https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Wicked-Game-Guitarist-Calvin-Wilsey/dp/1735998540
        Oh, the story I remember hearing about “Round and Round” was told by possibly the producer or the engineer that worked on the record, who said that Chris’ manager (I think) came to the studio at some point and they played him what they had done so far, without divulging many details. When he heard “Round and Round,” the manager’s reaction was that that was the best playing he had ever heard from Jimmy – and according to that producer/engineer, that meant absolutely the world to Isaak since he played that entire guitar part on the track. He first started working with Jimmy by taking guitar lessons with him, while Isaak was the only guitarist in his early band, which led to him eventually inviting Jimmy to join his band, since Jimmy was obviously the better guitarist, and that way Isaak could also focus on his singing and the showmanship. But it appears that Jimmy did teach Isaak quite a few things along the line!

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