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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

Isaak has always got something good

Not innovative but not dull either

Always Got Tonight\nChris Isaak\nReprise\nCombining twangy country sounds with rock and roll guitars, Always Got Tonight is the eighth album from Chris Isaak, an artist probably best known for rolling around in the sand with supermodel Helena Christensen in the video for his song "Wicked Game." \nThis album doesn't really cover any new ground musically but that's OK because Isaak's usual formula of incorporating several different styles of music with his distinctively great voice helps him hit the ground running whether he tries something unique or not.\nWhile nothing new happens with his music, the album does represent something fairly new happening in Isaak's career, namely "The Chris Isaak Show," his TV show that airs on Showtime and VH1. "American Boy," the show's fun theme song is featured on Always Got Tonight along with a few others songs that were included in some of the episodes.\nBesides "American Boy," which has the catchy lyrics needed for any good TV theme song, Always Got Tonight includes eleven other solid tracks. Among the best is "One Day," the album's first track. The lyric "Give me one day in your life," is repeated several times as Isaak sings about trying to convince a girl to give him a chance. That line and the rest of the song is a perfect example of how a song can become infinitely more interesting and listenable based on the way an artist chooses to sing words. The next song on the album, "Let Me Down Easy," isn't as layered or as interesting but it's more listener-friendly, which is probably why it's the one you might have already heard on the radio.\nI listened to this CD during a three-hour shift at my other job; I didn't bring three hours worth of music and ended up going through all of Always Got Tonight three times. But I didn't get bored of the music; in fact I found a new song to claim as my "favorite" each time. While this CD isn't the most innovative in the world, it's fun to listen to and doesn't get dull.\n

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