Heart Shaped World is the third album by Chris Isaak. Released in 1989, it became his breakthrough album and featured the Top 10 hit "Wicked Game". It is Isaak's best-selling album, being certified double platinum by the RIAA.
| Heart Shaped World | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 13, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Studio | Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, and Dave Wellhausen Recording, San Francisco, CA | |||
| Genre | Rockabilly[1] | |||
| Length | 46:05 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Producer | Erik Jacobsen | |||
| Chris Isaak chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Chicago Tribune | [3] |
| NME | 8/10[4] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [1] |
| Record Mirror | 4+1⁄2/5[5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [6] |
| Select | 4/5[7] |
When Heart Shaped World was released in the summer of 1989, it was on the Billboard 200 for ten weeks, peaking at number 149; but in October 1990, after Lee Chesnut, music director of WAPW in Atlanta, played the song "Wicked Game" repeatedly over two weeks after hearing an instrumental version on the soundtrack from the 1990 David Lynch film Wild at Heart. "Wicked Game" was released as a single, and the album reached the U.S. Top 10 peaking at number 7 on the Billboard chart by April 1991, garnering sales of more than 500,000 copies.[8] The video for the single, filmed in black and white, featured a topless Helena Christensen and a shirtless Isaak in the surf and on the beach. It was shown in heavy rotation on MTV.
In March 1991, Entertainment Weekly described the scene at the sold-out start of his post-"Wicked Game" release tour:[9]
Reprise staged a gaudy, sold-out gig at L.A.'s Wiltern Theater. Sean Penn was there. So were Eric Roberts, k.d. lang, Dwight Yoakam, and, standing discreetly in a side aisle, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa. There were lots of young girls, whose screaming Isaak may have to get used to. Afterward came The Hollywood Party, where, amid more dazzling stars, Isaak (decked out in his shiny brocade stage suit) got his first gold record while the waiters passed around goat cheese quesadillas and a Hawaiian band played in the background. It was a lot to handle, but then, as Isaak had said the night before..., "I used to tar-paper roofs for a living. So, as far as I'm concerned, this is a pretty fun job."
At the first of a May 1991 two-night stand at the Beacon Theatre in New York City—the first in that city after "Wicked Game" became a top 10 hit— Isaak's performance was characterized as "consummate showmanship": performances "right on the edge of caricature" yet with the ability to "infuse the ballads "Wicked Game" and "Blue Spanish Sky" ... with a spine-tingling intensity."[10]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Chris Isaak except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heart Shaped World" | 3:30 | |
| 2. | "I'm Not Waiting" | 3:16 | |
| 3. | "Don't Make Me Dream About You" | 3:33 | |
| 4. | "Kings of the Highway" | 4:47 | |
| 5. | "Wicked Game" | 4:49 | |
| 6. | "Blue Spanish Sky" | 3:58 | |
| 7. | "Wrong to Love You" | 4:20 | |
| 8. | "Forever Young" | 3:23 | |
| 9. | "Nothing's Changed" | 4:08 | |
| 10. | "In the Heat of the Jungle" | 6:20 | |
| 11. | "Diddley Daddy" (CD bonus track) | Bo Diddley, Harvey Fuqua | 4:01 |
"Diddley Daddy" had been first released on Shag: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1989)
Personnel
editAdapted from Discogs.[11]
- Musicians
- Chris Isaak – vocals, guitar
- James Calvin Wilsey – lead guitar
- Rowland Salley – bass guitar, vocals
- Kenney Dale Johnson – drums, vocals
- Additional personnel
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
- Frank Martin - keyboards, piano
- Pete Scaturro - keyboards
- Christine Wall - vocals
- Cynthia Lloyd - vocals
- Chris Solberg - bass
- Joni Haastrup - keyboards
- Production
- Erik Jacobsen – production
- Mark Needham – engineering
- Daniel Levitin – sound design
- Lee Herschberg – mixing assistance
- Greg Fulginiti at Artisan Sound Recorders – mastering
- Lex Van Rossen - front cover photography
Sales and certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[12] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[14] | 2× Platinum | 2,600,000[13] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (July 9, 1989). "Chris Isaak". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Heart Shaped World – Chris Isaak". AllMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ Kot, Greg (July 20, 1989). "Chris Isaak: Heart Shaped World (Reprise)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ Kirsch, Michele (June 24, 1989). "Chris Isaak: Heart Shaped World". NME. p. 37.
- ^ Murphy, Kevin (June 17, 1989). "Chris Isaak: Heart Shaped World". Record Mirror. p. 33.
- ^ Coleman, Mark (1992). "Chris Isaak". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 346. ISBN 0-679-73729-4.
- ^ Smith, Sue (January 1992). "Chris Isaak: Silvertone / Chris Isaak / Heart Shaped World". Select. No. 19. p. 82.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (April 17, 1991). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
- ^ Rhodes, Joe (March 8, 1991). "On Top of His Game". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (May 19, 1991). "Chris Isaak In a Display Of Inspired Silliness". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
- ^ Additional Personnel as listed at discogs; retrieved November 28, 2011
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Chris Isaak – Heart shaped world". Music Canada.
- ^ "Ask Billboard". Billboard.
- ^ "American album certifications – Chris Isaak – Heart shaped world". Recording Industry Association of America.