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We're Not Who You Think We Are

Certain Songs #194: Chris Isaak – “Somebody’s Crying”

May 16, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Forever_Blue_-_Chris_Isaak

Album: Forever Blue.
Year: 1995.

You can argue that Chris Isaak has only one move: the big, sad torch song with a beat. But like his forebearer Roy Orbison or contemporary The Mavericks, you can’t argue with his execution, which is absolutely top-notch.

And for me, his execution peaked with the utterly stellar Forever Blue album, a fully-realized record filled with great vocals, swampy guitar licks and subtly sophisticated arrangements.

For example, “Somebody’s Crying,” which starts off slow on the verses, but saunters into a double-time on the chorus of:

So pleeeeesssseese return the love you gave to me
Oh pleeeeeeeeeesssseese let me know it can’t be me.

Not only does the tempo-shift work, but then Isaak shifts into a panty-wetting falsetto on the “pleeeeeeeease” that takes his already gorgeous tenor voice into a whole new level of intensity. I know that “Wicked Game” is a great and well-loved song, but it never quite did it for me the same way as “Somebody’s Crying.”

“Somebody’s Crying” performed live in 2006

Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Chris Isaak, Forever Blue, Somebody's Crying

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Previously on Medialoper

  • Certain Songs #2546: Sugar – “If I Can’t Change Your Mind”
  • Certain Songs #2545: Sugar – “Helpless”
  • Certain Songs #2544: Sugar – “Changes”
  • Certain Songs #2543: Sugar – “A Good Idea”
  • Certain Songs #2542: Sugar – “The Act We Act”

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