Chris Isaak: Speak Of The Devil

When he's on the top of his game—say, with 1996's Forever Blue or his career-defining breakthrough single, "Wicked Game"—Chris Isaak is capable of Roy Orbison-inspired, swooning pop that's both smoothly engaging and achingly beautiful. When he's not on the top of his game, he just sounds cheesy, like he's posing. Isaak has never really made a bad record (even his tossed-off Baja Sessions was considerably underrated), but on the new Speak Of The Devil, he's certainly made a forgettable one. Cursed with one of the dorkiest covers in the history of recorded music, Devil isn't aided by a collection of so-so doomed-romance ballads and flaccid old-school rockers like "I'm Not Sleepy" and the title track. Live, Isaak is a terrific showman, and he's capable of capturing tortured heartbreak in a way that's emotionally true and uplifting. But not one of these 14 compositions ranks among the second tier of his best songs. Even at his worst, Chris Isaak makes generally likable, listenable music, but Speak Of The Devil is Chris Isaak at his worst.