Chris Isaak - Baja Sessions (30th Anniversary)

Chris Isaak's Baja Sessions turns 30, and this 30th Anniversary Edition brings his sun-soaked 1996 detour to vinyl.

Coming off Forever Blue, Isaak and his band headed for a looser, mostly acoustic sound. The album is named for Baja California but was actually cut at Coast Recorders in San Francisco with his longtime producer Erik Jacobsen. The idea was simple: classic songs with a tropical lilt, plus fresh takes on a few of his own favourites, played by the road-tested trio of Hershel Yatovitz, Rowland Salley and Kenney Dale Johnson.

His reading of Roy Orbison's "Only the Lonely" fits that famous tremble like a tailored suit, and "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)" leans into breezy, hammock-swinging charm. Isaak also revisits his own catalogue, giving "Two Hearts" and "Pretty Girls Don't Cry" relaxed new arrangements that let the melodies float. That silky croon does the rest.

It went on to earn a gold record and became a fan favourite, the Isaak album people reach for on warm evenings with the windows open. Thirty years later, it still sounds like a postcard from a beach you never want to leave, and it makes a natural partner to the darker romance of his earlier records.