Bass and drum tracks were sampled from earlier takes, while Isaak softly sang with speakers rather than headphones to get the desired vocal effect. After various attempts to record it, “Wicked Game” ended up as an album track on Isaak’s 1989 Heart Shaped World. Nailing a studio version took a little longer. And I I think she was probably upset because I was more excited by the song.” And here I am, I’m going to get killed, but I’m doing this.’ … By the time she came over to the house, I had the song written. “And she said, ‘I want to come over and talk to you until you're no longer able to stand up.’ And I said, ‘Okay, you’re coming over.’ And as soon as I hung up I thought, ‘Oh, my God. “I remember that a girl had called me and said, ‘I want to come over and talk to you,’ and ‘talk’ was a euphemism,” he’s explained. The story behind “Wicked Game” lives up to the infamous softcore porn-meets-film noir music video that would later accompany it – as Isaak puts it, the song was inspired by a booty call. Writing about the track for its 25th birthday last year, Stereogum’s Ryan Leas christened the song as an “unlikely new standard” in contemporary pop songwriting.īut how did a forgotten album cut get such an esteemed status? And why can’t we let go?
Everyone from Mac DeMarco to Tori Amos has had a stab at covering the song, and in the past 12 months alone you might’ve heard James Vincent McMorrow’s forlorn version soundtracking a Game of Thrones trailer, Ursine Vulpine’s cinematic reimagining accompanying a video game teaser, and a stripped-back take by Lydia Ainsworth appearing on her recent album Darling of the Afterglow. The song is over 25 years old now but its popularity has never waned, taking on a new life in the countless cover versions by indie and alternative acts over the years. Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” is all three. Some songs are masterpieces, some represent moments in time, and others are simply good jams.
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