Maps of Music

Beyond the Sun (2011)

Where the lyrics of Beyond the Sun take you, and where it was really made.

Beyond the Sun was recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, and the cover photo was shot just outside on Union Avenue.

Key places

Recorded at Sun Studio (2011)

Recording site Sun Studio — The album itself was recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, the studio linked to the Sun Records artists whose songs the album covers. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover photo on Union Avenue (2011)

Album cover Union Avenue — The cover photograph was taken by Sheryl Louis just outside the studio on Union Avenue. The point marks the street, not a building address. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Beyond the Sun: eleventh studio album by Chris Isaak
• Released 18 October 2011 through Vanguard Records
• Collection of songs recorded by Sun Records artists Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis
• Some of the songs were originally released on Sun Records
• Main track listing has 14 songs, including Ring of Fire, I Walk the Line and It's Now or Never

Background

• Early in his career, Isaak performed covers of Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins
• He later found that the most popular songs at the time were by Heart and Fleetwood Mac
• Plans for a covers album grew after he found a 2000 Oxford American interview with producer Sam Phillips
• After the promotional tour for his tenth studio album Mr. Lucky, Isaak and his band Silvertone settled in studios across the country
• The longest stay was at Sun Studio in Memphis, where Isaak said he felt nervous recording in the room where his musical heroes had recorded
• Heroes he named: Howlin' Wolf, Elvis Presley, B.B. King and Bill Black
• Guests included Cowboy Jack Clement, the first engineer-producer hired by Sun, and Roland Janes, guitarist who worked with Jerry Lee Lewis
• Michelle Branch sang a duet with Isaak on the Elvis version of My Happiness
• Many of the chosen songs came from his father's record collection

Recording

• The record itself was recorded at Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee
• Core band: Chris Isaak (vocals, rhythm guitar), Hershel Yatovitz (guitar, vocals), Rowland Salley (bass, vocals), Scott Plunkett (keyboards), Kenney Dale Johnson (drums, vocals), Rafael Padilla (percussion)
• Additional musicians: David Woodford, Cowboy Jack Clement, Lee Thornburg, Waddy Wachtel
• Additional vocals: Ashley Monroe, Craig Copeland, Jon Joyce, Michelle Branch, Richard Wells

Cover

• Cover photograph taken by Sheryl Louis outside the studio on Union Avenue

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Christopher Joseph Isaak, born June 26, 1956, in Stockton, California.
• After college he formed his first band, Silvertone, a rockabilly group; the name came from the Silvertone guitar brand popular in the 1950s.
• The group remained his permanent backing band.

Members

• Original Silvertone members included James Calvin Wilsey (guitar), Jamie Ayres (bass), and John Silvers (drums).
• Ayres and Silvers were later replaced by Rowland Salley (bass) and Kenney Dale Johnson (drums).

Career

• Signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1985 and released the debut album Silvertone to critical acclaim.
• Known for a reverb-heavy rockabilly revivalist style and a wide vocal range; often compared to Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, and Duane Eddy.
• His breakthrough and signature song is "Wicked Game" (1989 album Heart Shaped World), which became a national top 10 hit in 1991.
• Other international hits include "Blue Hotel", "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing", and "Somebody's Crying".
• Has released 13 studio albums over four decades.
• Worked closely with director David Lynch, who used his music in several films; Isaak acted in Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.
• Starred in the sitcom The Chris Isaak Show (2001-2004) and hosted the talk show The Chris Isaak Hour (2009).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released 18 October 2011 through Vanguard Records
• Eleventh studio album by Chris Isaak
• Collection of songs recorded by Sun Records artists
• Some of the songs were originally released on Sun Records
• Debuted at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release
• First-week sales in the United States were around 10,000 copies
• Debuted at No. 10 on the Top Rock Albums charts
• Peaked at No. 8 on the Top Rock Albums charts the following week

Reappraisal

• Four years after release, as of October 2015, the album had sold 91,000 copies in the US

Records

• Billboard 200 peak: No. 34
• Top Rock Albums peak: No. 8
• US sales: 91,000 copies as of October 2015

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Ashley Monroe, Craig Copeland, Jon Joyce, Michelle Branch and Richard Wells are credited with additional vocals.
• Michelle Branch sings a duet with Isaak on the Elvis version of My Happiness.
• Cowboy Jack Clement, the first engineer-producer hired by Sun, appeared as a guest musician.
• A 2000 Oxford American interview with Sam Phillips helped push Isaak's covers plan forward.
• Some songs on the album were originally released on Sun Records.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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