1989 single by Chris Isaak
"
Wicked Game
" is a song by American
rock
musician
Chris Isaak
, released from his third album,
Heart Shaped World
(1989). Released as a
single
in July 1989, it became a
sleeper hit
after being featured in the 1990
David Lynch
film
Wild at Heart
, starring
Nicolas Cage
and
Laura Dern
. Lee Chesnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who loved David Lynch films, began playing the song, and it quickly became an American top-10 hit in January 1991, reaching number six on the
Billboard
Hot 100
. Internationally, the single became a number-one hit in Belgium and reached the top 10 in several other nations.
"Wicked Game" has been
covered
by many other artists and been featured in numerous movies and television series and advertisements, so much so that
Dazed
magazine questioned whether it might be the most influential love song in modern music.
[2]
It has subsequently received retrospective critical acclaim, being listed in the 2010 book
1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die
, and noted by Dave Marsh in an updated edition of his 1989 book
The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made
.
Composition
[
edit
]
The song is in B
Dorian
,
[3]
performed in what
AllMusic
describes as a "brooding, sorrowfully conflicted" tone.
[4]
Although it is often interpreted as a
ballad
about
unrequited love
,
[5]
[6]
Isaak has said that the song was inspired by a telephone call from a woman seeking to arrange a
hook-up
and is about "what happens when you have a strong attraction to people that aren't necessarily good for you".
[7]
It was written shortly after the call.
[8]
During the sessions for Isaak's third album, many different versions and arrangements of the song were made before the final version was completed.
James Calvin Wilsey
wrote and played the distinctive guitar lead using a
Fender Stratocaster
's
vibrato arm
;
[9]
[10]
[11]
both the bassline and drums were
sampled
from previous recordings of the song and
looped
.
[12]
Critical reception
[
edit
]
The
Aberdeen Evening Express
extolled the "haunting strains" of "Wicked Game."
[13]
Grant Walters of
Albumism
praised the song as a "pristine union of Isaak's aching vocal and the desolate wail of James Calvin Wilsey's '65 Stratocaster." He added, "Underneath, the brushed drum loop, simple bass line, and muted background vocals create a simmering atmospheric buzz."
[11]
Steve Huey of
AllMusic
described it as a "shimmering," "spare," "smoky," and "moody masterpiece."
[10]
[14]
Larry Flick
from
Billboard
called it "[a] delicious treat."
[15]
Alaister Moughan from
Dazed
wrote, "Some songs are masterpieces, some represent moments in time, and others are simply good jams. Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" is all three."
[16]
Joe Rhodes from
Entertainment Weekly
stated that this is "perhaps the
album
's darkest mood piece," noting its "otherworldly" opening guitar line.
[17]
Pan-European magazine
Music & Media
described it as "[a] laid-back
C&W
tinged song featuring Isaak's
Orbison
-esque vocals."
[18]
Duncan Holland from
Music Week
felt that its "dexterity and panache is something rarely heard. The touches of Roy Orbison only make it stronger and given the right airplay, Isaak should score a significant, if unpredictable hit."
[19]
A reviewer from
Sunday Life
complimented it as "[a] brooding
ballad
, image-laden, and worthy of Roy Orbison in his heyday."
[20]
Music videos
[
edit
]
There are two different
music videos
for this song. The more well-known video was directed by
Herb Ritts
and shot in
Hawaii
at what was formerly known as Kamoamoa Beach in
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
on the
Big Island
. The newly formed black-sand beach was created from lava from
Kilauea
volcano flowing into the ocean about a mile away. The beach was covered by lava not long after the video was shot. The video features
supermodel
Helena Christensen
rolling and frolicking on the beach with Isaak. It was mostly filmed in black and white. Christensen is topless through most of the video, although her nudity is concealed by camera angles. In the middle of the video, Christensen is seen only in her black lace
bra
and
panty
; other times, she wears only a men's white
brief
. The video achieved
heavy rotation
on
MTV
and
MTV Europe
,
[21]
[22]
winning the
MTV Video Music Awards
for
Best Male Video
and
Best Cinematography
. It was ranked number 13 on
VH1
's "100 Greatest Videos", number four on
VH1
's "50 Sexiest Video Moments", number 73 on
Rolling Stone
magazine's "The 100 Top Music Videos", number one on
Rolling Stone
magazine's "The 30 Sexiest Music Videos of All Time", and number one on
Fuse
's "40 Sexiest Videos" in 2010.
Another video was commissioned for the
Wild at Heart
VHS release and was directed by
David Lynch
.
[23]
[24]
It features scenes of Lula (
Laura Dern
) and Sailor (
Nicolas Cage
) from the film, interspersed with black-and-white footage of Isaak and his band performing the song. This video won the MTV Video Music Award for
Best Video from a Film
.
Track listings
[
edit
]
- A. "Wicked Game" (edit) ? 4:06
- B. "Wicked Game" (instrumental) ? 4:48
- European 7-inch single (1989)
[27]
- A. "Wicked Game" ? 4:46
- B. "Don't Make Me Dream About You" ? 3:30
- A. "Wicked Game"
- B. "Cool Cat Walk" (by
Angelo Badalamenti
)
|
- "Wicked Game"
- "Cool Cat Walk" (by Badalamenti)
- "Dark Spanish Symphony" (by Badalamenti; string version)
- "Wicked Game" ? 4:46
- "Don't Make Me Dream About You" ? 3:30
- "Wicked Game" (instrumental) ? 4:48
- French cassette single
[33]
- "Wicked Game" (edit) ? 4:46
- "Don't Make Me Dream About You" ? 3:30
|
Personnel
[
edit
]
Charts
[
edit
]
Weekly charts
[
edit
]
|
Year-end charts
[
edit
]
|
Certifications
[
edit
]
Release history
[
edit
]
Other versions
[
edit
]
Covers (studio releases)
[
edit
]
The Finnish band
HIM
remade this song, first using it in their demo
This Is Only the Beginning
, then on their EP
666 Ways To Love: Prologue
, followed by another recording of it on their first album
Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666
, and again on the
British
and
American
versions of their second album
Razorblade Romance
. The last recording they made of it then reappeared on their compilation album
And Love Said No: The Greatest Hits 1997?2004
. "Wicked Game" became the band's breakthrough song in their native
Finland
.
[66]
Their version appeared on an episode of
Smallville
.
Track listings
[
edit
]
- "Wicked Game" ? 3:54
- "For You" ? 4:00
- "Our Diabolical Rapture" ? 5:20
- "Wicked Game" (666 Remix) ? 3:58
- "Wicked Game"
- "For You"
|
- "Wicked Game" ? 3:36
- "When Love and Death Embrace" (Amnt Mix) ? 3:34
- "The Heartless" (Serdlidlim Mix) ? 3:11
- "Wicked Game" 2000
- "When Love and Death Embrace" (Amnt Mix) ? 3:34
|
Parra for Cuva
[
edit
]
"Wicked Games"
|
---|
|
|
Released
| October 14, 2013
|
---|
Recorded
| 2013
|
---|
Length
| 3
:
15
|
---|
Label
| Spinnin' Deep
|
---|
|
"Luhya"
(2013)
|
"
Wicked Games
"
(2013)
|
"Sacred Feathers"
(2016)
| |
|
|
"Something Near"
(2013)
|
"
Wicked Games
"
(2013)
|
"Fading Nights"
|
|
|
In 2013, German house producer
Parra for Cuva
released a cover version that featured
Anna Naklab
. The single was re-titled as "Wicked Games" in plural. It was first released on
Beatport
worldwide as a digital download in August 2013, then a mainstream release as a digital download in France in October 2013 and in Germany on February 14, 2014. The song has charted in Australia, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
Track listing
[
edit
]
- "Wicked Games" (radio edit) ? 3:15
- "Wicked Games" (original mix) ? 5:58
Charts
[
edit
]
Weekly charts
[
edit
]
|
Year-end charts
[
edit
]
|
Certifications
[
edit
]
Boy & Bear
[
edit
]
Australian
indie folk
band
Boy & Bear
recorded a cover of this song which was released as a single on February 14, 2020
[84]
and was later included on their album
Boy & Bear at Golden Retriever Studio
. It was certified Gold by
ARIA
in 2023.
[85]
Girls Aloud
[
edit
]
In 2024, English-Irish girl group
Girls Aloud
released a cover of Wicked Game as part of a 20th anniversary reissue of their 2004 studio album
What Will The Neighbours Say?
[86]
While the track was originally intended to serve as a lead single for their 2005 studio album
Chemistry
, it was scrapped in favor of the single "
Long Hot Summer
" and eventually excluded from the album upon its release.
Along with the two other songs released as part of the album's reissue, "Disco Bunny" and "Baby When You Go," the track is notable as the first posthumous release of material containing vocals from Girls Aloud member
Sarah Harding
, who died of breast cancer in 2021.
[87]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
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Chris Isaak ? Wicked Game"
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- ^
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.
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2018
.
- ^
"
'Wicked Game' sheet music"
.
musicnotes.com
. October 21, 2013
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
Huey, Steve.
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.
allmusic
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- ^
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.
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.
- ^
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.
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- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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"
.
- ^
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.
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cite AV media notes
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{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
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)
- ^
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{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
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)
- ^
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{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
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(UK cassette single sleeve). Chris Isaak. London Records. 1990. LONCS 279, 869228 4.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
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(UK 12-inch single sleeve). Chris Isaak. London Records. 1990. LONX 279, 869 229 1.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
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(UK CD single liner notes). Chris Isaak. London Records. 1990. LONCD 279, 869 229 2.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
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(French CD single liner notes). Chris Isaak.
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. 1991. 9362-40182-2.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
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}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
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.
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Directorial
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Short films
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Music videos
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Concert films
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- Dave Hosking
- Killian Gavin
- Tim Hart
- Jon Hart
- Dave Symes
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Singles
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