"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 March 1991,[2] reaching number six on the BillboardHot 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.[3] 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
The song is in B Dorian,[4] performed in what AllMusic describes as a "brooding, sorrowfully conflicted" tone.[5]
Although it is often interpreted as a ballad about unrequited love,[6][7] 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".[8] It was written shortly after the call.[9]
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;[10][11][12] both the bassline and drums were sampled from previous recordings of the song and looped.[13]
Critical reception
The Aberdeen Evening Express extolled the "haunting strains" of "Wicked Game."[14] 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."[12] Steve Huey of AllMusic described it as a "shimmering," "spare," "smoky," and "moody masterpiece."[15]Larry Flick from Billboard called it "[a] delicious treat."[16] 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."[17] Joe Rhodes from Entertainment Weekly stated that this is "perhaps the album's darkest mood piece," noting its "otherworldly" opening guitar line.[18] Pan-European magazine Music & Media described it as "[a] laid-back C&W tinged song featuring Isaak's Orbison-esque vocals."[19] 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."[20] A reviewer from Sunday Life complimented it as "[a] brooding ballad, image-laden, and worthy of Roy Orbison in his heyday."[21]
Music videos
There are two different music videos for this song. The more well-known video was directed by Herb Ritts and shot in Hawaii at the short-lived 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 supermodelHelena 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,[22][23] 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.[24][25] 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.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
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.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Stone Sour
On June 26, 2007, Stone Sour released a cover of the song on the special edition version of the album Come What(ever) May.[88] It was certified Gold by ARIA in 2024.[89]
Boy & Bear
Australian indie folk band Boy & Bear recorded a cover of this song which was released as a single on February 14, 2020[90] and was later included on their album Boy & Bear at Golden Retriever Studio. It was certified Gold by ARIA in 2023.[91]
On June 1, 2023, American comedy rockduoTenacious D released a cover of the song as a single, with an accompanying music video.[93]
Girls Aloud
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?[94] 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.[95]
Oceans of Slumber
In 2024, Texan heavy-metal band Oceans of Slumber released a cover of "Wicked Game" on their album Where Gods Fear to Speak.
^Wicked Game (US cassette single cassette notes). Chris Isaak. Reprise Records. 1990. 4-19704.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Wicked Game (European 7-inch single vinyl disc). Chris Isaak. Reprise Records. 1989. 922 847-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Wicked Game (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Chris Isaak. London Records. 1990. LON 279, 869 228-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Wicked Game (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)
^Wicked Game (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)
^Wicked Game (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)
^Wicked Game (French cassette single sleeve). Chris Isaak. Reprise Records. 1991. 7599-22847-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
