Despite recording First Comes the Night in Nashville and working with a few of the city’s top songwriters, Chris Isaak did not make a country album per se. Like the best of his output, it’s a romantic blend of oldies pop, rockabilly and California folk-rock; twang is an accent but never a dominant trait. A fantastic example is “Down in Flames,” which sounds like Ricky Nelson jamming with Dave Alvin and Johnny Cash. Isaak also turns in a few lavish numbers laced with strings arrangements. One of the coolest, “Baby What You Want Me to Do,” sashays like a Hollywood starlet from the ’40s.