Social Distortion is known for their memorable covers. (See their third album with its Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire” cover which helped them break out.) Now, on their recently released 8th album, the band is tackling Chris Isaak’s/a> “Wicked Game.”
“That was so fun to do,” lead singer/guitarist Mike Ness said in a recent interview. “I always pick cover songs that I want to sing. I really just would love to sing this and bring my guitar playing to it. Usually I try to pick songs that are a little more obscure and not as popular, but it didn’t matter with this one.” “Wicked Game” was the song that broke out Chris Isaak, with a little help from David Lynch, who included the song in his film Wild at Heart.
Social Distortion’s take is pretty much what you’d think it would sound like and that’s not a bad thing. It’s a great celebration of the song and Ness’ voice is perfect for the aching lead vocal.
The new Social Distortion record, Born to Kill, comes 15 years after the last one, but, in many ways, it’s as if no time has passed. The band is spending most of the summer in Europe, before coming back to the US this fall and crisscrossing the country behind the new album.
