Chris Isaak - Wicked Game - Guitar Cover

Heart Shaped World

1989 4:49

Listen on Spotify

About Wicked Game

Few songs reward a clean, patient right hand the way "Wicked Game" does. The whole track breathes on a slow, hypnotic arpeggio pattern in B minor, played at 92 BPM in standard tuning, and the temptation to rush it is the main thing to fight. Chris Isaak and guitarist James Wilsey built the song around that repeating figure, and keeping it even and relaxed under a warm, reverb-soaked clean tone is the real challenge. The bending lead work that weaves through the arrangement calls for smooth, controlled vibrato rather than anything aggressive, so if your bends feel wobbly, use the Practice Toolbar to loop that section slowed down and focus on landing the pitch cleanly. The key of B minor means you will be reaching for shapes a little outside the comfortable open-position box, so knowing the B minor pentatonic up the neck helps. This is a Pop Rock song at heart, but the playing sensibility leans much closer to blues-influenced finger-style work.

• The signature part is a repeating fingerpicked or hybrid-picked arpeggio in B minor, kept deliberately sparse to let the reverb and space do the work.
• A warm clean tone with generous reverb is essential to the sound, as any grit or brightness will work against the song's mood.
• At 92 BPM the tempo feels slow, but maintaining perfectly even right-hand timing across the whole song is harder than it sounds and repays slow practice.