Chris Isaak, “First Comes the Night” — Nobody tell San Francisco’s own Chris Isaak it’s the year 2015. The handsome crooner behind “Wicked Game” is still churning out retro rock with alacrity. Who else could go the Full Elvis and emerged unscathed, as Isaak does not once but twice on his first album of new material in six years?

Both “Down in Flames” and “Don’t Break My Heart” evoke the best of Presley, but they’re hardly the album’s sole highlights. The title track is a killer, haunting ballad with a heart-breaking kick.

Isaak’s voice is as lush and tender as always, but on “Night” he’s taking more creative chances than usual. Yes, Isaak is lovesick anew, an everlasting muse that shows little sign of failing him. But on “Baby What You Want Me to Do” the singer-songwriter bends his signature sound for a tougher, more urgent approach with a kiss of Latin flavor.

“Please Don’t Call” is vintage Isaak, full of shattered souls escaping a doomed relationship, even if it goes on for a beat or two too long.

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Isaak remains a square peg in the music industry’s round hole. He’s neither hip nor ironic, just a stellar showman shrewd enough to stick to his strengths.

Jeff Lynne’s ELO, “Alone in the Universe” — ELO founder Jeff Lynne recently joked that the difference between his solo work and an ELO release is a change of clothes. Or maybe he wasn’t joking. Once more, the erstwhile Traveling Wilbury is singing, playing the guitar, drumming and doing just about every other task a band might do for the new album. Let’s assume he decided to use the ELO moniker to please that “band’s” hardcore fan base.

The sound, however, is pure Lynne no matter the description. “When the Night Comes” offers some simplistic lyrics but that irresistible Lynne voice. It’s both rock radio-friendly and perfect for his creamy choruses. “When I Was a Boy” feels like a ’70s time machine, but one without any bugs or short-circuits to dampen the fun.

Lynne never got the respect showed his fellow Wilburys, even if classic rock stations would suffer a body blow without ELO staples like “Livin’ Thing” and “Hold on Tight.” The new album may not change Lynne’s cultural status, but it’s a sign the 68-year-old can still write ’em like he used to.

CeeLo Green, “Heart Blanche” — The former “Voice” coach hasn’t released a new album in five years, but he says his new disk isn’t his only fresh material. He told the Associated Press “Heart Blanche” is “the start of a new beginning.” His recent fame took a hit when he lost his NBC show gig after a felony drug charge. Songs like the catchy “Music to My Soul” off the new disk hint at his darker days while suggesting hope for tomorrow.

Green, 40, says the new album is as personal as anything he recorded under his old alias, Gnarls Barkley. That introspection isn’t limited to his own failures. “Robin Williams” explores the life and legacy of the late comic, trying to empathize with the comic genius from a fan’s point of view.

“We don’t know what the next man’s going through,” Green sings in the melancholy number. It ends up revealing as much about the singer as the song’s subject.

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