Chris Isaak is letting his life fl ash before his eyes this year.

The singer, songwriter and bandleader — best known for the 1991 hit “Wicked Game” — has released a best-of album and DVD set reviewing his 20-year recording career. Putting it together rekindled plenty of memories, Isaak says, and not all of them strictly musical.

“I think the thing that I probably learned is that the people I worked with and the fun times I had were, in the end, more important than anything,” says Isaak, 50, who’s also had some film roles (“Little Buddha,” “The Silence of the Lambs”) and an eponymous Showtime series.

“When you’re 15 years old and you’re writing songs in your house or something, you just imagine you’d do anything to get that song right. And you still would, but you realize there’s something more important than the song, and it’s other people.”

That primarily includes his band, most of whom have been with Isaak since the mid-’80s. That longevity, he says, is “the biggest accomplishment that I’ve had,” but don’t ask him to explain how he’s done it.

“I wish I could say I was some kind of dynamic leader or a Pat Boone type of mellow fellow,” he says, “but I think I just got lucky and got great guys.

“There some kind of chemistry between us. You put all of us on a tour bus, and it’s fun. I’ve talked to other musicians over the years, and the stories they tell me are horrifi c. On my bus, everybody gets on, they’re telling jokes, having a good time. They go to bed. I think it makes a huge difference.”

Chris Isaak and Tristan Prettyman perform at 8 p.m. Friday (August 11th) at Meadow Brook Music Festival on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester Hills. Tickets are $39.50 pavilion, $18.50 lawn. Call (248) 377-0100 or visit