Disco de George Strait: “Beyond the Blue Neon”

In Beyond the Blue Neon George Strait delivers one of the best of his always strong collections. The title cut (another in his long line of "Blue" songs) swings with a hint of jazz and blues but does not stray from traditional country. "Hollywood Squares" should have been released as a single. This humorous ditty may take a few listens to pick up the play on words and unless you're familiar with the tiresome game show, the X and O pun will be lost on you.

If there is such a thing as the quintessential George Strait song, it is "Ace in the Hole." Not only has the Ace in the Hole band backed him for two decades, but from the very first note of this uptempo western song, it radiates Strait country music.

George Strait is one of the few currently played country singers whose music is unabashedly country. Perhaps it's because he's so consistently good, most of his contemporaries refuse to compete on his own turf.

This CD has it all, if you like "tear in the beer" songs, "Beyond The Blue Neon's title track is George's best (Even beats "Designated Drinker" or "Six Pack To Go"), if you like humor "Hollywood Squares" is only beaten by "You Know Me Better Than That", "Baby's Getting Good At Goodbye" is his number one tear jerker, and "Overnight Success" is not far behind. "Ace In The Hole" is an an interesting song, something of a cross between, Kenny Rogers "The Gambler" and Billy Joel's "The Stranger" complete with western swing (Perhaps the most neglected Strait masterpiece). I know all of these songs are on "Strait Out Of The Box", but "Angel, Angelina" is not, and this CD is a must if ONLY to have this song, another great example of western swing (Complete with fiddles and piano), that no one else can do well. It is one of his top CDs , and a must for any country fan.

George Strait never records a bad album. I own every one of them, and there are no clunkers in the bunch. This one is no exception.

There's a part of this album that's about losing a woman. George sings those songs which are part of the country lexicon better than almost anybody living today. That's odd considering his long, happy marriage.

My favorite song on the record is "Baby's Gotten Good At Goodbye". That's a wonderfully constructed song and it's just a great line. George sings it to perfection. This is a good record.

It must have been hard for the record company to choose the tracks for single to release for single release - most of them sound good enough to be singles. Ultimately, three singles off the album made it to number one on the country charts, these being Baby's gotten good at goodbye, What's going on in your world and Ace in the hole. The fourth single, Overnight success, stalled at number eight but maybe radio stations were waiting for the next album by the time it came out.

So the title track was never released as a single but it's a brilliant opening track for the album. Elsewhere, the remaining tracks on the album are all of a high quality. I particularly like Angel Angelina and Leaving's been coming for a long long time.

George has recorded many wonderful albums. Although this is not my favorite, it's not far behind and is certainly worth a listen.

This album is one of Strait's best (along with "Chill of an Early Fall"). The blues and swing influences are marvelous, and there is plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor in the lyrics ("Hollywood Squares" and "Ace in the Hole," among others).

The title track, "Beyond the Blue Neon," was written by Larry Boone and was going to be used for the title of Boone's 1989 Polygram album. Strait liked Boone's demo of the song so much that he picked it for the album (and titled it as such, so Boone named his album after the first line in the song -- "Swingin' Doors, Sawdust Floors").

Best songs on this release: "Beyond the Blue Neon," "Baby's Gotten Good at Goodbye," and "What's Going on in Your World." Highly recommended.