It Has Everything
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.
What can I say?
Each review is going to be identical to the others. George is my number one singer and every song is mine.
One of his best albums
On Beyond the Blue neon it seems that every song you hear just seems to get better and better. If you are a big George Strait fan than you have to own this cd because this has got to be his best work of the 1980's. If you have a gripe about how some people complain that all of Strait's cd's sound the same hear Beyond the Blue neon because this cannot be missed. As everyone says the best all around song of this collection of songs has got to be Hollywood Squares (that would have made a great single!) the well written song looked like a #1 hit. As far as the 4 singles taken off the album Baby's gotten good at Goodbye is the best one. Ace in the hole, Angel Angelina, and Oh me oh my sweet baby and so many others are so good. Beyond the Blue Neon arguably his best. What makes this his best album is the style of every song this time and one of the only few times George Strait added a saxophone player to the album to spice up songs like Beyond the blue neon, Ace in the hole, and Angel Angelina. You will not find a solo number with the saxophone but you can hear it in almost every song. Even George Strait said once in a article that he feels at that time this was the best album he had ever done and that is so true.
Very solids collection of songs
Even though four singles were released from this impressive album, it is the unreleased ones that steal the spotlight. The best song is Hollywood Squares, which is a cleverly written tune with a great melody and an abundance of wit. A winning phrase: "Should've checked the price tag before I gave them my last name." Oh Me, Oh My Sweet Baby is also strong, and George does a better job than Diamond Rio at not getting out of control with it. Too Much and Leavin's Been Comin' are also impressive ballads packed with a lot of emotion in their deliveries. Among the singles, Baby's Gotten is the cream of the crop. Another fresh and new perspective on the age-old "woman-leaving" theme. Ace in the Hole is a nice little mindless number, and showcases the range of the band.
The only skipper on the album is the below-average Angel. Nice idea, but the delivery and recitation is missing the extra oomph that puts other Strait ballads over the top.
One of His Best
No clinkers at all here, and very listenable all the way through. The slow songs rule here: "Leaving's Been Coming for a Long Time" and "Baby's Gotten Good at Goodbye".
