Beyond the Blue Neon is the ninth studio album by American country music artist George Strait and 12th overall. It was released by MCA Records on February 6, 1989. It is certified platinum by the RIAA, and it produced the singles "Baby's Gotten Good at Goodbye", "What's Going on in Your World", "Ace in the Hole", and "Overnight Success". While the first three singles all reached Number One on the Billboard country charts in 1989, "Overnight Success" was a No. 8 for Strait in 1990. "Hollywood Squares" also charted at No. 67 in 1990 based on unsolicited airplay.

Beyond the Blue Neon
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 6, 1989
RecordedOctober 1988
StudioEmerald Studios and Sound Stage Studios (Nashville, TN).
Genre
Length28:20
LabelMCA
ProducerJimmy Bowen
George Strait
George Strait chronology
If You Ain't Lovin', You Ain't Livin'
(1988)
Beyond the Blue Neon
(1989)
Livin' It Up
(1990)
Singles from Beyond the Blue Neon
  1. "Baby's Gotten Good at Goodbye"
    Released: December 26, 1988
  2. "What's Going On in Your World"
    Released: April 3, 1989
  3. "Ace in the Hole"
    Released: July 17, 1989
  4. "Overnight Success"
    Released: November 6, 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune(favorable)[2]

Content

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Two of this album's tracks were previously recorded by other artists, while two more were later covered by others. "Leavin's Been Comin' (For a Long, Long Time)" was originally cut by Gene Watson on 1983's Little By Little, and the title track was originally recorded by its co-writer, Larry Boone, on his 1988 Swingin' Doors, Sawdust Floors (the title of which also references this song). In addition, "Oh Me, Oh My, Sweet Baby" was later recorded by Diamond Rio on their 1992 album Close to the Edge, from which it was released as a single. Finally, David Ball covered "What's Going On in Your World" on his 2007 album Heartaches by the Number.

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Beyond the Blue Neon"Larry Boone, Paul Nelson2:56
2."Hollywood Squares"Larry Cordle, Wayland Patton, Jeff Tanguay2:45
3."Overnight Success"Sanger D. Shafer3:10
4."Ace in the Hole"Dennis Adkins2:39
5."Leavin's Been Comin' (For a Long, Long Time)"Sonny Throckmorton, Joseph Allen, Dave Kirby3:01
6."Baby's Gotten Good at Goodbye"Tony Martin, Troy Martin3:30
7."What's Going On in Your World"David Chamberlain, Royce Porter, Red Steagall3:28
8."Angel, Angelina"L. David Lewis3:14
9."Too Much of Too Little"Curtis Wayne2:20
10."Oh Me, Oh My, Sweet Baby"Tom Shapiro, Michael Garvin2:27
Total length:28:57[1]

Personnel

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Production

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  • Jimmy Bowen – producer
  • George Strait – producer
  • Bob Bullock – recording
  • Tim Kish – overdub recording, second engineer
  • Russ Martin – overdub recording
  • Ron Treat – overdub recording
  • Julian King – second engineer
  • Sheila Mann – second engineer
  • John Guess – mixing
  • Milan Bogdan – digital editing
  • Glenn Meadows – mastering
  • Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee) – editing and mastering location
  • Don Lanier – pre-production
  • Jessie Noble – project coordinator
  • Robert Jones – design
  • Steven Pumphrey – photography

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[7] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[8] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Beyond the Blue Neon at AllMusic
  2. ^ a b c d Hurst, Jack (February 5, 1989). "Strait From The Heart Of Texas (Beyond the Blue Neon (George Strait; MCA))". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  3. ^ "George Strait Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  4. ^ "George Strait Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  5. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  6. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  7. ^ "Canadian album certifications – George Strait – Beyond The Blue Neon". Music Canada. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  8. ^ "American album certifications – George Strait – Beyond The Blue Neon". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 31, 2020.