Album Review- Randall King’s “Into The Neon”
Country music is entering a new neotraditional phase, and Texas country music singer turned major label star Randall King is one of the reasons. Starting with his self-titled debut in 2018, then onto his Warner Records debut in 2022 called Shot Glass, and now with Into The Neon, King has tugged country in the right direction, and raised the per capita twang to a level we haven’t enjoyed in decades.
Into The Neon picks up right where Randall King left off with Shot Glass, meaning genuinely unabashed country songs full of the kinds of sounds and sentiments that you think of when you think “country music.” Randall King and co-producer Jared Conrad clearly studied all those ’90s country albums featuring the plucks and bends of folks like Brent Mason, because they have that sound down tight to a sometimes eerie time travel-like degree.
18 songs is a lot to digest, but it goes down smooth when Randall King is serving them up. Though King’s neotraditional sound might be similar to others, what he has that many don’t is an actual country voice to compliment them. Not only is Randall’s tone custom tailored for this type of throwback country, King is a master of knowing how to cunningly move in and out of phrases with a natural slickness. It’s just a joy to hear the guy sing, no matter what it is.
Though everything on Into The Neon fits within the honky tonk version of country music, King shows some latitude within that framework. The title track gives you a distinct Western flavor that fits perfectly with the West Texas-inspired cover art. “Could’ve Been Love” is another heater, showcasing some of the excellent instrumentation that is present throughout this record.
Even when the song leans in a more contemporary direction—like the second track “Somewhere Over Us”—the steel guitar comes in hot, heavy, and just at the right time to pull it solidly back into the country genre. You have to wait until the 17th track called “I Could Be That Rain” before you hear something resembling an electronic drum beat intro. And even then it sounds more like a tape playback effect as opposed to a genuine 808.
All that said, one of the knocks on Into The Neon will be that all 18 tracks feel like different versions of the same song. The lyrics never really stray too far from the formula. It’s honky tonk this, neon that, whiskey this, and so on. The songs are either about drinking with a broken heart, hitting a honky tonk, or fawning over your woman. Sure, that’s country music. But so are other themes.
The album never reaches into the realm of Bro-Country or even list songs, thank goodness. But similar to the very twangy albums of someone like Justin Moore, it rarely if ever gets very deep. “Right Things Right” about growing up and learning about limits is a welcome change of pace, but Into The Neon still features a lot of songwriting-by-committee tracks that leave something to be desired.
The track list reveals that Randall King co-wrote six of the tracks. Other writers include another neotraditionalist in Jake Worthington, as well as the highly regarded Gordie Sampson and Drew Kennedy. But you also have names like Mitchell Tenpenny and Ben Hayslip.
Into The Neon has that always good, sometimes great, but never excellent aspect to it. And though at this point we’ve blown out all limitation on track lists, this is one of those albums where you wonder if the amount of songs helped expose some of the thinness behind the writing by tapping the same wells too many times.
But also consider the accessibility of Randall King’s songs as one of his assets. Irrespective of the minor gripes, this guy deserves to be on the radio and playing arenas. Strangely though, he doesn’t even currently have a Wikipedia page. Don’t get it wrong, Randall King has seen a ton of success compared to some artists. But he should be on more big festival lineups instead of just playing Billy Bob’s.
Randall King has that hot honky tonk sound everyone else is trying to emulate. Instead of chasing the imitators and bandwagoners, Randall King and Into The Neon are already right here for you.
1 3/4 Guns Up (7.9/10)
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Purchase Into The Neon
February 7, 2024 @ 9:04 am
It wasn’t bad but definitely got boring over the course of 18 songs.
February 7, 2024 @ 9:55 am
Frankly, even truly great artists struggle to make a great album that long–with limited exception, most things that long lack cohesion as an artistic expression.
Like, my favorite band on earth is Mike and the Moonpies/Silverada (name change is gonna take me a little while), and if they were releasing a double album I’d be skeptical.
Some great double albums are weird concept albums, some are from bands or artists who just had too many good songs to trim more (a lot of times those artists have even more good songs than what they put on a double album). A few are live albums where the performance couldn’t be trimmed to one record.
But while a 45 minute record of fun songs doesn’t have to be a deep work of art, an hour+ better be more than a collection of decent songs for me to spend the time with it.
February 7, 2024 @ 10:29 am
Double albums are a great place for artists to chase down all their weird impulses, and that’s why this is too long. Because that doesn’t happen here.
February 7, 2024 @ 9:13 am
Some good stuff, but it should have been 10 or 12 tracks. Opener and title track feel strongest at first glance. Not complaining. It would be amazing if country radio even pointed remotely in this direction.
February 7, 2024 @ 9:15 am
I enjoyed this album. As a product of the 90s, this is not ‘throwback country.’ It’s the real thing. I understand the point regarding the songwriting, but still thoroughly enjoyable.
February 7, 2024 @ 10:28 am
It’s more like the mid/late 90s / post-Garth. Much louder and thicker/more bombastic production than the neotrad stuff that led into the decade from say ’85-92.
February 7, 2024 @ 12:48 pm
Agreed. But that’s the stuff that I grew up on. Still quite traditional.
February 7, 2024 @ 9:16 am
I think albums should be no more than 12 songs, so was a tad worried when I saw this was 18. However, that has not been an issue. As Far As We Go and One Night Dance are stellar tracks. 9.25/10
February 7, 2024 @ 9:27 am
It’s a bit draining. The voice is as country as country gets. It’s however rather long and no surprises. If you like the usual, this is your cup of tea.
February 7, 2024 @ 9:31 am
After a cursory listen, this guy’s music seems to be actual country. There is actual country instrumentation with steel guitar, which unfortunately doesn’t happen enough, in my view. Melodies and energy seems to be at a good level, and lyrically, he is pretty clever, such as “I Don’t Whiskey Anymore.” My major complaint is in the vocals-why is it that country singers, especially after the Garth Brooks era, seem to have to put in this fake emotion in their vocal phrasing? It makes the music and songs sound fake to a large extent. To me, it’s a major turn off. I miss the sincerity of genuine people making genuine country music, such as George and Merle.
February 7, 2024 @ 10:25 am
Yes. The singers all crazy amp up whatever accent they have and oversing. Partially I think they’re competing with an over-loud mix. I miss naturalistic singers and quieter, sparer production. It’s why Jesse Daniel, despite having a worse voice, is a better singer.
February 7, 2024 @ 3:02 pm
Thanks, Ben. I was not aware of Jesse Daniels, but I totally agree he is the better singer, and doesn’t over sing, like you said. And his players actually pick and are accomplished musicians. Thanks for bringing such a talent to my attention. The Bakersfield sound is still alive!
February 8, 2024 @ 10:38 am
Jesse Daniels kicks all forms of ass! Saw him open for AA in Milwaukee and became an immediate fan.
February 7, 2024 @ 9:36 am
Randall King’s music is completely bad… completely bad ass! Bangers and slow jams and everything else. This guy is going to run the table over the next five years.
February 7, 2024 @ 9:57 am
You may be right!
February 7, 2024 @ 10:05 am
Great review, Trig! I think we have a consensus here, as after 3 or 4 full spins, I severed 8 songs for the final in the car playlist. I just don’t understand the thought process of dropping 18 songs, many of which are straight up filler that he didn’t write. I’m sure it wasn’t on Randall’s insistence. Still love a lot of these though: Tonk Til I Die, When My Baby’s In Boots, and of course the Alan Jackson remake that myself and Randall both love, The One Your Waiting On. I even like I Don’t Whiskey Anymore!! Yes, I’ve rearranged this overweighted record from a whale to a fast moving shark. Sleek and listenable. Right into the headline slot here too.
One other thing, I saw a day or too ago where Randall walked out and personally shook the hands and took pics with fans that were waiting in line for his show. That’s a lesson for all artists. Love your fans, and they’ll love you back. A+ move in my book.
February 7, 2024 @ 10:27 am
Might not be high art, but this is just plain dang FUN. Sometimes I’m low down, contemplating the weight of the world. Sometimes I’m in the swimming hole on a Sunday afternoon with friends and a cooler. I still need good music for the latter.
February 7, 2024 @ 10:51 am
It was too long and the production was a little too glossy for my taste. Definitely pitch corrected.
February 7, 2024 @ 2:47 pm
“Definitely pitch corrected.”
Like every modern album. Even your favourites are ‘pitch corrected’. The last album I produced was on an amazing female vocalist with stellar pitch. Guess what? In mix down there were a few spots that needed to be slightly tuned.
February 7, 2024 @ 3:45 pm
I already know that. To be clear, I don’t have a problem with autotune/melodyne philosophically. I’m sure all of Adele’s albums have pitch correction, but I can’t hear the digital sheen on her vocals like I can with Randy’s. Since you’re a producer, you know it’s more than possible for pitch correction to be ‘invisible.’ That’s how I prefer my country music to sound.
February 8, 2024 @ 6:45 pm
Sometimes, I feel fortunate to be musically illiterate. I can’t hear any of that. Makes enjoying hillbilly music easier!
I try hard not to ever talk negatively about any independent artist’s work, but I’ve heard some new stuff lately where even I could tell the singing was terrible. This guy sounds pretty good to me!
February 9, 2024 @ 7:04 pm
Hey as long as you enjoy it that’s all that matters. 🙂
February 7, 2024 @ 11:06 am
Spot on review. I enjoyed this album, but as others have noted, it certainly could have benefited from leaving a few songs on the cutting room floor. With 18 “damn” songs, I am surprised Green Eyes Blue did not make the cut. RK is should definitely be more popular then he is.
February 7, 2024 @ 11:58 am
Hmmmm. First song in, “You look good in neon.” Now where have I heard that line before? [note: in a Randy Rogers song.]
February 7, 2024 @ 2:49 pm
What? An artist uses a reference in their song that someone else has used previously. That NEVER happens. Insert eye-roll.
February 8, 2024 @ 11:42 am
Man, that disapoints me. Silverada (formally Mike and the Moonpies), literally have a song called “You look good in Neon”. Sounds like Randy and Randall stole from them /s
February 7, 2024 @ 11:59 am
Or was “you look good in neon” from Mike and the Siveradas? I am not gonna look it up. 😉
February 7, 2024 @ 3:49 pm
It was from Yellowstone
February 7, 2024 @ 1:04 pm
Probably could have been pared down a by a few songs, but over all a good/easy listen.
February 8, 2024 @ 12:11 pm
I am excited to listen to “The One You’re Waiting On.” That’s one of Alan Jackson’s best album cuts.
This makes me want to hear Randall sing “She Don’t Get High.”
February 8, 2024 @ 3:03 pm
It’s not my thing – competent but too cliched for my tastes.
It will do pretty well I guess, but it won’t need (or get) my help.
February 8, 2024 @ 10:58 pm
I agree. 18 cliche tracks.
February 10, 2024 @ 5:28 am
The playing on these tracks is off the hook.
February 10, 2024 @ 8:14 am
The album sounds great . Cannot wait to get it.
February 12, 2024 @ 12:04 pm
Finally got around to listening to this one today — fantastic album. Randall King is outstanding and hope he can get the kind of national push that CoJo and Parker have received.