“Honky Tonk Moon”
Randy Travis
Written by Dennis O’Rourke
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
September 16, 1988
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
October 8, 1988
What is it about the third hit album that makes country superstars creatively restless?
Garth Brooks covered Billy Joel. The Judds covered Elvis. The Chicks went full bluegrass. Shania Twain went full Bollywood.
Randy Travis, after releasing two pretty much perfect traditional country albums, was more boxed in than any of the above artists, so his experimentation is within those constraints on Old 8 x 10, which starts a trend of Travis pushing sonic and thematic boundaries with his lead singles, and saving the big conventional country radio hit for the second release.
“Honky Tonk Moon” is a mood. The lyrics paint a pretty picture, but it’s the musicianship that dominates, taking influence from the Western traditions that once made up half of the genre’s name. He’s leaning into his throwback image, resurrecting sounds that are traditional but more distinctive when compared to the wave of Travis peers and imitators that were borrowing heavily from Storms of Life and Always & Forever. Travis rises to the challenge as a vocalist here too, bending and stretching his notes in the chorus until he’s on the brink of a yodel.
On the last Travis entry, I floated the idea that Travis was underrated because of the long shadow cast by his first two albums. “Honky Tonk Moon” is one of many excellent singles that he’ll release after those two sets, and they have the benefit of sounding less familiar after all these years. He won’t always hit his ambitious targets, but this one? Bullseye.
“Honky Tonk Moon” gets an A.
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For the longest time, I had it in my head that this was the fifth single from “Always and Forever” rather than the lead single of a new album. It feels like the former, a song that’s more appropriate as an album cut that was squeezed out as a bonus single while putting the final touches on the next album. If it’s not already clear, I’m lukewarm on this one. The bluesy, swampy sound is indeed a bit of a departure for Travis but I don’t think he captures the atmosphere as effectively as I’d hope. Several years later, Alabama had a swampy-sounding album cut on their “Cheap Seats” album called “Clear Water Blues”. The two songs weren’t that much alike, at least thematically, but I liked that one quite a bit better and find myself comparing this one less favorably as I listen along. Not a complete misfire for Randy by any means, but it doesn’t work very well at least for me.
Grade: C+
My only comment is that the photo on the cover is not an 8×10.
I loved Randy Travis but I always regarded this as a generic nothing song. Although pleasant listening, Travis is out of his element – I’d give it a B-
The lazy and relaxed atmospheric sound of this hit, combined with the casual details of the lyrics, painted a wonderfully romantic picture of a honky-tonk for me as a young teenager who had never even been near a honky-tonk.
I mentioned Shell Lake, Wisconsin a few posts back. The mood of this song takes me back to a resort my family and I visited for many summers in Hayward, Wisconsin on Lost Land Lakes.
Hayward happens to be home to a 143 fiberglass muskie statue, stated to be the largest fiberglass structure in the world.
The lodge on Lost Land Lakes had a large bell that was rung anytime a muskie was caught by a guest. I remember running many times to go see the latest big catch hanging from a horizontal beam whenever I heard the bell ring.
Just as memorable was the resort lodge and bar. It had the most amazing bar pizza and an octagonal bumper pool table. I might be making a memory up, but I also recall being allowed to drink kiddie cocktails while allowed in the bar. It was largely an adult space.
This Randy Travis song immediately takes me back to that bar and the feel of that time and space in my childhood. Something about the sound of Travis’ voice when he sings about the squeaky old screen door reminds me of every screen door I have let bang behind me either coming in or going out of a cabin or fish house at a fishing resort.
Any song that can time travel, and touch those emotions, is special in my books.
This is a sneaky great all-time favourite Travis single of mine.
It’s a magical song.