Artist: Chris Young

Title: Neon

Label: RCA

Chris Young is that rare televised singing contest winner (Nashville Star, 2006) whose upward trend didn't begin right when a national audience first showed interest.

Country radio was slow to embrace the new traditionalist Tennessee baritone, but his second album's streak of No. 1 hits ("Gettin' You Home," "The Man I Want to Be," "Voices") helped set the stage for this third one, Neon, to really give the charts a workout.

And when you consider the love American Idol's larger viewership gave its comparable sounding 2011 champion Scotty McCreery, Chris appears increasingly relevant.

Beyond the hype now, with an even more promising career ahead than before, Young offers a refreshingly mellow, true-blue country record in a season of exaggerated redneck efforts.

From the start, Neon expresses a different set of influences. With fine music to match, Conway Twitty and "Lookin' for Love" singer Johnny Lee get respective lyrical nods on fun-loving opener "I Can Take It from There" and an excellent barroom ballad title track. On the emotionally tormented "Tomorrow"—already a major hit—Young's voice has the same warmth as one of his musical heroes Keith Whitley.

There's also an easy breeziness to Neon that is reminiscent of classic 1970s pop. "You," a smitten love song where Chris unassumingly proves his vocal flexibility, could have been done by James Taylor in his heyday. The thoughtful "She's Got This Thing about Her" is a country cousin to Billy Joel's "She's Got a Way."

In terms of competing with his have-a-good-time contemporaries, Young picks up the pace on the innocent enough, back-road-bound-with-my-baby "Lost" and hard-driving send-up "Save Water, Drink Beer" (Holler and swaller y'all, support your local wildlife).

They're solid cuts, but he's at his best at a slower pace, singing about deeper matters like time-tested romantic relationships ("Old Love Feels New") and the father/son bond that's honored on the creatively heart-stirring "Flashlight."

Ten well-crafted tunes ultimately unadulterated by any passing fad, Neon is definitely a shining moment for today's country music—a record that should stand the test of time.

*This article first published 7/20/2011