Customer Reviews

Hits & Highways Ahead

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Considering he has been recording - and making the country charts - for the past decade, the media has never given Leroy Parnell his due (certainly no where near the level of attention of fellow Arista Nashville flagship artist Alan Jackson and Garth you know who). Hopefully a bit more respect will go Parnell's way with the release of this retrospective Hits and Highways Ahead.

As advertised, the emphasis of this collection is on the hits. We get all eight of Parnell's top ten charters (released between 1992 and 1996) and a diverse lot they are. "Heart's Desire" offers a nice blend of R & B meets Southern Rock, while "What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am" and "Tender Moment" put the toe-tapping into overdrive. In contrast, the blue-eyed soul of "Love Without Mercy" and the proud "I'm Holding My Own" provide a few poignant moments. We even get a reminder of vintage Jackson Browne with Parnell's signature song "On The Road."

The Highways Ahead refers to the two new tracks. The up-tempo road saga "She Won't Be Lonely Long" and the gentle self-penned love song "Long Way To Fall" are acceptable, but not up to the standard of the previous hits. While heart-felt, they painfully reveal how Parnell's generic voice is unable to elevate an average song to something special. After all, it's his slide-guitar playing, not his singing, that is in frequent demand for Nashville sessions.

Far more effective are the last two selections on the disk: the raucous "If The House Is Rockin'" (a Parnell concert favorite) and the soul-stirring "John The Revelator" (originally released on the gospel collection Peace In The Valley). While neither was ever released as a single - let alone became hits - they nicely display the extremes of Parnell's character without ever appearing self-indulgent.

Ultimately, Hits and Highways Ahead manages to consistently entertain and at the same time reveal quite a bit of what makes the artist tick. Considering that the artist is an old pro like Leroy Parnell, this isn't much of a surprise.

Why, why do they bother with these greatest hit collections, if they aren't going to put ALL the hits on the record? No less than 4 of Lee Roy's best songs are missing from this compilation, specifically: "Power of Love"; "Givin' Water to a Drowning Man"; the collaboration with Brooks and Dunn, "Take These Chains from My Heart"; and my personal favorite, "You Can't Get There from Here".

This cd is a waste of money without those other songs, in my opinion.

Lee Roy Parnell has been overlooked far too often as far as I'm concerned. This should turn the heads of critics and get him his dues. This hits package is fairly solid. The two new tracks, "She Won't Be Lonely Long" and "Long Way To Fall" are good songs and welcome additions to Lee Roy Parnell's repertoire. Then there are his classic goodies, such as "Heart's Desire," "Love Without Mercy," "On The Road," "When A Woman Loves A Man," and "If The House Is Rockin'". Then comes my favorite songs on the album, which are "A Little Bit Of You," "What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am," and "Tender Moment." This is a great collection of songs that should finally get him the recognition that he has deserved for so long.

This CD contains many of Parnell's past hits such as "What Kind Of Fool" and "Heart's Desire," which contains some incredible guitar work in addition to a Memphis-based beat. (The collection doesn't have not all of the hits - I would have liked it to contain "Take These Chains From My Heart") It also has a couple of new songs. "She Won't Be Lonely Long" is an real uptempo song that showcases Lee Roy's guitar work, but "Long Way To Fall" didn't do much for me. It's just another song... not great but not bad. The interesting songs on here are the two album cuts. There is an incredible version of "John The Revelator," an old gospel song with Lee Roy playing dobro, and "If The House Is Rockin'" (not the same tune as the one by Stevie Ray Vaughan) will knock you out. Overall, it's a great way to have all these songs on one CD, and "She Won't Be Lonely Long" was a worthy addition to the package.

Any music by Lee Roy is better than most other artists'. This CD is well worth the money. The past hits and the wonderful "John The Revelator" are a feast for the ears. Saw Lee Roy and the Fairfield Four tape this for a tv special in '97. The combination of voices and guitar was truly inspirational...a good contrast to his bluesy country style. Lee Roy is sadly underrated in Country music....take the time to listen, you won't be disappointed.

From beginning to the end this CD is awesome Leroy Parnell at his best!

I must admit, I'm not a huge country fan; I prefer blues and jazz, but this guy is GOOD. My brother turned me on to this CD a couple of years ago and I liked it immediately. What I want to know is, "where is this guy?" How come he's not more well known? He's got a great voice, excellent tunes and is good guitar player. What a shame - his management and/or record company needs to get on the ball. I like all the songs on this CD, but my favorites are Heart's Desire, On the Road, Long Way to Fall, What Kind of Fool Do you Think I Am, and of course, When a Woman Loves a Man with Tricia Yearwood. I also enjoyed reading the stories accompanying the song titles explaining how the songs came about.

On another note, for those of you who don't know, he has a brother, Rob Roy Parnell, who is also a musician who plays some pretty good blues. If you also like the blues, check out his CD, Jacksboro Highway.

This is a real winner, with a bunch of great songs revisited, and a couple of sensational new ones. "Long Way to Fall" is a fantastic new tune. You'll be humming it days. This album was really worth the wait.

I met Leroy Parnell in Stephenville, Texas in 1985, and Have enjoyed his music very much. I think he is highly under rated! He has a lot of great songs, I like the ballads best. I have a homemade tape of his, one of my favorites is "I Left My Heart Between Texas and Tennessee" keep up the good work Leroy, and someday you'll get the recognition you deserve. cindy

I just love the music of Lee Roy and his wonderfull band. This album of past hits is playing in my car all the time . Lee Roy has such soul in his music it is played from the heart.His slide work on all these songs sends a shiver up my spine just superb . Just listen to track two you can hear Bonnie and Lee Roy's slide style at it's best. Just buy this album! Lee Roy Parnell , an artist who has worked his way along the road to get to this place in time .A true gentleman.