Some of these reviews I found were done on earlier albums but I still found them enjoyable to read. If anyone finds others that you think I should add to my page, email and let me know about them and I'll go check them out. I'm always on the look-out for more stuff to add to my page!
Parnell needs no luck this time
by Jeffery B Remz
Lee Roy Parnell did not take the easy way out this time around. And who knows? Maybe it worked to his benefit, at least based on the success he has enjoyed thus far from his latest release, We All Get Lucky Sometimes
The easy way would have been to keep within limited musical confines, not challenging the listener too much. Another easy route would have been to utilize the usual assortment of Nashville session musicians to record the disc as he has done in the past. But the Texan did no such things on his fourth disc.
The disc starts with his big hit, "A Little Bit of You," a mid-tempo song before going into the honky tonk rough-and-ready stylings of "Knock Yourself Out," the soulful "Heart's Desire" and the current single, "When A Woman Loves a Man," a touching ballad with Trisha Yearwood providing backing vocals.
Parnell's trademark slide guitar playing is evident, but he does not abuse his immense talents. And that ain't all given the inclusion of the barnburner, "If The House is Rockin' " with hot harmonica licks from brother Rob Roy Parnell and the spiritual, emotional "Saved By The Grace of Your Love."
Lee Roy Parnell-- There's nothing but success
By Heather L. Borgus
With the release of his fifth alblum since first catching the attention of Arista Records in 1990, Parnell proves once again that he has what it takes to bring together 10 songs that can be No. 1 singles and then dressing the album up around them. He tries to make each record a complete album, and give people the most bang for the buck.
What made this latest album special for Parnell was teaming up with his band, The Hot Links. Another treat was the return of Trisha Yearwood, who lends her vocals to the song "Better Word For Love." Parnell and Ms. Yearwood are no strangers to teaming up on a song. Some may remember their first project together - "When A Woman Loves A Man" -on an earlier Parnell album.
But his career has become more than just singing and performing. Like a handful of country music artists involved in the "double role," Parnell has proved he is also a talented songwriter. Of course, being on the road for so many years has its own set of challenges. Trying to make every performance a memorable one for fans and continuing to bring out this best work on every album is something that Parnell does not take lightly.
Thanks Laura Zanone for this great shot from Ft. Lauderdale.
the Houston chronicle
staff review writer
Lee Roy Parnell bares his Texas country soul on Love Without Mercy, his second album on Arista Records. The new collection fearures a personal set of songs performed to stripped-down arrangements, bringing out the emotional resonance of the lean redhead's voice and his slide guitar.
The result is a confident album of emotionally revealing, deeply touching songs based on themes of romance, hearbreak and renewal. The Texan is not withdrawing his pride in his first album, which established his as a top-rate talent and drew a rush of high praise from critics, who called him "the next big star" (USA Today), "an artist who stands to put the raw spark back in country music" (Tower Pulse), and a singer who "packs more punch than (anyone) I've heard for awhile" (Country Music Magazine).
All together, Love Without Mercy reveals a maturing singer-songwriter-guitarist honing his eclectic blend of American roots music into a cohesive whole without compromising his influences of himself. Like other well-known Texans before him- from Bob Wills to George Jones to Buddy Holly to Waylon Jennings - Parnell combines a variety of styles to create an individual, engaging sound of his own.
Parnell holds out against stale industry
by Tony Sherman- El-Dorado News Times
A good-looking, dirtyblond Central Texan who has knocked around the fringes of the music biz for two decades, Lee Roy Parnell is ready for the big time. In fact, he's much fresher sounding than 99 percent of Nashville's other up-and-comers. At heart, Parnell is a Stevie Ray Vaughan-style blues-rocker, and if the effort to squeeze his scruffiness into a smooth, modern country mold is transparent at times, he is resilient enought to adapt. In fact, the album's most commercial-sounding tunes, like the single "A Little Bit of You," are among its best. The record's only real flaw: It doesn't convey enough of the looseness and virtuosity that Parnell shows onstage. He not only has a winning stage manner--relaxed and intelligent--live, he has time to unwind and slay audiences with his knockout slide-guitar prowess.
Every Night's A Saturday Night
by Roderick Harrington
Texan Lee Roy Parnell is one of the few artists in Nashville who can score a Top 10 single and still not give in to the stale mundane recording industry there. Parnell, who headlined last year's Musicfest in El Dorado, is known for his hot slide guitar work, his razor sharp backup band, the Hot Links, and one of the most soulful voices being recorded today. All three remain true on "Every night's A Saturday Night," his latest CD to be released June 17 on Career Records. "Lucky Me, Lucky You" is the first single.
Parnell embodies the best of Southern music, a raw mixture of roadhouse blues, honky tonk, Texas swing, Southern rock and R&B. Still, nearly every song on "Every Night" could be released as a single to country radio station, if they only had the guts to play 'em. Parnell produced his fifth CD, which follows on the heels of "We All Get Lucky Sometimes."
Parnell for the second straight CD, works almost exclusively with the Hot Links, one of the best road groups working today. James Pennebaker on guitar, Stephen Mackey on bass, Kevin McKendree on keyboards and Lynn Williams on drums gel perfectly with Parnell's goals on "Every Night." When they need to turn up the heat, they blow the top off the pressure cooker, When they need to pull back and let Parnell take center stage, the backing is as sweet as a Texas breeze in May.
So if you're tired of the sound-alike, "Gee I wish I could be like George Strait" singers in Nashville these days, Parnell is the cure. He's like a tall glass of lemonade after you've worked two hours in the yard in mid-July. One warning, however, if you've had cardiac problems in the past, you might not want to listen to the CD's final track, "Mama Screw Your Wig on Tight," written by Parnell and the Hot Links as they were recording the CD. It might just be the best juke-joint, jumping swing number on the record. If your legs don't move on this number you have severe circulation problems.
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