Lee Roy Parnell Hits and Highways Ahead (Arista)

Lee Roy Parnell

Hits and Highways Ahead (Arista)

Despite the fact that he doesn' t fit the mold of your standard Hot New Country artist out of Nashville, Lee Roy Parnell has had a successful career in country music. Hits and Highways Ahead is a collection of his best-known songs (with the now-standard couple of new songs tacked on) that illustrates with a fine brush his talents as a singer, songwriter, and guitar player. A native Texan from Abilene who relocated to Austin several years ago, Parnell is notable for his ability to combine blues, country, and rock with just the right amount of soul, keeping it interesting and distancing himself from the Hat Act pack. Interestingly, his first, self-titled album is not represented here, as it had no "hits," yet it remains the most adventurous of all the albums Parnell has made, with its swinging horn section and a solid bluesy feel that recalls the equally funky Delbert McClinton. From that point forward, Parnell's leaned a little more on such Music City-favored songwriters as Bob McDill, Mike Reid, and Tony Arata, and managed to round most of the edge in his music right off. Still, tunes like "The Road," "What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am," and "Heart's Desire" are distinctive and retain some of Parnell's natural blue-eyed soul while managing to showcase his singular style on the slide guitar. The collection opens up with a new tune, McDills' "She Won't Be Lonely Long," which is right in the pocket for Parnell -- lots of guitars, a bit of soul and a killer hook -- and ends up with two songs that were not hits or even singles, but point out the local's eclectic nature. The high energy "The House Is Rockin'" comes on like a full-force gale, and is contrasted with the chilling "John the Revelator, " a profoundly spiritual take on the blues/gospel standard, which also features the Fairfield Four.