Parker McCollum (from the album Never Enough

Parker McCollum (from the album Never Enough

Parker McCollum (from the album Never Enough available on MCA Nashville) (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Parker McCollum has all the makings of a star. Never Enough, his second major-label release, confirms that fact. The follow-up to Gold Chain Cowboy, it boasts both commercial credence and a compelling grit and determination to confirm he’s more than just another good old boy wannabe. With artist/producer Jon Randall at the helm, it’s an album flush with urgency, emotion and a sound that often brings to mind such notable forebears as Eagles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Jackson Browne.

That said, the familiarity factor doesn’t affect the instant allure that each of these songs possess. Opening track “Hurricane” purveys a certain Byrdsy twang while providing the album with a ready and rousing introduction. A song about a strong-willed girl who blows through one’s life and leaves it in tatters, it’s both assertive and anthemic, a preview of the relentless Rockers that power the album forward while offering a decided nod to the restless notion its title suggests.  “Lonely People Do”, “Speed”, “Wheel”, and “Best I Never Had” follow suit, each a driving and determined blast of pure adrenalin guaranteed to get the crowds revved up and primed to pump their fists in anticipation.

Other tracks come across with resilient themes that still manage to resonate with clear authenticity. “Don’t Blame Me” is driving and deliberative, a treatise on the hopeless feeling of falling in love despite any and all attempts at denial by the object of his affection. “Handle on You” comes a across as a classic confessional that details his desire to drink, much in the same spirit as George Strait, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and any number of battered barflies who readily gave into their temptation ('I tell myself that I should quit/but I don’t listen to drunks’).
 
Parker McCollum’s ability to transcend the divide between Classic Country and reliable Roots Rock works to his advantage, given the fact that his first two singles, 2020’s “Pretty Heart” and “To Be Loved by You”, both hit the heights of the Country charts by reaching number one. While Parker McCollum claims he doesn’t necessarily write with radio in mind, there can be no doubt about the music’s irresistible appeal. That’s further evidenced by a string of weary, winsome ballads — the beautiful “Tails I Lose” (with Dan Dugmore’s swaying steel guitar at the fore), the heartsick strains of “Have Your Heart Again,” and the similarly sentimental “Too Tight This Time”.
 
They’re all the type of tunes that assure instant appeal. Despite a bounty of fifteen songs, Never Enough lives up to all the name implies. (by Lee Zimmerman)


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