Road Runner

1	(I'm A) Road Runner 4:11
2	I'll Stop Loving You 3:59
3	Rock of Your Love 3:15
4	Julie's House 4:06
5	Didn't Start Livin' 4:13
6	The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress 3:31
7	Livin' It Down 3:42
8	Working on Love 4:11
9	Payola Blues 7:16
10	Dimming of the Day 3:55

Barnes & Noble

Masterful guitarist that he is (winner of Guitar Player magazine's "Best Country Guitarist" for five years running), Albert Lee surprises no one with a CD's worth of playing that is both tasty, economical, and soul-enriched. This near-singular blend of qualities surfaces again and again, whether the song be the seven-minutes-plus instrumental exhibition of sturm-und-twang and jaw-dropping speed picking that is his self-penned "Payola Blues" or the moody, ringing fills he interjects amid the weeping pedal steel and brittle, stark banjo lines of Jimmy Webb's "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress." For those who haven't been keeping tabs, though, Lee showcases an equally nimble facility on the 88s, pounding furiously à la Jerry Lee on the barnburner "Didn't Start Livin' " (with Beka Bramlett adding some sizzling blue-eyed-soul vocal backup) and tickling the ivories with grace and sensitivity on Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day," which is presented as a straightforward country tear-jerker. (Lee's daughter Alexandra's emotive vocals herald the arrival of gifted interpreter.) Moreover, Lee steps it up as a vocalist, too: Always powerful with a ballad, he swaggers with Delbert McClinton-like authority on the roadhouse rocker "Livin' It Down." Even at a concentrated ten cuts, Road Runner is a trip like no other. David McGee

All Music Guide

If Albert Lee fans have grown used to his commitment to a handful of good songs and extraordinary guitar work, then Road Runner will not disappoint. Lee and his band kick off with the title track, an easy-rolling rocker with a little vocal help from Buddy Miller. Lee follows with a solid set list that includes selections from John Hiatt, Leo Kottke, and Richard Thompson. These songs all receive tasteful renditions, but the real fun comes with uptempo fare like Billy Burnette and Tony Colton's "Didn't Start Livin'," and Delbert McClinton/Benmont Tench/Gary Nicholson's "Livin' It Down." It doesn't hurt that Lee has enlisted the talents of drummer Don Heffington, bassist Bob Glaub, and steel guitarist Buddy Emmons on Road Runner. Guest appearances by co-producer Steve Fishell on "Didn't Start Livin'" and "Rock of Your Love," along with guitarist Mark S. Cohen on the latter, also add something extra to these arrangements. One of the coolest exchanges on the album is between Lee and Emmons' guitar and steel for the last minute and a half on "Working on Love." Guitar freaks, of course, will enjoy the album, but so will country music fans looking for tuneful songs that fall somewhere between the rough edges of alternative country and the glitter of Nashville. Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.