Is Gurf his real name? I don’t know. What I do know is he’s produced excellent records in the past few years for other artists, and in the past couple has started putting together some pretty good ones of his own.

Once upon a time, country music radio sounded this good. What’s really surprising is Gurf played the lion’s share of the instruments on the record. Despite that, each tune has a great feel, and the collection works really well. At times, it’s almost like one person playing every instrument and singing.

There are fine tunes here. The honky-tonk of “Yesterday She Didn’t” shows off Gurf’s stringed versatility, with fine steel and six-string work. Lyrically, “Were You Lyin’ Down?” is tough to beat. The singer is stood up, and comically wonders where his date is. All set against a great country feel. Same with “Your Sister,” in which our singer informs his lost love he’s “…gonna have to sleep with your sister.” Very funny, and with a craftsman’s feel.

“Without You” is a honky-tonker with twangy fills that would make Don Rich proud. “Me and You” has its fine love lyric set to a loping country feel that lets Gurf play nasty steel and twangy lead.

Morlix is an obvious master of his craft. As a player, he’s right on the money. He has written a batch of songs here that should make the folks in Nashville ashamed of what they put on the radio. As a singer, he’s got a bit of the old guys mixed with some eccentricities. It sounds like his words get trapped halfway down his throat before he gets them to come out.

If you love country music, but are a little fed up with some of the stuff on the radio, look no further.