Tempting as it may be, don't just judge Gurf Morlix by the company he keeps, even if it does provide a fine starting point: eminent musical artists like Lucinda Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Warren Zevon, Ian McLagan, Patty Griffin, Robert Earl Keen, Michael Penn, Buddy Miller, Mary Gauthier, Tom Russell, Jim Lauderdale and Slaid Cleaves, to name but a few. Instead, listen to Last Exit to Happyland, his fifth solo album, and understand why his blue-ribbon associations as a producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist have led Morlix to a similar level of excellence as a singer, songwriter and artist in his own right.

The album is a showcase for Morlix's gifts as a musician and producer as well as his finest moment yet as a writer and singer. He plays everything on it but the drums.  Icing the cake are Patty Griffin, Barbara K (of Timbuk 3 fame) and rising Texas singing sensation Ruthie Foster, who contribute harmony vocals to a number of tracks. As with all that Morlix has produced and played over the years, every note and creative touch ultimately serves the songs. And his trademark grit, soulfulness and authenticity suffuse the album, representing the "muddy," as Morlix calls the junction where the varied strains of American roots music meet and mingle, at its truest and finest.

Last Exit to Happyland is peopled with characters "headed to reckoning day," as Morlix sings in the propulsive opener, "One More Second." The swampy bomp of "Walkin' to New Orleans" finds a Crescent City resident heading home into the deadly wind and rain of Hurricane Katrina, while the haunting country-blues "Crossroads" reveals new wrinkles in Robert Johnson's fateful meeting with the devil. Whether it's longtime lovers
at the "End of the Line," a traveler on a "Hard Road" or an outcast who laments "I Got Nothin'," Morlix captures their emotional essence.

Prior to embarking on his own career, Morlix was likely best-known for his 11-year creative partnership with Lucinda Williams as her guitarist, band leader and backing vocalist as well as the producer of two of her classic, critically-acclaimed albums: her 1988 breakthrough Lucinda Williams and 1992's Sweet Old World.

This is the perfect pairing of artists since Gurf played on Ralston's most recent CD, "Rally at the Texas Hotel"

Ralston's  songwriting has been lauded by many, and his songs have been performed and recorded by Caroline Aiken, Peter Mulvey and Rachael Davis. He received numerous awards for his writing from a variety of organizations including American Songwriter Magazine, NSAI/CMT, Unisong and the ISC (International Song Competition) and As A Kerrville New Folk Finalist. He even found himself opening for such artists as Shawn Colvin, T-Bone Burnett and Arlo Guthrie.

But it was only after years of coaxing he found himself recording his own material with producer Marvin Etzioni. The recording, "Carwreck Conversations", earned him triple Jammy Awards locally and recognition as best musician in West Michigan by Grand Rapids Magazine. It has also opened doors for his doing more outside the Midwest and lead him to his first commercial release through Judy Collins' Wildflower Records.  "Rally At The Texas Hotel" was released last Spring.