Danny Shafer – “One Morning”

Listening to Danny Shafer conjures images of simpler times, he’s a country boy at heart (though he grew up in Chicago) and his latest record, One Morning is beautifully straightforward.

The lyrics are honest and direct, in the style of the troubadours that have influenced his music and the guitar accompaniment is accented by the fingerpicked fills that bring a front-porch feel to the disc.

There’s songs about failed romances (Girl Got Me Down, Susan), unpretentious joys (Tuesdays for Peaches, 100 Watt Town) and hope (Filling Up The Sails) sprinkled with the patriotic American In Me and a good drinking song.

He’s still playing nearly every night, both solo and with his band, The Unknown Americans (though they will perform their last show on New Year’s Eve at Conor O’Niell’s) making the rounds through the coffee houses and bars on Boulder and the Front Range.