Markus Rill went to Nashville last year and recruited first-class pickers like Fats Kaplin (mandolin, fiidle, pedal steel, accordion), Dave Jacques (upright bass), George Bradfute (dobro, guitars, cello, production), Bryan Owings (drums) and Dave Coleman (background vocals) to record twelve songs in the wide field of Americana between country, blues and folk in an all- acoustic setting (with the exception of the pedal steel guitar).

The Price or Sin is the work of a mature singer-songwriter who is blessed with a rugged voice that sounds like it's been treated with a mix of whiskey and cigarettes. Rill has done his share of living and and his lyrics sound like they are drawn straight from his experiences. The narrator in Not Ready Yet is concerned about his father's mortality, The Price You Pay For Sin tells the story of a guy fooling around with his best friend's wife (I won't guess how autobiographical this song may be) and Broken Puppet describes a tragic car accident. We also hear that religion seems to play a big part in Markus Rill's world (Carry My Load, Wash Away The Stain), as well as love and desire (Just So You Know and My Love Runs To You) and the unavoidable sorrow caused by love (Fade To Blue, Run Run Run) and death (Singin' In The Cemetery).

This is excellent stuff.
Overall the record could have used a little more tempo and sometimes Rill lays it on too thick in the lyrics. He leaves little to the listener's imagination in Not Ready Yet when he talks about how he'd like his father to see him get married.

Bart Ebisch