2006

Chill Music, April 2006

Excellent songs in phenomenal sound

Exactly two years after releasing his internationally acclaimed masterpiece "Hobo Dream", Markus Rill wows singer-songwriter aficionados with a new studio album. The Price Of Sin is a more than worthy successor, supplying evidence for ever closer ties of this Wuerzburg, Germany-based musician with the Americana scene and a staggering level of quality and consistency in his songwriting - his highest yet.

Right from the start - and that's where we hear "Singin' In The Cemetery" dedicated to his deceased mother - it becomes evident that The Price Of Sin is a diligently produced album of stunning sonic quality. The wistful sound of steel guitar, the band's careful support of Markus taking center stage with his engaging sandpaper voice, sure-handed guitar picking and harmonica - none of his previous albums has boasted such a phenomenal sound. Over the years, though, his back catalogue has grown into quite an impressive oeuvre.

In the beginning in 1997, there was the promising debut of Gunslinger's Tales, followed by two Texas-oriented albums, The Devil & The Open Road (1999) and Nowhere Begins (2001), which showcased Rill's acoustic as well as his electric side, and the versatility of his German band, The Gunslingers. In 2004, Rill fulfilled one of his biggest dreams by recording in Nashville, TN. with first-rate musicians like Duane Jarvis, Steve Conn, George Bradfute, Billy Block, and Karen Poston. Hobo Dream catapulted Rill to the level of such icons of the Americana scene as Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen, Tom Russell, Dave Alvin, and James McMurtry.

The Price Of Sin is predominantly acoustic, carefully arranged, and offers up a much broader topical palette than the typical Markus Rill-roadsong. And yet the album achieves its high goals with remarkable ease and laid-back-ness in wonderful - in the best sense of the word - entertaining fashion. These twelve brilliantly assembled songs rely on three pre-eminent qualities: The maturity and confidence of their leading man, the combination of musicality and sound-engineer-know-how in co-producer George Bradfute, and the contributing musicans' clear grasp and sensitive realization of the material.
Bradfute - who has worked with big names like Jason Ringenberg, Paul Burch, Amy Rigby, and Webb Wilder - creates just the right atmosphere for each of these songs, graces them with his own instrumental contributions (dobro, cello, acoustic and electric guitars), and adds a special touch to every single one of them. The basic sessions (including most of the vocals) were recorded live in Nashville in October 2005 with the core group of Dave Jacques on upright bass, Bryan Owings on drums, and hard-to-believe multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin on banjo, mandolin, fiddle, pedal steel, lap steel, and bottleneck guitars. These very in-demand cats have amassed an endless list of recording credits, among them Buddy Miller, Greg Trooper, John Prine, Patty Griffin, Kelly Willis, Tom Russell, and Kevin Gordon.

But back to the main issue - the songs. With "My Love Runs To You" and "Just So You Know" we get to hear two hopeful odes to a beloved - but shortly thereafter "Wash Away The Stain" and "Fade To Blue" announce her departure. The convincing title track deals with morality and weakness; the snappy, bluegrassy "Me & Bonnie Parker" is sung from the perspective of Bonnie's first partner - before she met Clyde. The ominous-sounding "Broken Puppet" is the yardstick all of Rill's further efforts in the ballad genre will be measured against. And the rhythmically very agile slide guitar/gospel/mountain blues number "Carry My Load" deservedly takes center stage with its moving quest for inner peace. "Not Ready Yet", dealing with fears for his father's health brings the rootsy song cycle begun with "Singin' In The Cemetery" back home and provides closure.
Kudos for a great singer-songwriter album!