On his fifth album, The Price Of Sin, Markus Rill from Germany once again proves himself to be a truly great artist. On this album, recorded in Nashville in the company of class acts like George Bradfute, Fats Kaplin, Dave Jacques, Bryan Owings, and Dave Coleman, the man concentrates mainly on ballads. With his sandpaper voice as his trump card he leads the way through twelve original songs that are simply excellent.

He expressly focused on giving these songs an acoustic treatment. We hear a gently moaning pedal steel, a carefully picked acoustic guitar, an elegantly buzzing bass, and gently played drums and percussion topped off with a little dobro, banjo, mandolin, and cello with occasionally emerging accordion, harmonica and piano - more is not necessary to establish that Rill is playing at the top of his game on this record.

It is simply stunning how in Wash Away The Stain he manages to perfectly set the universal feeling of "contrition after the sin" to music, or how in The Price You Pay For Sin he ponders on the strange feeling that takes hold of him after seducing his best friend's wife. He evokes these emotions so vividly that the listener cannot help but be touched and experience what he's singing about. Rill describes it, you feel it ... spectacular! We do not know a better word to describe this. This is Americana of the highest order: warm, full of integrity, and lasting.

5 of 5 stars (absolutely brilliant)