2007

Ctr.AltCountry.be 08/2007

While we are eagerly awaiting Markus Rill's new album "The Things That Count" to be released on Blue Rose in mid-October, Europe's by far best Americana singer-songwriter treats us to a self-released live album. It contains a number of songs performed as a duo, in November 29006 at the Lab in Stuttgart with Andi Obieglo on piano, accordion, guitar and vocals and in February of this year at the Licca Lounge in Landsberg/Lech with Robert Hasleder on mandolin, dobro, and Weissenborn.

The emphasis in the set lay on songs from his last CD "The Price Of Sin" and its splendid predecessor "Hobo Dream from 2004. With seven of the most beautiful tunes from the first-mentioned "Price" ("Singin' in The Cemetery", "Just So You Know" including a short interlude of Springsteens "I'm On Fire", "Fade To Blue", "The Price You Pay For Sin", "Broken Puppet" and "Out or The Cold") and four from the latter ("Cowboy Blue", "Hobo Dream", "Where Do We Go From Here?" and "Love Has Dragged Me Down") plus "Trouble With The Law" from the '99 release "The Devil And The Open Road", Rill serves up mostly familiar material in acoustic versions.

Exceptions are a successful cover of Elvis Presley's "That's All Right, Mama" and two new songs. With "Unlike You" and "Sarah Stein" which features some unbelievably pretty dobro accompaniment from Robert Hasleder, Rill introduces a couple of tunes that will hopefully end up on his soon-to-be-released new studio album.

The "Live" CD is only available through Markus Rill's website and at his consider. Go get it!