There’s something incredibly compelling about a song that can tell a story, and while dystopian futures and deals with the devil are all well and good, often the best tales (if told well) are about ordinary people. In ‘The Gospel According To Carl’, taken from Rich’s debut album Life Ain’t That Long, we follow the downfall of a crooked used car salesman as he has a crisis of faith, finds a conscience, and subsequently loses all his ill-gotten gains. To sum up Carl’s story in one sentence though does this song a great disservice, as there are scores of Oscar-winning movies that lack the kind of depth and character development that this song excels in. With the droll humour and brilliant storytelling of Randy Newman, and the soulful passionate delivery of Van Morrison, Rich Krueger can weave wonderful tales with the best of them.