michelgriffin.com: Album Display Page

www.michelgriffin.com
m i c h e l g r i f f i n	Friday 3 September 2010

Russian Dolls

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Buy CD for 10.00 €

You can		this whole album for only 6.00 €

August Morning	lyrics play
Crystal-clear guitars herald the arrival of a new summer's day. 'And I love you in the morning, as a new day coaxes birdsong from the trees; And I love you, and the laughter in your eyes that’s all for me'. The vocal is low and warm, and the smooth vocal harmonies are provided by Maryline Dumont.

Children of Circumstance	video lyrics play
Edgy, atmospheric, electric. A lonely man contemplates a past he cannot change: 'It's not only clowns who play the fool, But it's only the brave who confront the truth ...' One of the more poignant tracks on the album.

Where the Story Starts	video lyrics play
As the crickets still, and the sun goes down, the wild geese pass overhead in search of pastures new, and we listen in on the singer's reflections on his new found roots, his new-found start in life.

Who Whips the Cream?	lyrics play
The almost Samba rhythms of 'Who Whips the Cream?', with its delicate spanish guitar accompaniment, make you want to dance, as the singer idly wonders 'What makes you smile? Who is keeping you laughing? Who shares your dreams, now that I’m not there?'

Russian Dolls

video

lyrics

play

With the title track, 'Russian Dolls', Michel has found a worthy successor to his popular 'America, Come Weep'. Although in a very different style, both songs talk in their own way of the hypocrisy of power: 'It's all a game of Russian dolls, every motive neatly sheathed; Painted faces & frozen smiles cloak the daggers and the greed'. Plangent electric guitar and more lovely vocal harmonies by Maryline Dumont.

That Laughter of Conchita's	lyrics play
'In the hazy middle-distance between the known and the unseen, hovers in uncertainty the ghost of what might have been' - 'That Laughter of Conchita's' paints the portrait of a liberated spirit who left the singer with an indelible memory of her laughter and her easy ways. Nice acoustic guitar-work.

The Poet's Smile	lyrics play
'The Poet's Smile' speaks of someone who was so concerned with his image that he lost his true self. The sparest song on the album, it came out in the studio in a single take, with Michel accompanying his poignant lyrics with some simple guitar-picking.

Strangers Once Again	video lyrics play
You go on vacation. You meet the love of your life. You return home. And arrange to meet up. But somehow, away from the beach and the rolling surf, the glinting, lilting moonlight, the magic's gone. And you realise that you've just become 'Strangers Once Again'. Fabulous guitar solo by Jean-Paul Piquard.

Walking the Web	lyrics play
'Time is coming, not so far away, there'll be a Blackberry implant in every brain ...' and we'll all be 'Walking the Web'. A lovely catchy number, with a Django Reinhardt feel to it.

True Love	video lyrics play
The album closes with this rhythmic paean to 'True Love', which again features the vocal talents of Maryline Dumont. 'True love's forever, or that's how it seems ...'

Please note: The MP3 tracks available for download from Russian Dolls are High Quality (128 kbit). 90 second extracts are played when you click on the play button, and Shockwave (which is already installed on most computers) is required to do so. If you have difficulty playing the music, click here to install the Shockwave player. If you still have problems, or any other comments about the music or the site, contact me.

If you wish to hear the whole CD, or have difficulty playing individual tracks, click on the 'hi-fi' or 'lo-fi' buttons just underneath the album-cover at the top-left of this page. Use 'hi-fi' unless you only have a low-speed (56K) internet connection. The lo-fi samples are very compressed, and in no way represent the quality of the files you receive when you click on 'download'.

This site describes and contains Michel Griffin's songs, piano, orchestral, New Age and guitar music in MP3 format.

Booking agent: Mick Gardiner