Michel Griffin

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  • View Over the Moon Video
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  • View Autumn Leaves Video
  • View Winter (Woodsmoke and Wine) Video
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Mornings like this, there's nothing but sunlight
Mornings like this, there's nothing but song;
Mornings like this, you can taste the daylight
You can hear my heart beat on a morning like this.

Mornings like this were made for lovers
Mornings like this were made for us;
So reach out darling, throw off the covers
Let me help you discover the depth of my love

Let me take you flying, on a morning like this
Let me hear you sighing for the taste of my lips
We can ride the moon, we can touch the stars
There's nothing too far on a morning like this.

On a morning like this, there's nothing but distance,
Mornings like this, there's nothing but time;
Mornings like this, the whole of existence
Just falls into place, just melts into rhyme.

Mornings like this were made for lovers
Mornings like this were made for us;
So reach out darling, throw off the covers
Let me help you discover the depth of my love

Let me take you flying, on a morning like this
Let me hear you sighing for the taste of my lips
We can ride the moon, we can touch the stars
There's nothing too far on a morning like this.

Mornings like this, you can sense the earth
Orbiting gently, beneath your bare feet;
Mornings like this, you can feel the wind
Whispering softly, caressing your cheek.

Mornings like this, there's nothing but silence
Awaiting so calmly the touch of your kiss;
Mornings like this, there's nothing but answers,
No further questions, on a morning like this.

Let me take you flying, on a morning like this
Let me hear you sighing for the taste of my lips
We can ride the moon, we can touch the stars
There's nothing too far on a morning like this.

Copyright © 2021 M.J.C.Griffin [ASCAP] & VineValley Music

Released: Sep 2021

REVIEWS:

"A beautiful and emotional listening experience ... " - Facebook

BACKGROUND:

It all started when I made a rash promise to a concert audience to record an album of all happy songs, songs that celebrated life. Of the dozen songs on Mornings Like This, the ten that I wrote were mostly inspired by my beautiful wife Diane, in whose effervescence I daily bathe, and to whom the album is dedicated.

The original concept was to record simple acoustic arrangements for guitar, harmonica and bass, with my good friends Frenchie Dègre and Coco Correch. But then came COVID and - denied the opportunity of working with live musicians in the studio, and with plenty of time on my hands - I ended up making far more complex orchestral arrangements to many of the songs.

I am indebted to my friend and audio engineer Ian Maclean whose sharp ear and sage advice transformed the quality of the mixes and final masters, to Coco Correch, whose bass adorns Stay Free, recorded before the pandemic, to Alexis Van Eekhout, whose delightful pan-pipes came all the way from Belgium to add their ethereal imprint to Over the Moon, and to Frenchie Dègre, who contributed a spine-tingling harmonica part to Summertime from the caravan in his garden and sent it to me via the web, as the virus prevented us from recording together in the studio!

TRACK BY TRACK:

Mornings Like This - The album opens with a paean to tranquility and the empowerment of Love. It came to me almost fully formed, words and melody, one beautiful Spring morning in a house we were renting in a sleepy French village. It took five years - and a pandemic - for me to finally find the time to record it ...

Over the Moon - I wrote this song one wintry evening in Boston, a universe away from the Brazilian beaches its bossa rhythms evoke. Alexis Van Eekhout added the delightful pan-pipes, all the way from Belgium.

That Gold-Haired Girl - There are some people who are just such fun to be around, who make you feel ten feet tall. Diane is one of those people. So when I was fooling around in the studio one day, coaxing a kind of bluesy shuffle out of my guitar, these lyrics just came tumbling out ...

Gonna be There - This was one of the songs where the melody came first. The opening lines came quickly, but I kept reworking the central bridge, trying to express love without being maudlin. Hopefully, I succeeded. I had a lot of fun with the orchestration.

Early Spring (Come Back Home) - The first of four songs each named for a season, this was a tune that I found that I had recorded a couple of years before I started putting the album together and then forgotten all about. When I found it, it was just me singing the melody to a Spanish guitar - no words. But as soon as I listened to it again, I remembered the context - it was the early hours; I was alone in the house and Diane was 5000 miles away in Hollywood. So the lyrics tell that story.

Summertime - A very spare version of this timeless classic - just me, the guitar and Frenchie Dègre's plaintive harmonica (from the caravan at the end of his garden!)

Autumn Leaves - I have loved this song ever since hearing Eva Cassidy's sublime and untouchable interpretation of it. Mine combines the English and French versions, with a nod to the immortal Yves Montand.

Winter (Woodsmoke and Wine) - The last of the four 'season' songs has an Olde English Folk Song feel to it. Arranged for three guitars, double-bass and violin, with a cello joining in at the end. I've always loved wood fires. And wine.

Let the Moment Last - A tender song for Diane, who loves exploring the horizon, from someone who loves his roots.

Stay Free - I wrote this song soon after leaving university, so it's by far the oldest song on the album. Just me, two guitars and Coco Correch's sensitive double-bass.

You’re the One - Perhaps the quirkiest song on the album. I started singing it to myself as I was driving through the French countryside one day, and had to stop the car to get it down. Pop-song verses with a Cole Porter-esque chorus.

True Love - This is an a capella version of a song originally recorded for my Russian Dolls album. I used to sing with Les Bumets, an a capella jazz group, and I made this arrangement for them. Alas, the group broke up before they ever learnt it!


Click or tap its cover to explore an album:
Dance+Me+To+The+End+Of+Love

A collection of 14 beautifully crafted Leonard Cohen songs.
"[Michel's] takes on Leonard's songs are impressive" - Allan Showalter, founder of CohenCentric.com
November 2019
Feel+My+Love

14 of Dylan's greatest lovesongs.
"Beautifully produced album ... pure joy." - Music- News.com

".. songs positively shimmer and shine ... " - Skope Magazine

"Respectful of the originals while offering his own take on these true-blue American classics, Michel Griffin's Feel my Love: Bob Dylan's Finest Lovesongs simply stuns." - Skope Magazine

"Michel's voice - all velvet & smoke - brings new life to the familiar lyrics ... with such feeling it'll give you goosebumps."- Music- News.com

"Griffin manages to capture Dylan's spirit and personality, and more generally the feeling of the 1960s folk music scene, through his elegiac, romantic delivery and dexterous acoustic guitar picking."- The Big TakeOver

Feb 2017
Atlantic+Avenue

9 originals and 5 covers, including Imagine & Suzanne.
"Spectacular Songs" - iTunes
"Superb musicianship" - Amazon
"A poet's poet of our times" - iTunes
Oct 2013
Ballads+and+Blues

Twenty two tracks of Michel in concert.
"Beautiful voice .. emotive singing ..  fine guitar- work" - iTunes
"An utterly natural and masculine voice." - Amazon

August 2013
Who+Knows+Where+the+Time+Goes

7 original songs and 5 covers, including 'One Too Many Mornings'.
"Stunning Lyrics" - iTunes
"Pure elegance ..." - Amazon
"Brilliantly arranged" - CD Baby


"Michel Griffin's singing can transport the listener to the best of old French cinema..." - Amazon

"Fabulous guitar playing and dramatic accompaniments... This is an album to listen to again and again." - iTunes
August 2008
Russian+Dolls

10 original songs, including 'Russian Dolls' & 'Children of Circumstance'.
"Musical Mastery" - CD Baby
"Well-crafted songs and performance ... A real Keeper!" - CD Baby

"I have rarely heard an album that provides such a compelling combination of poetic and musical pleasures." - CD Baby

"The multi-talented Michel Griffin just gets better and better.." - CD Baby

"I can't say enough good about the album Russian Dolls" - CD Baby

October 2006
Echoes%2C+Waves+or+Ricochets

14 original songs, including 'America, Come Weep, 'Fûr Elise' & 'Freeze the Moment'.
"The new Leonard Cohen ... " - CD Baby
"Masterly songwriting" - iTunes

˜This is one of those rare albums where the lyrics are as good as the melodies. Griffin combines the dexterity of James Taylor's guitar work with the genius of Bob Dylan's poetry. - CD Baby

Michel weaves his magic like an artist on canvas, with inspired lyrics set to haunting melodies that reach deep into your soul. - CD Baby

˜Michel's talent lies not just in his musical prowess but in the eloquence and poignancy of his lyrics." - CD Baby

 

May 2005
The+Still+Centre

14 relaxing, romantic pieces for piano and orchestra, including 'Dreamwing' & 'La Tendresse'.
"Michel Griffin gives [the listener] a special feeling of inspiration and relaxation ... he is a great artist." - Ernesto Cortazar
March 2004