- One Way Conversations
- One Way Conversations
- Me and Bobby McGee
- Me and Bobby McGee
- You and I
- You and I
- Dreams Like Bubbles
- Dreams Like Bubbles
- The Rose
- The Rose
- Perfumed Letter Blues
- Perfumed Letter Blues
- The Slipstream of Your Smile
- The Slipstream of Your Smile
- One Too Many Mornings
- One Too Many Mornings
- Tree Trunks and Rough Stone
- Tree Trunks and Rough Stone
- Bird on the Wire
- Bird on the Wire
- You Crack That Smile
- You Crack That Smile
- Who Knows Where the Time Goes ?
- Who Knows Where the ...
Released: August 2008
REVIEWS:
"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
BACKGROUND:
Time accelerates as you get older. So it is not surprising that the theme of Time runs through the songs on this CD, intertwined, of course, with the eternal theme of Love.
I worked with a number of musicians in making this album, two of whom I have never met. The delightful Amy 'Sugarbee' Caldwell lives in a remote part of Canada. We 'met' and sung the title song together via the Net. And Alexis Van Eekhout lives in Belgium. We have never been in the same room. But I heard his silky inventive saxophone-playing online and asked him if he would be willing to play on the album. Happily he agreed - you can hear the result on One Way Conversations and The Slipstream of your Smile.
My thanks also go to my friend Albert Casas, who devoted an afternoon to improvising some lovely sax on Dreams Like Bubbles, and another hilarious afternoon to filming us performing the song. To Gérard Lamolère, whose elegant accordion playing adorns Tree Trunks & Rough Stone', and to Michel ’Coco’ Correch for his brilliant double-bass playing on The Slipstream Of Your Smile
TRACK BY TRACK:
One Way Conversations - It was when she sent me back all my love-letters that I realised that our conversations had been strictly one-way! With the fabulous silky tenor-sax playing of Alexis Van Eeckhout.
Me and Bobby McGee - One of my all-time favourite country songs. The treatment here is nearer to Kris Kristofferson's original version than Janis Joplin's rocker ...
You and I - A love-song for those who can still feel that Love is an eternal in an ever-changing world.
Dreams Like Bubbles - I was inspired to write this jazz piece by reading Don Marquis's comment : 'Publishing a volume of verse is like dropping a rose-petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo'. Dreams are like bubbles, blown over cobblestones. With Albert Casas's inventive tenor sax.
The Rose - Maybe it was because it was the day before Valentine's Day, but I heard Bette Midler's version of this on the radio as I was putting the album together, and was blown away by it. It seemed only natural to include it on an album which was themed on Love and the passage of Time.
Perfumed Letter Blues - When I was growing up, I was hooked on John Mayall, Eric Clapton and the original Blues men like Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. This is my tribute.
The Slipstream of Your Smile - A song to capture the magic of those moments when your lover holds you captive with her eyes. With Alexis Van Eekhout's silky sax and Michel 'Coco' Correch's rhythmic double-bass.
One Too Many Mornings - I often start my folk-club sets with this evocative, less well-known Dylan song.
Tree Trunks and Rough Stone - I love the simple honesty of old farm-houses, built of local rough-hewn stone and felled tree-trunks. I chose to live in one, and I imagined that I would die there. With the haunting accordion playing of Gérard Lamolère.
Bird on the Wire - One of my favourite Cohen songs, arranged for two guitars. I've been playing this for so long, and yet it always moves me.
You Crack That Smile - Isn't it amazing how a smile transforms a face ? Here's a little piece of jazz about that ...
Who Knows Where the Time Goes ? - Sandy Denny's immortal classic is the final song on the album, and is sung as a duet with the delightful Amy 'Sugarbee' Caldwell, whom I've never met. (We collaborated on the song via the internet). One of the finest songs ever written about the fragility of Love in the face of Time.
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And if you want to own the album:
Click or tap its cover to explore an album:
14 of Dylan's greatest lovesongs.
".. 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
10 original songs, including 'Russian Dolls' & 'Children of Circumstance'.
"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
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
14 relaxing, romantic pieces for piano and orchestra, including 'Dreamwing' & 'La Tendresse'.