Russian Dolls by Michel Griffin

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" evokes the slow sunset over a forgotten valley, as the crickets still, 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.

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?"

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.

"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" was inspired by 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.

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.

"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.

The CD closes with a rhythmic paean to "True Love", which again features the vocal talents of Maryline Dumont. "True love’s forever, or that’s how it seems ..."

This CD is a sheer delight - enjoy!

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