Live At The Marvelous Tiny Theater by Michel BG Yves.

Bonjour. It is raining so I won’t be going out today. That gives me the opportunity to tell you about the music I have been listening to recently. As you know, I have always enjoyed listening to French chanson and have written previously about the likes of Francoise Hardy and Marie Laforet. Today I want to tell you about another recording I have been listening to for the past two days. It is Live At The Marvelous Tiny Theater by Michel BG Yves. Firstly, I should declare an interest because I know Michel. I first met him and his Danish wife Marchen in Dublin 2015 when we were enroute to Belfast for Van Morrison’s 70^th birthday celebrations. Our paths have crossed a few times since then in places like Bristol and at Nell’s Club in London. 

Michel’s main passions in life appear to be gastronomy and music. It seems that ever since he retired from being a chef de cuisine he has had more time to develop his music skills. I first became aware of his musical talent when he posted videos on Facebook of himself playing the saxophone. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength and has emerged as a great singer. His sons are also accomplished musicians on the Danish music scene. Recently Michel converted his basement into a tiny theatre where he hosts concerts for family and friends, and it was in the Tiny Theater that the 20 songs I received two days ago were recorded.

I have enjoyed listening to the songs immensely, and it has been very educational for me learning more about French music, translating the titles and lyrics to find out the meaning of the songs. As well as listening to Michel’s recording, I have also listened to some of the original versions by other artists. I was surprised to find out that I recognised some of the tunes. The bolero style Et Maintenant for instance. It was originally a big hit in France for Gilbert Becaud who wrote it. I remember the English version What Now My Love by Shirley Bassey and later by Sonny & Cher. 

I won’t discuss every song here, but I think my favourite song on first listen was the very poetic and emotional Les Gens Du Nord (People Of The North) written by the Algerian exile Enrico Macias, but now after further listening I like all 20 songs. La Maladie D’Amour was a popular folk song which has been covered by many people including Sacha Distel. Au Pays Des Mervielles De Juliet sounds quite humorous to me. I think it translates as The Wonderland Of Juliet, but I’m not sure of the songs meaning. Serge Gainsbourg wrote Requiem Pour Un Con which was featured in a film starring Jean Gabin. 

I believe ‘Un Con’ means a jerk or an idiot. When I looked up Faut Pas Pleurer Comme Ca today I found out that it was recorded by Gerard Depardieu. It is quite easy to understand the meaning of J’aime Les Filles (I Like Girls). Toute La Musique Que J’aime is a most enjoyable blues song. I have always liked the songs of the genius Jacques Brel ever since discovering his music via the likes of David Bowie, Scott Walker and Alex Harvey. Michel sings a brilliant version of Voir Un Ami Pleurer which featured on Jacques Brel’s final album before he died in 1977. Many people will recognise Les Feuilles Morte (The Dead Leaves). The lyrics were written by Jacques Prevert and then Johnny Mercer wrote an English version called Autumn Leaves. Among the many recordings of the song there was one by Edith Piaf in French and English. 

Il Est Cinq Heures by Jacques Dutronc was voted the greatest French single of all time in a poll, and Michel’s version is just as good in my opinion. The most excellent live concert ends with Il Voyage En Solitaire written by Gerard Manset in which Michel encourages the audience to join in with the chorus, before leaving the stage with the applause ringing in his ears. Highly recommended. I have shared one song Les Gens Du Nord below, and you can find all twenty songs on youtube. Cheers.

Les Gens Du Nord by Michel BG Yves.

How To Manifest Abundance.

When I wrote my review of the wonderful Mavericks concert about three weeks ago, I said that I had never bought a Mavericks album previously. Well, the morning after the concert I was still buzzing from the enjoyment of it all, and I thought to myself, “I wish I had a Mavericks album that I could listen to right now”. Later that very same day I had to go over to Warminster to visit a friend. On the way home I had a few minutes to kill before the bus arrived, so I popped into the Blue Cross charity shop for a bit of a browse. Looking through the CDs for sale, lo and behold there was a copy of an album called Trampoline by The Mavericks! It almost jumped off the shelf into my hand. I had to buy it for only £1.00 as it includes many of their greatest songs including Dance The Night Away. I have been playing it ever since. I have been looking in charity shops for decades in search of books and music, but I don’t recall ever seeing a Mavericks album before. It was almost as if I had conjured it up out of thin air. I believe it is one tiny example of what is popularly known these days as manifestation. Whenever I go on youtube to listen to a talk or watch a music video these adverts keep popping up by American self-help teachers who want to tell you how you can manifest whatever you desire. It seems to be ever since lockdown that manifesting became a buzz word on the internet.

Although I don’t consciously wish for nice things to happen for me, I think there is something in it which makes me wonder. For instance, recently I gave a small donation to an appeal for humanitarian aid because of the terrible situation in Gaza. The next day on my way to the supermarket I found a £20 note lying on the pavement. I don’t think that is a mere coincidence because it has happened often before. A few years ago, I was trying on my suit to go to a funeral. I hadn’t worn this suit for about four years. In the jacket pocket I found a £20 note which I didn’t know I had or had completely forgotten about. It makes me think that generosity is rewarded. As it says in the good book, ‘god moves in mysterious ways’.

You don’t need self-help gurus to manifest abundance. All you need to do is practice gratitude, and you are instantly rich. When I am sitting out in my little garden and the sun is shining, I feel immensely grateful for what I have. It might not seem much to some people, but I know I am wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of millions of people around the world. In many ways I feel just as wealthy as Elon Musk or any other billionaire. They can only eat three meals a day, same as me, or wear one pair of pants at a time, same as me, or sleep in one bed at night, same as me. Also, I bet I have just as many true friends as Elon Musk, maybe more. I can assure you that in 100 years’ time I will be in exactly the same position as Elon Musk. If you ask people what they really want in their lives, they will say happiness, and they can have that by practicing gratitude. You can’t be unhappy and grateful. Joy goes hand in hand with gratitude. What people shouldn’t do is wish for more than they need. That is just greedy. I have noticed that greedy people are usually quite miserable, and greed creates most of the misery in the world. As those great philosophers Mick Jagger and Keith Richards once said, “You can’t always get what you want, but you might just find, you get what you need”.