Mescal Mary & Other B Bender Guitar Instrumentals

by Mike Breen

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Mike Breen - Singer Songwriter
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1.
Mescal Mary 04:02
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2.
Honky Tonk #22 03:51
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3.
North Of Sonora 03:59
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4.
Sleepwalk (Farina, Farina, Farina) 03:38
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5.
Havasu 02:34
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6.
Moon Glow Supper Club 04:27
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7.
Apache (Jerry Lordan) 03:30
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8.
Ridin' The Fence 02:42
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9.
Stillness Of A Snowy Night 02:21
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10.
Remember Me 03:32
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11.
Bell Road Boogie 03:03
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12.
Anastasia 04:21
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about

Mescal Mary & Other B Bender Guitar Instrumentals" Review in 20th Century Guitar by Robert Siverstein
A consistent quality rolls right through the third solo album and instro debut from singer-songwriter Mike Breen. On Mescal Mary & Other B Bender Guitar Instrumentals, Breen performs masterfully on the B and G bender guitar, a guitar device invented by one time Byrds guitarists Clarence White and Gene Parsons to resemble the sounds of the pedal steel guitar. Breen mixes his tasty electric work with his added banjo, mandolin and flatpicking guitar sounds. Supported by drummer Mickey McGee, the Phoenix-based guitarist revives a post-modern Nashville / Bakersfield instro sound injected with some melodic and progressive guitar touches and a vintage Les Paul style feel. Breen never wears his influences out and with it’s wide ranging diversity, the 12 track instrumental CD is just the ticket for twangy guitar and country instro enthusiasts. Among his fine original tracks, Breen covers of two certified instro classics—”Apache” and “Sleepwalk”—further defines the focus and variety on Mescal Mary. Commenting on his famous choice covers, Breen adds, “I picked "Sleepwalk" because Ed Black (Ronstadt, Yoakam, Tracy Chapman) used to play it beautifully on his lap steel and forced me to learn to play the rhythm guitar part the way Santo and Johnny did it. Ed was just a brilliant steel player, lap steel player and guitar player and helped me learn more about music than just about anyone else so it’s kind of a tribute to him.” Commenting on the Jerry Lordan classic, "Apache is a song I’ve loved ever since hearing Tommy "O" Oster play it in a band called the Two Week Notice Band, which counted among it’s members Russell and Ken Skaggs (Glen Campbell) and Matt Cartsonis (Warren Zevon, Bryndle). Tommy "O" was amazing and really known to only a few.”

"If you''re into the sound landscape defined by Telecasters and string bending, Breen''s release should fill the bill. This Phoenix guitarslinger, armed with B-bender and G-bender equipped guitars, demonstrates that he knows his way around a Tele all through this instrumental release, starting with the dramatic "Mescal Mary" that sounds like it would have been at home on the Charlie Daniels Band album High Lonesome. Chicken pickin'' with steel guitar type bends abound on cuts like "Ridin'' the Fence," the Bakersfield-tinged "Havasu," and the satisfying "Honky Tonk #22," all Breen compositions. "Moon Glow Supper Club" has a front porch type atmosphere with mandolin, resonator guitar, and banjo joining the B-bender (all played by Breen), while "Remember Me" has an echo of Eric Johnson''s "Cliffs of Dover" with country underpinnings. Breen can stop everything with the exquisite "Stillness of a Snowy Night," and with "North of Sonora" and the acoustic closer "Anastasia," Breen captures the satisfied end-of-day kind of mood. If you love guitar with a country heart...
to get yourself a copy of this enjoyable disc."
By Don Thomason, The Amplifier

credits

released September 17, 2022

All songs by Mike Breen except Sleepwalk (Farina, Farina, Farina) and Apache (Jerry Lordan).
All instruments except drums - Mike Breen
Drums - Mickey Mcgee

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Mike Breen Phoenix, Arizona

Over the years Mike has gained an enthusiastic following for his "story songs."

"​Mike Breen may be an unfamiliar name but his songs have that warm. lived in quality that lodge themselves firmly within the subconscious..." John O'Regan - Rock-N-Reel

One of..."the best of the real indies..." Carolyn Adams - WDIY-FM ... more

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