Michael Lee Firkins (album) explained

Michael Lee Firkins
Type:	studio
Artist:	Michael Lee Firkins
Cover:	Michael Lee Firkins - 1990 - Michael Lee Firkins.jpg
Recorded:	November 1989
Studio:	Prairie Sun Recording Studios in Cotati, California
Genre:	Instrumental rock, blues rock
Label:	Shrapnel
Producer:	Mike Varney, Steve Fontano
Next Title:	Chapter Eleven
Next Year:	1995

Michael Lee Firkins is the self-titled first studio album by guitarist Michael Lee Firkins, released in 1990 through Shrapnel Records.^[1]

In a 2009 article by Guitar World magazine, the album was ranked eighth on the all-time top ten list of shred albums.^[2]

Critical reception

Vincent Jeffries at AllMusic reviewed the album very positively, praising Firkins' unique playing and guitar tone and suggesting that he was "one of the best artists (if not the best)" from Shrapnel's 1980s–early 90s shred line-up. He also highlighted "Déjà Blues", "Space Crickets" and "Laughing Stacks" as "instrumental classics".^[1]

Personnel

Musicians

• Michael Lee Firkins – guitar
• Jeff Pilson – bass (except track 9)
• Mark "Mooka" Rennick – bass (track 9), mixing assistance
• James Kottak – drums

Production

• Mike Varney – producer
• Steve Fontano – producer, engineer, mixing
• Joe Marquez, Marc Reyburn, Shawn Micheal Morris – assistant engineers
• Stuart Hirotsu – mixing assistance
• George Horn – mastering at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California

External links

• In Review: Michael Lee Firkins "Michael Lee Firkins" at Guitar Nine Records

Notes and References

1. Web site: Michael Lee Firkins - Michael Lee Firkins review . Jeffries . Vincent . . . 2017-08-23 . 2017-08-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170823205304/http://www.allmusic.com/album/michael-lee-firkins-mw0000263102 . live .
2. Top 10 Shred Albums of All Time . Guitar World Staff . . 7 September 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110528005153/http://www.guitarworld.com/top_10_shred_albums . 28 May 2011 . 2017-08-13 .