George Mentz releases 27-track album built from old demos

By AI, Created 12:20 PM UTC, May 23, 2026, /AGP/ – Counselor George Mentz released Midnight Drive – Platinum Feel Good Album on April 13, 2026, turning decades-old demos and handwritten lyrics into a 27-track genre-blending project. The album pulls from New Orleans musical traditions and recovered recordings believed lost after Hurricane Katrina.

Why it matters: - Midnight Drive – Platinum Feel Good Album turns long-lost creative material into a finished release, showing how archival recordings can be rebuilt for modern listeners. - The project connects New Orleans music traditions with contemporary production across rock, blues, funk, soul, reggae, electronic and alternative styles. - The release adds to a catalog built around reflection, resilience, creativity and personal transformation.

What happened: - Counselor George Mentz officially released Midnight Drive – Platinum Feel Good Album on April 13, 2026. - The album includes 27 tracks and draws from original demos and handwritten lyrics created more than 30 years ago. - The collection features songs including “Into the Sun,” “Fly Through Time,” “You’re Beautiful,” “Nowhere Man - Special Concert Version,” and “This Is for The People, Won’t You Listen - Special Blues Version.” - Listeners can hear the full collection on YouTube playlist.

The details: - The album includes alternate versions influenced by G-Funk, Neo Funk, reggae, country, blues and electronic dance music. - Several original recordings and lyrical ideas were believed lost after Hurricane Katrina before being rediscovered and reconstructed with modern engineering and digital mastering tools. - The production kept the emotional character of the original demos while adding a more polished sound. - Short track lengths give the album a continuous, flowing structure across all 27 songs. - Songs such as “Sky Is Blue - Special Reggae Version” and “B-Attitude - Special G-Funk Version” show the project’s crossover approach. - The album also draws on indie rock, funk fusion, blues rock and electronic experimentation. - Mentz grew up around jazz, gospel, blues, soul and classic rock in New Orleans, and those influences shape the record’s sound. - The music uses organic instrumentation, layered rhythms, emotional storytelling and experimental production techniques.

Between the lines: - The album is framed as both a recovery project and a reinvention project, with old material serving as the base for a new artistic identity. - The Hurricane Katrina backstory gives the release a preservation angle, not just a nostalgia angle. - Mentz’s broader career in law, education and publishing suggests this music project is part of a wider creative brand, not a standalone experiment. - A quote from Mentz underscores the personal nature of the release: “Music has always been connected to my life and creative work.”

What’s next: - More than 50 unreleased songs are already in development as part of the ongoing music project. - Mentz plans to share streaming links, updates and future releases through his official music and social media platforms. - The release sits within a broader creative mission centered on growth, learning, artistic expression and long-term vision.

The bottom line: - Midnight Drive is a reconstructed archive turned new album, and Mentz appears to be building a larger catalog from recovered material and fresh production.