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Genre boundaries become blurred as Randy George & co. roam from Jazz to Prog Rock to Blues to Funk. “Action Reaction” contains compositions made intermittently during a 20-year period by this ubiquitous and immensely talented bass guitarist. Besides playing with Ajalon, Randy has recorded and/or collaborated with several highly regarded musicians, such as Rick Wakeman (Yes, solo), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theatre, Avenged Sevenfold), David Ragsdale (Kansas), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theatre), Steve Hackett (Genesis), Adrian Belew (King Crimson) and Ronnie Stolt (Flower Kings). However he is probably best known for his tenure with Neal Morse’s band.

But back to “Action Reaction” – the album gives Randy George an opportunity to showcase his distinctive compositional skills but a number of parallels could also be drawn if one is to describe the music. ‘66,000 mph’, for instance, got me thinking of Rush. ‘All Y’All’ has melodies that seem to come out of a solo album of Steve Morse (Deep Purple, Triumph, Kansas). The funky bass lines and atmosphere of ‘Bassic Instinct’ (cool title) would fit well in a Stanley Clarke album. ‘Gentle Rain’ provides some emotional relief with acoustic guitars that recall Al DiMeola.

Clearly the album is of an exceptional technical quality and it is musicians who are most likely to appreciate it. Having said that, I’m not a musician myself and yet I lapped it up. A number of guests stop by to help spice up Randy’s compositions – these include Paul Kilkenny, who plays drums on most tracks and Neal Morse who guests as keyboardist. Lead guitars are handled by Randy George himself…..and does an excellent job of it.

“Action Reaction” is a technically creative album with a first-rate sound – I suggest a good set of headphones for maximum enjoyment.

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