RANDOM ACTS OF BEAUTY

I looked for this one after reading AtomicCrimsonRush´s extensive review (thanks for it, mate!). There is not much to add to it, except the fact that I loved the record. 2010 has surprised me a lot with the highly quality of many releases so far. I had never heard of this keyboardsman, but I´m glad to have found this beautiful symphonic prog gem. The sound is mostly gentle and dreamy, but - as any good symphonic rock is - it has many moods and swings. Some surprisingly heavy ones too like the second part of Storming the Castle (great guitar riff!). One hour of pure great music that does not have single second of boredom on it.

The musicanship involved is astonishing, but is also deceivingly simple. Like good classical music (Minasian is obviously a trained pianist). In fact, the tasteful arrangements and the melodic compositions hide it´s complexity to most people. Random Acts of Beauty (a reference to the 7 wonderful tracks? well, it surely fits that bill) is a fine tapestry of gentle melodies and terrific harmonies. Quite elaborated when the music calls for it, and simple when necessary. Nothing more and nothing less. And it´s hard to compare the music here to anything in particular. It sounds quite familiar, and yet it is also very original. However, some influences are clear. Early Camel is the most obvious one for Andy Latimer even plays on the opening track, the 12 minute Masquerade. The Moody Blues also seems to be a source of inspiration specially for the vocal parts.

Blessed with a very good production, David Minasian´s album is a startling showcase of his incredible talents as a musician, songwriter and arranger. I was not sure if I should give this album a five star rating since it is only his first solo efford (not counting an obscure release in the 80´s). But the music here speaks for itself and it is truly a masterpiece of progressive music. A prog heaven for my ears. And I´m looking forward to listen to his future works. Highly recommended!