This is a pleasant surprise; Phil Vincent is a multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter with an impressive recording history. “Unknown Origin” is his ninth release and if this is anything to go by, his previous releases should be worth checking out. A quick look at www.philvincent.com reveals a huge talent that for some reason hasn’t been picked up by a major label…yet.  

Released on his own label by the looks of things and self-financed, the album is a collection of radio-friendly tunes, which on this evidence deserve the touch of a big name producer. His list of influences ranges from Journey to Dokken and Whitesnake to Boston, but he’s clever enough to avoid the clichés and keep things really quite original. The production quality is good, especially with the vocals and the layering of the harmonies. It’s in the overall quality of the song writing where he scores very heavily, according to the website bio, his initial feeling was to write songs and pass them on to established recording stars. It is to his credit that he’s kept hold of the tunes and recorded them himself.  Vocally, he has a very “Gary Moore-like” sound, but with a better range. Musically, when you hear the album, you could easily envisage a band like Bon Jovi banging out the tunes, the blend of guitar and keyboard keep things firmly in the AOR genre. 

Having used a couple of guest musicians on the album I’m not entirely sure who plays what on individual tracks, but as a whole body of work, there’s a good mixture of tempo and musicianship. Stand out tracks are the opener “Thanks For Nothing”, “Dear Friend” and “Goin’ Through The Motions”, showcasing his use of riffs and melody to the max. If I have a minor gripe, the guitar sound is a little over-processed in parts (Make No Mistake), but that in honesty is personal taste from a player to a player. The overall quality is undeniable and with a big budget producer to tweak the various dynamics, this could be a seriously big album. With all the shit you can hear on the radio, guys like Phil Vincent need to be given the chance to present their music to wider audience and on the evidence of “Unknown Origin”, his day will come.