Tragik is the latest project from Phil Vincent, a solo artist who has released nine solo albums. In preparation for this album Vincent came up with 30 or so new songs, fifteen of which made the final cut. What little I'd heard of Vincent's solo work in the past had been, in the main, firmly in a poppy, AOR vein.

To that extent Tragik is a slight sideways step from his previous output: it's more hard rock than AOR and showcase lots of different influences throughout it's length. Opener 'Show The World' for instance starts off with a  programmed sequence but then heads into glam/sleaze territory whereas 'never Stand Alone' has much more a blues vibe going on.

That's not to say Vincent has forsaken his AOR roots, 'Test Of Faith' sits easily into that particular genre and of course there are the obligatory ballads as well. 'One Of Us' is a glorious stab at AOR balladry and 'Jessica' in particular is simply stunning. Equally worthy of mention elsewhere is the singer/songwriter acoustic track 'Who Will Be There' and the excellent ' Message To God', another song that kicks off with a programmed sequence before building and building throughout...

I’ve got to be honest though,  when I first heard this album I thought the production was poor. It's not, it just takes a little getting used to.  Several vocal passages sound as if they have been sung down a telephone, but this adds light and shade to the tracks that they are used on - Message To God and Show The World spring to mind in particular.

In reality with repeated listens the production has a very uncluttered, almost live sound and perhaps that was the aim of the game. Maybe though Vincent could have exercised a little quality control over the song selection. At fifteen tracks  Poetic Justice could maybe have done with losing a couple of its weaker moments and this may have allowed time for the remaining tracks to have polished that little bit more. Overall though a decent enough release and one that augers well for future Tragik albums and off course more of Vincent's solo work in the years to come.