Melodic rock CD of the week

By Stephen Kasenda

UNRULY CHILD “Unruly Child” (1992)

Unruly Child was formed by Mark Free after Signal split up in 1989. Bruce Gowdy and Guy Allison joined him after they left World Trade. Musically, they continued the AOR path that was derived from Signal's sound and mixed it with the glam sound of Giant and some Bon Jovi. Mark Free, whom later transformed into Marcie Free, definitely has one of the truly magical voices and he's the shining star of this album.

The ultimate reason to buy this album is because of Free's voice singing two insanely beautiful tunes, "Who Cries Now" and "Is It Over". While "Who Cries Now" is more of an uptempo track with an unbelievably awesome chorus, "Is It Over" puts their tender side ahead. You can hear the sadness and emotion wrapped tight inside the arrangement - this is the type of song that'll be loved by many, and is it very nostalgic.

Some other wonderful tracks to check out include the ballad "To Be Your Everything", which features a superb sing-along chorus; "When Love Is Gone" – with another stunning delivery by Free; "Wind Me Up", a great hard rock effort by the band; and "Lay Down Your Arms", a groovy midtempo song with a strong chorus. The rest are also listenable, although nothing is really spectacular, with "Tunnel of Love" and "Long Hair Woman" being the worst fillers.

The production level is very good and you can catch every detail of Mark Free's great voice. The band's musicianship is quite decent, but Gowdy did throw in some memorable riffs and solos. For fans of AOR, pop-metal, or Mark Free, the debut of Unruly Child is undoubtedly their greatest release. It has been out of print for a long time, so it's gonna be a tough job looking for this in the market.

Read more of Stephen’s features at MetalMusicArchives.