Stephen
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 which was derived from Signal's sound, and mixed it with the glammy sound of Giant and also 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 and this is the type of song that'll be loved by many, and very nostalgic, if I must add.
Some other wonderful tracks to watch are the ballad "To Be Your Everything" with 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 midtempo groovy with a strong chorus. The rest are also listenable, nothing's really spectacular, and probably "Tunnel of Love" and "Long Hair Woman" are 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 some memorable riffs and solo. For fans of AOR, pop-metal, or Mark Free, the debut of Unruly Child is undoubtly their greatest release. It had been out of print for a long time, so it's gonna be a tough job looking for this in the market. With the band reunited again for a comeback album in 2011, I wish they still have the fire to match the strength of this one.