Philip Bardowell is/was the vocalist featured on the 3^rd Unruly Child and the Magdalon album with former members of the House of Lords. Now I’ve not heard either of those albums, I must admit that I thought Unruly child without Mark Free was pointless, although the Bobby Kimball album Rise Up is quite good.  And so onto 'In The Cut'  the latest release from the Frontiers production line of 'get some songs and just add singer'! The big difference with this album, unlike many others in the same vein, is that the Radioactive main man Tommy Denander has provided much of the music and some of the songs to this project and his production is ideally suited to the material. 

Kicking off 'In The Cut'  is the Denander/Bardowell co-written title track which, in the guitar sounds employed if not the vocal department has a very Forginer/Giant vibe to these ears and is the most up-tempo track featured on the album. Second track in, 'Through My Eyes',   is a song written by Mark Spiro, a vastly overrated song writer in my book, but this is one of his better moments and is a slow to mid tempo semi –ballad that builds to a big chorus - of course!

Heart of A Hero is a Stan Bush written track and Bardowell does his very best impression of Mr Bush -Stan not George I hasten to add - on this track that I’d heard somewhere before and this was the track that  imediately made want to review this album, ee radio airplay does work. I Must Believe is a piano lead ballad that I could see Journey having redorded - Not to Self I MUST STOP LISTENING TO JOURNEYS BACK CATALOGUE -  and is once again a Stan Bush penned number. After the songs written by outside song writers it is good to find next a Philip Bardowell self penned song in the shape of 'She Will Never Know'is which is underpinned with a cool little driving riff.

'Never Too Late For Love' is from the pens of Curt Cumo and Harry Paress , if you’re an AOR fan you will have a least one song by these guys, is very reminiscent of a rockier, Springsteen written Because The Night, made famous by Patti Smith. 'It's A Long Road' was written by axes Bobby Barth and features a stunning vocal from Philip Bardowell and I could see this song being performed by the late 80’s  version of Starship. 'One Day In January' was written By Neil Ives, a new name to me, has a very Dire Straits  Brother In Arms style intro and then about turns into the traditional style power ballad.

From the pen of AOR legend Jim Peterick 'Dreaming' With My Eyes Wide Open' w could have easily graced either of the Pride Of Lions CDs or maybe even have found itself on a Survivor album, speaking of which Mr Bardowell now sounds like Jimi Jameson on this track. Another Peterick penned number is 'Voices Of The Heart' and is a big piano lead ballad that could easilyhave been lifted from a mid 80’s Survivor album and rounds out 'In The Cut' in a marvelous fashion. 

In short ' In The Cut' is a great little album that is only let down by the fact the songs are all fairly mid paced or slower,  a couple more up tempo numbers like the title track would not have gone amiss and would have added a degree or two of variation to make the whole album even better.  Al in all though a vast improvement over the last Fabrizio Grossi produced 'singer albums' of recent times

Now anybody known were I can get a cheap copy of Unruly Child 3 on CD

Let us know your views on 'In The Cut'

Track List

In The Cut
Through My Eyes
Heart of A Hero
I Gotta Believe
She Will Never Know
Never Too Late For Love
It's A Long Road
One Day In January
Dreamin' With My Eyes Wide Open
Voices Of The Heart

Line Up

Philip Bardowell - Vocals
Tommy Denander - Guitars/Bass/ Keyboards
Daniel Flores - Drums