Kenny Marks

Item: World Gone Mad
Author: Stephen Trickey

World Gone Mad

(1995)

Reviewed by Stephen Trickey

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music YouTube Music

Label Word RecordsThe LighthouseJanuary 1996

ccm heartland rock pop rock

The name Kenny Marks may not strike a chord with younger Christian music fans. This is his first project in three years and, in an industry where there are always eager new artists on the horizon, it is easy to get forgotten. For the more seasoned music listener, however, Marks is well known. His eight albums have produced several hit songs.

Musically, this 11-song project is consistently based around the pop-rock/contemporary sound, with dominant guitar and steady drum beats-not unlike his most recent works. From time to time some piano and organ play can be heard, but the guitar play, both electric and acoustic, dominates the sound. Lyrically, Marks shows no fear. No effort here to try and throw in some cliché Christian terms, or popular religious message. The lyrics are open and transparent, packed with a calm emotion of realness and truth.

The opening tune, "Take Me Back," starts things off with a punch! The electric guitar surrounds Marks' vocals. The song expresses a desire to leave a dark place to return to Jesus:

Take me back To my first love Show me where to start Take me back To first love When faith was fresh in my heart

Several songs follow the pattern of "Take Me Back" in delivering a solid "real life" message with an upbeat, guitar-laden sound. These include "Before My Last Goodbye" (all the things he wants to do before he leaves this world), "Next Time Love Comes To Town" (about being unable to love somebody before-being afraid of commitment-and not making that mistake again) and "Take My Heart" (asking for God's direction).

The title track, "World Gone Mad," was written by Marks for author Josh McDowell. This slower song tells a story of several people that made some wrong decisions in their life and faced some tough consequences. The song carries a wonderful witnessing theme in the last verse:

There's a truth that can answer lies And there's a love you can recognize He came a long time ago For the good and the bad He's the way you can make things right He's the only truth in the dark of the night

Marks gives an acoustic make-over to his 1987 hit, "The Party's Over." This wonderful story-telling song relates the tale of Johnny and Jennie-two young teenagers and the consequences of a wrong decision on sexual behavior (getting pregnant, and then getting stuck in a bad marriage). For anyone unfamiliar with the original tune, it is vaguely reminiscent of "Jack & Diane" by John Cougar Mellencamp.

World Gone Mad also has several inspiring mellow tunes that touch on some "down to earth" issues that all Christians can face. "In My Mother's Eyes" carries a message about the desire of an adopted child to find his mother. Marks gives a stirring performance on the song "Why," which talks about some of the events of our life that can cause pain and confusion and cause us to look skyward and ask why. The smooth mid-tempo contemporary/pop base gives the song a lift but never crowds the powerful lyrics.

It may seem that because of the raw issues that are touched on, the project could be perceived as somewhat dark. Not at all! Upon final analysis, that is what makes this such a fine piece of work. Marks never takes you so low that you get down-right depressed and he never takes you so high that you get lost in the beat of the music rather than the message. World Gone Mad is a showcase of experience at making music. His vocals are never strained, the music is never overpowering and the production of the songs gives the collection a comfortable flow.

This is music that really requires you to listen rather than just hear. Take your time, read the lyrics once or twice, and you will find the message that Marks is giving. The message seems to be that, yes we are Christians, but just like everyone else, there are areas of life that cause us to reflect on who we are, where we've been and what's really important.