Originally published by L.S. Media. June 19th 2012
L.S. Media Rating ****
When Richard Marx performed at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in 2011; it was easy to see, even to the untrained and blinkered casual observer, that the man and his music has touched so many lives in his 30 year sensational career.
Now the singer/songwriter has released an album, Inside My Head, that takes in songs from two of his recent albums, Emotional Remains and Sundown, some new material and some new recordings of the man’s biggest hits including Should Have Known Better, the epic story of Hazard and the song that Right Here Waiting, a song that can still knock more modern songs released into touch with its absolute depth of feeling and vocals that just are to die for.
The album may be a compilation album in name; however there is more to Richard Marx than just sitting on his laurels and raking in money from his fans as some others would do when the whim would take them. To re-work some of the songs that appear on the album and give them a more modern and contemporary feel shows a sense of playfulness and regard for his key audience that he is prepared to part with what made those songs great in the first place and give them new life, a sense of new purpose.
Right Here Waiting and Hazard from Richard Marx’s early career are classic examples of songs that caught the public imagination at the time but have the grand gesture of great vocal arrangement balanced with the perfect music that are just right for this album. They don’t just compliment the songs from Emotional Remains and Sundown; they give them a meaning, a 21st century desire to be recognised.
Although some of the songs have been available to buy on the internet for a while, the physical copy of any album is always preferable; it feels more real to own the C.D. rather than something that has been plucked out of mid-air. If you have already bought some of those songs then to be fair, delete them, get the physical copy and here the songs as they were meant to be, in an order that brings out the best of each song and forget the haphazard approach. There are some artists whose songs are meant to be heard all together. Richard Marx is one of those artists.
Ian D. Hall