Review: “Rush Street” by Richard Marx (CD, 1991)

Today’s POP RESCUE from an unknown fate, is the 1991 third album Rush Street by American soft-rock songwriter and singer, Richard Marx. Will this album Keep you Coming Back, or is it a Hazard for the ears? Read on….

Richard Marx – Rush Street (1991) album.

This 13 track CD opens with the wonderful tones of Barry White suggesting that we ‘get busy’ as we step into Playing With Fire. The track roars in with electric guitars and some fantastic rock vocals from Richard, with both getting some perfect opportunities to show off their power and raw energy. A bass from Randy Jackson bounces perfectly along, in what is ultimately a stadium-worthy sing-along type rock track. We’re off to a great start.

That leads on to Love Unemotional, which keeps up the tempo but delivers us a song about love makes – and whilst Richard once again sounds fantastic on lead vocals. We have Luther Vandross on the backing vocals, but he’s tucked away until towards the end when you get to hear his dulcet tones, giving a great contrast to Richard’s rock vocals and a harmonica.

Next it’s lead single Keep Coming Back, and this time we get a much more mellow song. Richard delivers his more heartfelt vocals here with a softer tone, as the song plods along gently. Again, Luther is here on the backing vocals, most noticeably in the final third. The track is wonderful, but despite the vocals, and a big sprawling saxophone solo, and the title, the UK public decided that this wasn’t quite time for him to come back, and it stalled at #55 in the UK chart.

Take This Heart is next, and this stood as the album’s third single. This is a nice up-beat track, that rolls along with great ease from verse to chorus and back. Once again, the brilliant vocals from Richard are here, giving us some great pop-rock sounds when say alongside the electric guitar, and building up nicely for the big notes of the chorus. This brighter track had a warmer reception, reaching #13 in the UK.

That’s followed by the hit second single, Hazard which took the UK by storm, and giving Richard a #3 UK hit. This somewhat breathy reflective song is a complete breeze as it gently meanders from the opening (slightly foreboding?) synths, to the keyboard-flute type instrument that flitters throughout. The track rightly deserved it’s hit status, even if I’m surprised to learn whilst writing this review that it wasn’t a #1 in the UK. Excellent!

Hands In Your Pocket follows it, returning us to the harder rock sound, with Richard’s vocal taking a lower range. The bass and electric guitars chug this song along nicely, punctuated perfectly by the drum fills.

Then it’s Calling You, opening with another nice bass line, which is swiftly joined by some softer vocals from Richard, although as the song evolves, it gives him the chance to show off his vocal range nicely. It’s a nice melodic song.

Superstar follows, and this is a song about ‘a superstar’. “All you want’s a daddy, the one you never had” and “you’re a superstar but you don’t know who you are” he sings. In later years, Richard revealed that the track is about Madonna, who he had previously appeared on her True Blue album amongst others.

Next up is Streets Of Pain, returning us to growling stadium-esque rock guitars – and there’s a lot of them here. Richard’s vocals sit perfectly on top duelling with the roar of the guitars, planked perfectly by his backing vocals.

Then we’re on to I Get No Sleep, and here we find Billy Joel on piano, Randy Jackson is back on Bass, and Cindy Mizelle is one of the backing vocalists. This earns us a more mellow song initially but thanks to the piano, Joel helps to raise the pressure and the song blasts out towards the end with it. Richard’s vocals sound great here.

Then it’s Big Boy Now, and the piano is back, this time with Richard playing it. It’s a nice simple intro to the song, loaded with piano, bass, and vocals. Here the piano helps to ground the track, making it a more heartfelt song, even if it does still allow Richard to show off his vocal range again. It’s definitely a foot-tapper, and for me, that’s the piano keeping my foot going.

Penultimate track Chains Around My Heart is next, and with it’s growling vocals, hard dramatic drum bursts, and guitars, places this track in ‘power rock ballad’ territory – flitting between soft, almost acoustic/breathy vocals and roaring chorus. The track was a moderate hit when it hit the UK singles chart, reaching #29.

The album closes with Your World, an intro with some great percussion and funky bass. Richard is soon back on the mic, starting off softly. As expected, the song builds perfectly, allowing Richard to belt out his ecologically aware lyrics in his flawless gravelly rock vocal style.

Richard Marx’s lead single ‘Keep Coming Back’ (1991).

Verdict

Over all this album is probably much harder in sound than you’d expect if you were brought in via the biggest hit – the emotive Hazard.

The songwriting and production are fantastic, which pretty much is a given with Richard Marx, and the album gives a meaty slice of late-80’s-esque rock-pop belters mixed with power ballads. Hazard is clearly a highlight of the album, but so is Playing With Fire, Keep Coming Back, Take This Heart, and I Get No Sleep, but there’s a weaker mid-section here, in which the songs are nice, but they don’t feel too dissimilar – with Hands In Your Pocket and Calling You marking the start of this.

The inclusion of Randy Jackson and Billy Joel, along with backing vocals from Luther Vandross and Cindy Mizelle, ensures that we have a wonderfully constructed sound, even if I wish I could have heard Luther’s vocals a bit more in harmonies.