In the seven years since he released his last solo album, Richard Marx has kept busy writing material for pop superstars including 'N Sync, Josh Groban, and Barbra Streisand. The lauded tunesmith's greatest triumph, however, came in co-writing Luther Vandross's "
Dance with My Father," which won the 2004 Grammy for Song of the Year.
My Own Best Enemy returns Marx to his career as a performer with a dozen songs that are more bluntly honest than anything he's previously recorded. He pleads for forgiveness amid the lush strings on the bittersweet "Ready to Fly," just as he's waiting for the other shoe to drop on the rocker "When You're Gone," which features a tasty guitar solo by country artist Keith Urban. Marx confesses to ennui in a relationship on "Nothin' Left to Say," with its loping rhythm and Collective Soul–like guitar intro, and offers a touching tribute to his late father on the uplifting "The Other Side," accented by a mix of string arrangements and keyboards. Even when Marx reflects on better days -- as on the singsong "Everything Good," buoyed by jangly acoustic guitar and sunny harmonies -- he still manages to squeeze in a solemn line or two. He leavens the album's lyrical heaviness with the optimistic "Love Goes On," with its cheery call-and-response vocals and edgy hooks. Whether his mood is gloomy or lighthearted,
My Own Best Enemy marks a welcome homecoming for a potent pop singer-songwriter.
