Richard Marx's 1991 release, Rush Street, is a varied album that was billed as "the dark side of Richard Marx," and was also his last true rock & roll album (subsequent releases found him venturing almost exclusively into the adult contemporary domain). Rush Street explores different musical territories, with almost each song emerging as a cautionary tale in some form or another. The album kicks off to a rocking start with the bluesy "Playing With Fire" and the harmonica-enhanced "Love Unemotional." "Superstar" finds Marx in a funky mode, "Big Boy Now" is a catchy ballad that could have been a single, and "Streets of Pain" and "I Get No Sleep" (the latter featuring Billy Joel banging away at a piano) come straight out of '80s arena rock.

The two-CD set is being issued as a companion – or ‘soundtrack’ – to Marx’s book ‘Stories to Tell: A Memoir’. Includes never before released demos of his hits, live tracks & brand new recordings. Also features Richard's versions of his biggest hits. Marx enjoyed enormous success in America in 1987 with his self-titled debut album, with four singles from that record reaching the top three in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (‘Hold On To The Nights’ hit the top spot). ‘Right Here Waiting’ was released in 1989 and hit number one in many countries. Global success came a year later, with ‘Right Here Waiting’, the second single from his second album Repeat Offender.

Richard Marx's self-titled debut album was a finely crafted record of mainstream pop/rock. Marx understood how the melodies of up-tempo rockers like "Don't Mean Nothin'" are driven by thick power chords, and how arrangements are as important as melody in ballads like "Hold On to the Nights." Filled with carefully constructed radio-ready tracks, it was no surprise that the album became a huge hit.

Richard Marx's Greatest Hits performs a valuable service for his fans, collecting all of his hit singles – "Don't Mean Nothing," "Should've Known Better," "Endless Summer Nights," "Hold on to the Nights," "Satisfied," "Right Here Waiting," "Angela," "Children of the Night," "Keep Coming Back," "Hazard," "Take This Heart," "Now and Forever" – on one disc. For both the casual and the longtime fan, this is a blessing, since Marx's albums were usually uneven, featuring a few strong cuts surrounded by filler. Greatest Hits cuts away the chaff, leaving behind on the best cuts, resulting in an ideal career summary of this popular MOR pop/rocker.

Flesh & Bone is an improvement from Paid Vacation, mainly because Richard Marx isn't trying as hard to be contemporary. Marx has accepted, more or less, that he isn't fighting for a position in the Top 40 and has resigned himself to the adult contemporary charts. While that means Flesh & Blood doesn't even rock as hard as, say, "Don't Mean Nothin'," it does mean that is pleasantly and inoffensively melodic, with more memorable moments than its predecessor.

Also broadcast on PBS' Front Row Center, Richard Marx does indeed spend A Night Out with Friends on this DVD/CD live package. Those friends include Hugh Jackman, JC Chasez, Matt Scannell, and Sara Niemietz, all additions to a Marx revue that alternates from intimate, stripped-down reinventions to full-blown, flashy arrangements. Every element from the patter to the ease with expanding his band suggests a savvy showbiz pro – and Marx's charm does indeed carry him through whatever rough patches he may encounter during this set. It's much lengthier on DVD than on CD – 21 tracks vs. 12 – but for the die-hard Marxist, this is an entertaining night out…or night in, as the case may be.