My Own Best Enemy in Bloomington, MN

My Own Best Enemy
arrives in the midst of
Richard Marx
's thriving career as a producer and songwriter, and in particular his Song of the Year Grammy with
Luther Vandross
for
"Dance With My Father."
You'd think these successes would sour him on another solo outing, especially since 1997's
Flesh & Bone
and the 2000 self-released LP
Days in Avalon
didn't exactly ignite
soft rock
radio. The opposite, however, seems to be true. Working comfortably within the adult
pop
realm (instead of grudgingly accepting the genre as his fate),
Marx
puts forth a solid effort tinged not only with engagingly modern production and arrangements, but subtle personal reflections and just a little bit of that
"Don't Mean Nothin'"
grit.
"When You're Gone"
is the single, reintroducing
's grainy smooth voice over a slick yet rousing backing track helped along by the guitar and supporting vocals of pal
Keith Urban
. The Nashville connection continues with
"Love Goes On"
--
Jessica Andrews
contributes chorus harmonies, and the nicely appointed cut's a steel guitar overdub away from
contemporary country
hit status. Later,
"Someone Special"
acts on that Music City pacing and steel guitar urge; it's essentially a
Lonestar
song sung by
.
does stick a little too closely to its slick formula, and the lush production smooths its edges. But
keeps reaching deep into his vocal chords and pulling out that legitimizing scratchiness he's always relied on. The midtempo sameness of
Enemy
also highlights
's slower material and his talent for deftly altering the mood. The quiet, simply romantic
"Again"
features some really nice flourishes of watery, echoing guitar, while slight
electronic
percussion patters in the background of
"The Other Side"
's bruised-heart urgency. The two songs are emotional opposites, yet they never stray from an easily digestible adult
sound. It takes true talent to sound genuine over what could've been maudlin. ~ Johnny Loftus