It has been a long time since we last heard from Richard Marx. Oh, you know the one. The solo pop artiste who sang wedding-worthy top love ballads such as “Right Here Waiting” and “Now And Forever”.
The now 50 years of age Richard Marx may have built his career on love songs but recently, he announced his divorce from his wife and longtime love, Cynthia Rhodes. The couple were married for 25 years before separating in July last year. So, some might’ve assumed that his new album titled, “Beautiful Goodbye” is a result of the breakup.
However, Richard Marx tells People:
There were people who thought that, especially with the name of the album, that it was going to be a record about splitting up. And it’s not that at all. It’s really a celebration of romance and seduction.It has been a painful time. But I don’t necessarily want to bury myself in songs about it, frankly, out of respect. I have nothing but love and respect for my ex-wife and I don’t really want to delve into that in songwriting so much. Not to say that I never will, but I didn’t feel like that’s where I wanted to write from. I wanted to write from a more positive, inspired, hopeful place.
However, he won’t discuss his divorce, not even to some of his close friends because “it’s really nobody’s business”.
And what about what fans (and perhaps new Richard Marx listeners from the current generation) can expect from his new music? Richard Marx says that his new songs are more about sex and, we quote, “What are you doing for the next few hours?” as opposed to forever. As for why he decided to put out an album sounds like that, he tells Billboard, “I was influenced by EDM and trance. I love that because it often doesn’t have a lyric to focus on; the music takes you away. It made me listen to Chopin. That is so sexy to me.”
Sure, Richard Marx’s “Beautiful Goodbye” might seem like something that’s completely out of character for him and sound very different as compared to the music that he used to produce. But we hear that already, he’s romancing fans with the album’s first track, “Whatever We Started”. Check it out here:
For more information, visit his official website.
