In 1991, just two years after the released of his second album, Repeat Offender, Richard Marx released his third album entitled, Rush Street, an album that lives up to that of Repeat Offender. This album features the one song that turned me into the huge Richard Marx fan I am now today, and that song is: Hazard (The River). Here's what makes this album groundbreaking:

PLAYING WITH FIRE

The fifth & final single from the album. This song had blown me away. I could not believe how heavy this song. Richard Marx is known to record songs that are along the sounds of Light Rock & Pop. But this is a real Heavy Rock tune and it is absolutely outstanding. You'll notice that Barry White makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of this song, where he says, "...Let's Get Busy..."

LOVE UNEMOTIONAL

In my opinion, this song is much better than that of Playing With Fire. This song has a real catchy sound, with catchy lyrics and Richard's amazing voice to go with that catchy sound. Make sure to listen to this before going on to the next song.

KEEP COMING BACK

The first single from the album. A real nice soothing ballad, but it does not sound like a Richard Marx song, for it has an influenced jazz sound in there. But it is a song that I can easily listen to without having to turn it off.

TAKE THIS HEART

The third single from the album. Now, this is more like Richard's style and sound. It may sound a lot like the material from the Repeat Offender album, but this is a song that I would never turn off.

HAZARD (THE RIVER)

The second single from the album. My absolute favorite Richard Marx song, with Children Of The Night coming up right behind it. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy hearing this song. The song is so relaxing that everytime I hear it, whether putting on this CD or hearing it come on the radio, I just crank up the stereo and listen to this amazing song.

HANDS IN YOUR POCKET

Another song that I cannot turn down. There is a large hint of rock touching this song and it was played perfectly. This song is another classic, despite in not being released as a single.

CALLING YOU

This song is really cool. Do not skip this one.

SUPERSTAR

No, this is not a cover of The Carpenters' hit power ballad, although, it would have been cool if it were. The Carpenters' song and Richard Marx's song are two completely different songs, but with the same title. This is another one hell of a tune.

STREETS OF PAIN

Whoa! Richard Marx must have collaborated with Def Leppard on this one because the music sounds so much like something that Def Leppard would have done. That is why this song is another one of my favorites from this album. As you may know, if you didn't already, Def Leppard is one of my favorite bands, behind Heart and The Beatles.

I GET NO SLEEP

Seems as though Richard went from having a Def Leppard-sounding like song to an originally composed Richard Marx Pop/Rock song, with just a touch of rock swirling around it. Definitely a classic.

BIG BOY NOW

Just awesome.

CHAINS AROUND MY HEART

The fourth single from the album. Do you all know what I said after I finished hearing this song? I didn't say anything because I was in awe. This is one beautiful ballad. I must have played this song at least three times before I went on to finish off the album. Be sure to check out this amazing ballad.

YOUR WORLD

This is another song that does not seem to fit the album quite right, but for this song, I'll make the exception because this is a great song. It is not too much of an up-tempo song, it is not too much of a rock song, not too much of a ballad or power ballad. It is just a normal sounding song, with a slight up-tempo sound to it, but not overly done. Great song that every Richard Marx fan should check out.

RUSH STREET most certainly lives up to its reputation, just like that of REPEAT OFFENDER. If you are a wise Richard Marx fan, then you will know what to do: buy this amazing album. Believe me, you will enjoy it very much.

With guitars by Steve lukather in "Playing with fire"... a really good rock track, Marx sings with great passion in this album. Hazard is probably the most famous song from this album with great classical guitar and haunting tune and lyrics....this one brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it. Marx simply grooves in the mellow "Keep coming back", Aery emotion in "Calling you" and ofcourse there are the standard lovable ballads such as "Chains around my heart". If you buy his greatest hits and this one, you've got a pretty good range of his music, although, more of his sexy voice is always better for us females :-)

Richard Marx's first two albums were both spectacular melodic pop/rock hit fests. This album still has plenty of those elements but adds a few more, making it a more diverse album. And for sure, it is the last album he did that contains any amount of rocking songs.

The tracks "Playing With Fire" and "Love Unemotional" get the album off to a rocking start. Not many Richard Marx songs of this type get on the radio, but it proves that the man is (or was) about more than ballads. Then comes the three radio hits--all of which are excellent. "Keep Coming Back" is a very sultry, slow song; "Take This Heart" is a beautifully melodic mid-tempo ballad; and "Hazard" is a haunting, story-telling track that is one of the most unique (not to mention best) songs that Richard has ever done.

The rock kicks back in on the next 5 tracks, while the final three tracks are again slower. All of the tracks are great, but my personal favorites are the rockers "Streets of Pain" which includes Tommy Lee of Motley Crue and Steve Lukather of Toto and "I Get No Sleep" which features a kicking piano solo by the legendary Billy Joel.

From this point on in his career, Richard began a trend that took him away from any true rock music. His follow up album to this one was still good, but anything since then I have had little interest in due to a complete reliance on slow material. For sure, Richard was at his best on his first few albums. This one to me stands out because of its variety of songs. Definitely a pop/rock gem from the early '90s.

Richard Marx took a dramatic turn with this adventurous 1991 album. While his first two albums had good up tempo numbers and rockers, this album really went to ' rock '. It seems as if Marx was doing the Motley Crue album he's wanted to do. But since it was 1991, this one sounds like it came out a few years late. There are a number of surprising rock songs on here that no one thought Marx did. "Love Unemotional" and "Playing With Fire" are the two rocking openers. Very catchy. The hits here are some of his best. "Hazard" was a big change of pace. It was a haunting story song that was different from anything he did. "Keep Coming Back" was a soulful R&B song. The other two hits were "Take This Heart" and "Chains Around My Neck". Marx was always seen more as a balladeer, but he was so much more than that. If people had listened to the entirety of his albums, they would see that they were mostly up tempo songs. "Superstar", while insanely catchy and fun, sounds like it ripped of Earth, Wind And Fire's song of the same name. "Streets Of Pain" is a kicking Motley-ish rock song that features - guess who?, none other than Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee. "I Get No Sleep" is a good song with a great solo piano performance by Billy Joel. "Calling You" is a slower song, but it has a great opening groove. This is some of Richard's most diverse lyrics as well. While this album did well, and the singles were all big hits, this was a different sound from him. It really alienated some of his fans. It wasn't anything like what his fans had come to know him as. Some were delighted, but others not as much. After this album, Richard took another different turn with his music. It was for the better. This is still a rocking, rollicking good time. Just not for everyone.

Richard just keeps getting better and better and better! When I listen to songs like Hazard and Streets Of Pain, I realize that he knows how to write different kinds of music. He is indeed talented!