Repeat Offender - Marx, Richard (CD 1989)

Repeat Offender was Richard's answer to all the critics out there who said he was too commercial and wouldn't make it as a rock star. He'd be thrown out like yesterday's news and long forgotten. I'd have to say that so far, it hasn't happened. He cam out of the corner with his gloves on ready with his one-two punch with Repeat Offender, and this album put them to shame and brought him to fame. It's now 5X platinum, so I guess you can't keep a good man down, huh?

If I had to place Richard's album in order of favorites, this would be number one. Repeat Offender has it all, and more. It's an 11-track album that you can definitely relate to. So, I'll just jump right in on a few of the tracks; most of them well-known, others not as well-known (unless you listen to his music.)

Here are the tracks that are found on Repeat Offender:

Nothing You Can Do About It - 4:44
Satisfied - 4:14
Angelia - 5:17
Too Late to Say Goodbye - 4:52
Right Here Waiting - 4:24
Heart on the Line - 4:43
Real World - 4:14
If You Don't Want My Love - 4:07
That Was Lulu - 3:44
Wait for the Sunrise - 4:15
Children of the Night - 4:44

Total Playing Time - 49:24

The Cover

Once again, a fairly simple cover with Richard on it, but this one had a little more elements added to it. It looks as if he's in some remote area, almost as if it's a Ghost-town of sorts. I like all the elements of browns that are in this picture. Maybe it's because of the different shadows that are cast in the picture, maybe it's the lighting. Oh, I know why this album is so special to me. Richard signed it when I saw him in concert in 1999. Okay, this isn't the main reason I like this cover, but it's one of the reasons.

The Songs

Satisfied was the first single released from Richard's sophomore album, and it was your quintessential rock song. I would also like to call this an inspirational song for all who have had to struggle whether it is at work, home, or anything in your life where it seems as if a curve ball or monkey wrench was thrown in to mess everything up. The song says that no matter what we do in life, there are times when we won't stop until we're satisfied; until we feel we've achieved our goal. (Don't you know, I won't give up until I'm satisfied...why should I stop until I'm satisfied..) I have to go back to the first time I saw Richard (as I sometimes like to call, The Man) in concert in '90. When I saw him perform this song, I thought, oh man, am I in for a good time. This is an upbeat song that will get your feet moving and you'll find yourself humming the words (even if you don't want to.) I won't let my moment of truth pass me by; I've gotta make my move now or never; but if they turn me loose on this town; they're gonna have to hold me down.

Right Here Waiting is a great love song. This is his staple song, so to speak and it's also my all time favorite. It's the song that you mention so people can identify Richard Marx and get a picture of who he is. Every time I hear it, I shiver because these are heartfelt words and are not made up. He really means it when he says, Oh can't you see it baby, you've got me going crazy; Wherever you go; Whatever you do; I will be right here waiting for you; Whatever it takes; Or how my heart breaks; I will be right here waiting for you. It soared to number 1 and rightfully so. I love this song, and never get tired of hearing it.

Angelia is about a woman who leaves him. You know, your typical boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, and boy hurts over girl leaving him. This 5:17 minutes long, it's a nice little ballad, it's got a great beat, and a cool sax solo. I love the sax. It's a powerful instrument. It's kind of a sad song when you hear it. I mean, it's about a love lost and she sounds like the one that may have gotten away. For anyone who's been in this situation, you can relate to the lyrics - Tried to be what you wanted, I gave you all I had. Girl you left me with nothing, nothing but a photograph. Whoa, Angelia. Where you running to now?

Too Late to Say Goodbye is an upbeat tune that will get you moving. I love the lyrics, the opening of the song and the guitar solo. I have to go back to that concert again, because it holds so many memories. This was the song he opened with and you see a silhouette of Richard as if he's behind bars. He called it the Repeat Offender tour, so in his opener, he was playing a wanted man, and I thought this is so cool. He comes out on the stage and belts out this tune and gets the crowd going. It was great.

Children of the Night is a powerful song, that deals with teen runaways who live on the streets and have nowhere to turn. The streets have become their family. It sometimes makes me cry when I hear this song because there are so many young people out there on their own when they shouldn't be. The lyrics say it all - Left by my father with only this scar on my face; told by my mother that no, you were just a mistake. I have tasted my own hunger; sold my body to survive...but they can't touch what's inside. We are the children of the night. We won't go down without a fight. Our voice is strong our future's bright. And thanks to what we've learned from you, we've grown into the Children of the Night. Richard dedicated all the proceeds to this single to the Children of the Night Foundation which is a great cause that helps teens. Listen to song and the message it relays and hopefully you all have great relationships with your parents and kids.

Wait for the Sunrise was never released as a single, but I absolutely love this song. I think it was two years ago, I was going through a really tough situation and this song happened to come on and the lyric, I've got nowhere left to hide; The fight in me has died; So I must wait for the sunrise came on and for whatever reason, I broke down and cried, but listening to this song gave me some sort of therapy, so to speak and I was able to deal with the problem I was facing.

Real World, another non release, but I have to list it because in this song, he writes the following, Someday soon, I'll settle down for good; There was a time I thought I never would. Gonna live with a lady on a quiet beach; Gonna have three kids, maybe one of each. Now, I don't know if Richard has any psychic powers, but if back in 1989 he could predict that he and his wife, Cynthia Rhodes (Staying Alive, Dirty Dancing, part of the rock group Animotion), were going to have three kids, that's pretty damn good. He knew what he wanted back then and got it too.

Final Thoughts

Richard Marx introduced me to his music and I thought he was a pretty good artist. Repeat Offender pretty much sealed the deal in making me a true fan. As with his first album, when I first bought this on cassette, I wore it out because of the many times I played it over and over, sometimes 3 or 4 times in a day. This album got me through some tough times a few years back and when I think about those times, the lyrics from some of the tracks helped alleviate some of those problems I was having.

A lot of people who I speak with, fans or not, really praise this album and it deserves all the praise. It's a great album that gives a lot of great messages and I have yet to get tired of listening to it. It gets me through my day.

Other Richard Marx reviews and albums:
Richard Marx
Rush Street
Paid Vacation
Flesh and Bone
Greatest Hits
Richard Marx Video Collection, Vol. 1
Richard Marx Concert Reviews
Days in Avalon

Take care.