This review covers the pop track Richard Marx – Now and Forever.
This track was released in 1994 on the album Paid Vacation.
The track starts with some acoustic guitars. Some vocals come in shortly after for a verse. The vocals then go straight into a main chorus.
From there, a string element comes in as the vocals take the track into the next verse. The vocals then take the track straight into the next round in the main chorus.
After that, the vocals take the track straight into the next verse. The strings become a bit more prominent. Some backup vocals also come in for a moment. This follows an instrumental section which features a violin.
The vocals then come back, taking the track into the main chorus. The guitars and string elements then lead the track out.
To be honest, the first thing that stuck out to me is the lyrics. It’s basically one giant cliche. Just about everything about the lyrics are worn down to a nub. Even worse is that the lyrics seem to almost machine gun their way through with verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, end. I would have liked to have seen more that breaks up the track a little.
Because of the lyrics, there is only so much the vocals can do. They’re fairly decent, but with the lyrics, it’s quite hard to tell.
Probably the only positive element in this whole thing is the string and violin. Both of these elements actually ad some texture and a sense of progression. This does lift the quality of the track somewhat.
Overall, there is a number of things holding this track back. The biggest being the cliche lyrics, but also the poor ability to properly break the track up to give this track a nice flow. The string elements do give this track some life as they add texture and a sense of progression. Unfortunately, there is only so much the vocals can do in a situation like this. So, a track that can be passed on.
Score
4/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.