Days in Avalon

Asian exclusive edition of the 80s soft rock-star's 2000 album includes four bonus tracks not on the domestic version, 'This I Promise You' (his own version of the N SYNC hit), 'Until You Come Back To Me', 'High', & 'I Can't Help It'. Jive. 2003.

The platinum-selling Richard Marx was a radio staple in the late '80s and early '90s; he's continued to keep his hand in as a songwriter for the likes of 'N Sync ("This I Promise You"). Days in Avalon, his first album since 1997, isn't likely to change anyone's mind about Marx. But anyone who has enjoyed him in the past will appreciate this disc, whose only real surprise is the closing duet with Alison Krauss, "Straight from My Heart." Elsewhere, Marx indulges his passion for melodramatic storytelling (remember "Hazard"?) on "Boy Next Door," the tale of a Midwestern teenager who goes on a shooting spree. --Rickey Wright