Maps of Music

Flesh and Bone (1997)

Where the lyrics of Flesh and Bone take you, and where it was really made.

Flesh and Bone was Richard Marx's first album that failed to produce a number-one hit in America, even though his earlier records had made him a longtime pop-rock hitmaker.

Key places

Conway Studios, Los Angeles (1997)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Conway Studios is listed among the Los Angeles studios where the album was recorded. The point marks the building location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Westlake Studios, Los Angeles (1997)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — Westlake Studios is listed among the Los Angeles studios used for the recording. The point marks the building location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sony Studios, New York City (1997)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Sony Studios is listed as a New York City studio used for the album. The map point sits at the city centre, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Battery Studios, London (1997)

Recording site Wild Bunch Studios (London) — Battery Studios is listed as a London studio used for the album. The map point sits at the city centre, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Quad Studios, Nashville (1997)

Recording site Nashville — Quad Studios is listed as a Nashville studio used for the album. The map point sits at the city centre, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Flesh and Bone: fifth studio album by Richard Marx
• Released in 1997 on Capitol Records
• Lead single Until I Find You Again reached number 3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart
• The same single peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 in spring 1997
• The album reached number 70 on the Billboard 200 and sold about 250,000 copies in the United States

Background

• Marx had been a long-running pop-rock hitmaker before this record
• The album leans more toward R&B than his earlier work
• Marx worked as both producer and artist on the album
• AllMusic called it an improvement on his previous album Paid Vacation

Recording

• Sessions were held at studios in Los Angeles, New York City, London, Nashville and Chicago
• Los Angeles rooms included The Record Plant, A&M Studios, Conway Studios, Frantic Studios, Johnny Yuma, Music Grinder, Enterprise Studios and L.D.S. in Westlake Studios
• Arrangements were credited to Marx on all tracks
• Most songs were produced by Marx himself
• Touch of Heaven was produced by Marx and Randy Jackson
• Mixing was done by Bill Drescher, except Touch of Heaven mixed by David Cole
• Mastering was done by Wally Traugott

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born September 16, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois; American singer-songwriter.
• Only child of former singer Ruth and jazz musician Dick Marx, founder of a jingle company.
• Began his career at age five singing commercial jingles written by his father's company.
• At 17, a tape of his songs reached Lionel Richie, who encouraged him to move to Los Angeles.

Career

• Scored number one hits as a songwriter with "What About Me?" (1984) and "Crazy" (1985).
• Debut album (1987) went triple platinum; "Don't Mean Nothing" reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Repeat Offender (1989) rose to No. 1 on the Billboard album chart and sold over 5 million copies in the US.
• "Right Here Waiting" reached No. 1 in several European countries and gave him his first UK top ten.
• Won a Grammy for Song of the Year for "Dance with My Father" co-written with Luther Vandross (2004).
• Has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and holds 14 Billboard number one singles as performer and songwriter.

Recent activity

• Released Songwriter (2022) and After Hours (2026).
• Became a coach on The Voice Australia in 2025.

Reception

At release

• Toledo Blade (Richard Paton, 3/4 stars): Marx feels the fire of R&B, and the disc has a pop gloss with more soul than his earlier work
• Sun Sentinel (Sandra Schulman): dependable, smooth pop-rock with poetic lyrics, with Fool's Game and You Never Take Me Dancing named as video-ready tracks
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, 3/5 stars): an improvement on Paid Vacation, mainly because Marx is not trying as hard to be contemporary
• Los Angeles Daily News (Fred Shuster, 3/5 stars): Marx's most likable and modern-sounding album to date

Records

• Billboard 200: number 70
• About 250,000 copies sold in the United States
• Until I Find You Again: number 3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart
• Until I Find You Again: number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 in spring 1997
• First Richard Marx album without a number-one hit in America

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Early pressings included a bonus acoustic EP titled To The Bone
• This was the first Richard Marx album without a number-one hit in America
• Luther Vandross sang backing vocals on tracks 4 and 5
• Sessions were spread across studios in five cities in the United States and Europe

Sources: it.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

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