by Stephen Thomas Erlewine Flesh & Bone is an improvement from Paid Vacation, mainly because Richard Marx isn't trying as hard to be contemporary. Marx has accepted, more or less, that he isn't fighting for a position in the Top 40 and has resigned himself to the adult contemporary charts. While that means Flesh & Blood doesn't even rock as hard as, say, "Don't Mean Nothin'," it does mean that is pleasantly and inoffensively melodic, with more memorable moments than its predecessor.