MARX, PALS AT PALACE

If it’s true that you can tell a lot about a man by the company he keeps, then Richard Marx is one hip, happening dude. At the Palace on Friday, MTV was there taping his show, and Marx’s band consisted of five high-caliber top guns--including guitarist Paul Warren.

And the guests who joined the singer on stage included ex-Tubes singer Fee Waybill, former Eagles Timothy B. Schmit and Randy Meisner, and the ever-dapper Don Johnson. Does this sound like an absolutely boffo event, or what?

Well, it was--for better and worse. Haul away the cameras and the glitz and the high-profile pals, and you’d have a rather ordinary club show by someone who--for all his songwriting and background-singing experience--is really still a performing neophyte. And it showed.

Not that Marx was overly awkward or hid behind the drum kit or anything. He projected considerable energy and continually bounded about the stage. But that’s just it: He’s still pretty self-conscious, a little unsure what to do with himself and not a particularly natural or instinctive performer.

But Marx’s low-voltage demeanor may pick up more juice as he picks up more experience. And, even if that doesn’t happen, he’s still likely to become a pop star: He’s a good-looking guy who writes well-crafted commercial rock songs and sings them with a plaintive, slightly gritty delivery.

And thanks to the band’s muscular, spirited playing Friday, his songs came across with a lot more snap, crackle and pop-rock than they do on his often-soggy debut LP.