Cinderella are a bluesy metal band from Philadelphia, PA that are often lumped into the hair bands of the eighties due to their glam look, especially on their first album. Their music however is a combination of the Rolling Stones, Nazareth and Aerosmith all wrapped together with Tom Keifer's unique falsetto vocals.
Cinderella-Night Songs (Mercury) 1986
1. "Night Songs"
(4:04)
2. "Shake Me" (3:44)
3. "Nobody's Fool" (4:49)
4. "Nothin' for Nothin" (3:34)
5. "Once Around the Ride" (3:23)
6. "Hell on Wheels" (2:49)
7. "Somebody Save Me" (3:17)
8. "In from the Outside" (4:07)
9. "Push, Push" (2:52)
10."Back Home Again" (3:31)
OK, their look was a bit much on this debut, looking like a cross between Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and a drag queen but who really cares! The music was good and that is what mattered, plus Cinderella were Philly homeboys who had put in their dues playing the clubs for some time. Every song on this album had a gigantic hook that just pulled you into the song. At least half of the songs on this disc were getting major rotation on the radio and MTV at the time. Tom Keifer's vocals were cool; they were rough yet somehow he retained a sense of melody, borrowing heavily from Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Cinderella's debut came out at the right time, when this type of pomp-metal was at its height and the album sold well because of it. Guest appearance by Jon Bon Jovi on background vocals probably didn't hurt either as he was the flavor of the month. And for those who care, make-up & hair by Emily Pember.
Cinderella-Long Cold Winter (Mercury) 1988
1. "Bad Seamstress
Blues/Fallin' Apart At The..." (5:23)
2. "Gypsy Road" (4:05)
3. "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" (5:56)
4. "The Last Mile" (3:25)
5. "Second Wind" (3:57)
6. "Long Cold Winter" (5:22)
7. "If You Don't Like It" (4:13)
8. "Coming Home" (4:55)
9. "Fire And Ice" (3:19)
10. "Take Me Back" (3:16)
"Long Cold Winter" is much bluesier, with more Aerosmith/Rolling Stones influences, than the pomp metal of "Night Songs." I guess this blues based rock was more of what the band was into as it would be a re-occurring theme in every one of their records. Still, a good disc with some great chops. "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" and the excellent, lower-key "Coming Home," are what made the album the band's most successful, but the effective combination of musical and lyrical hooks and tough heavy rock & roll on songs like "Gypsy Road" and "Fallin' Apart at the Seams" prevent the album from being a boring vehicle for a few hits. "Long Cold Winter" is a good cd by a band too often thrown into the pot with crap like Poison and Warrant. Compact discs were kind of new when this came out but I found this disc for $5 and it was one of the first cds I ever bought.
I had this disc autographed by Eric Brittingham and Fred Coury at their show with Dokken, Slaughter, and Poison in August 2000. I won tickets and VIP passes on a radio contest for successfully answering the question, "Who is Dana Strum?" Anyhow, the two of them were nice guys and very cordial. Tom Keifer and Jeff LaBar were no where in site. Had 'em sign my "Still Climbing" cd as well. In case anyone cares, Mark Slaughter was also very cool and spent a good deal of time talking with fans and signing autographs. Dokken were a bit pompous, except for drummer Wild Mick Brown who was handing out business cards to everybody with his web site on it. Don Dokken and all of Poison didn't even show their faces in the VIP tent. Kip Winger made a surprise appearance as well and took some photos with some people. Oh, and in case anyone doesn't know, Dana Strum is the bassist for Slaughter and the former bassist for the Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Now you know.
Cinderella-Heartbreak Station (Mercury) 1990
1. "More Things Change"
(4:21)
2. "Love's Got Me Doin' Time" (5:20)
3. "Shelter Me" (4:50)
4. "Heartbreak Station" (4:27)
5. "Sick for the Cure" (3:39)
6. "One for Rock and Roll" (4:28)
7. "Dead Man's Road" (6:38)
8. "Make Your Own Way" (4:17)
9. "Electric Love" (5:24)
10. "Love Gone Bad" (4:23)
11. "Winds of Change" (5:35)
For some reason I waited forever to get this one. I had heard so many bad things about it that I guess I just assumed it sucked! Well, suck it does not. Not really heavy metal anymore, more of a heavy commercial blues rock, but they do it so well. Several songs even have a Southern Rock/Blackfoot groove to them like "One for Rock and Roll" and "Dead Man's Road." Tom Keifer has a very cool voice, although some would argue that he is annoying. I suppose that he has one of those high pitched shrieky love 'em or hate 'em voices. In any case, I finally bought a used copy for $4.99 and took it home to discover that it skipped on all three of my cd players. I took it back and darn if that store didn't stick that same used copy back on the racks to sell. (The nerve!) Finally made a trade over the internet for the copy I now own. Looking back over the past few years that I have owned it, this disc gets more play than the other three combined. I find the music and vocal melodies to be absolutely infectious from beginning to end.
Cinderella-Live Train to Heartbreak Station (Mercury/Japan) 1991
1. "More Things Chance"
(4:22)
2. "Somebody Save Me" (3:50)
3. "Heartbreak Station" (4:55)
4. "Don't Know What You Got" (4:55)
5. "Nobody's Fool" (6:15)
6. "Shake Me" (6:44)
This Japanese only EP is part of the Little Rock show that was later released by the band and sold at their shows. Nice packaging, as seems to be the case with all Japanese releases. Picked up this disc, obi and all, on eBay for $7 as the seller had the disc (mis)labeled as 'Live at the Key Club,' a disc that is much easier to find. "Live Train" normally sells for around $20-$25.
Cinerella-Live
1. "More Things Chance"
(4:22)
2. "Push, Push" (3:01)
3. "Sick for the Cure" (3:44)
4. "Make Your Own Way" (3:59)
5. "Nightsongs" (4:50)
6. "Somebody Save Me" (3:50)
7. "Heartbreak Station" (4:55)
8. "Coming Home" (6:38)
9. "Fallin' Apart at the Seams" (4:03)
10. "Love's Got Me Doin' Time/drum solo/Love Gone Bad Jam" (15:04)
11. "Don't Know What You Got" (4:55)
12. "Nobody's Fool" (6:15)
13. "Gypsy Road" (4:35)
14. "Shake Me" (6:44)
This live album was released by the band and only sold at their shows for a whopping $18. Well, being the Cinderella fan I am and after seeing them perform an outstanding set, I had to have this disc. The sound quality is excellent and the performance is tight. The one big downfall to this disc is that there are no liner notes-at all, so I have no clue where this was recorded at, although from the track listing I can assume that it was recorded during the "Heartbreak Station" tour and at one point on the disc I think I heard Tom Keifer say, "I can't hear ya Little Rock." So I am going to assume it was recorded in Arkansas. Regardless, it's Cinderella live. What more needs to be said? Catchy album title, don't you think?
Cinderella-Still Climbing (Mercury) 1994
1. "Bad Attitude Shuffle" (5:30)
2. "All Comes Down" (5:07)
3. "Talk Is Cheap" (3:54)
4. "Hard to Find the Words" (5:52)
5. 'Blood from a Stone" (4:55)
6. "Still Climbing" (5:23)
7. "Freewheelin'" (3:10)
8. "Through the Rain" (5:05)
9. "Easy Come Easy Go" (4:32)
10. "Road's Still Long" (6:02)
11. "Hot & Bothered" (3:57)
A meatier and heavier album than Heartbreak Station, yet Cinderella were still reataining the heavy Aerosmith/Rolling Stones influence blues metal sound. Even though this album blows doors off most of what the radio and MTV were playing at the time, both ignored Cinderella dismissing them as a hair band hanging onto a long dead trend. The album failed to do much on the charts and Cinderella split for a short time, frustrated by a scene that mis-labeled them. Funny thing is, it was bands like Cinderella that made MTV so big in the 80's. Now MTV wouldn't even give them the time of day. Comes in a cool purple jewel case.
Cinderella-Once Upon a... (Mercury) 1997
1. Shake Me (3:42)
2. Nobody's Fool (4:48)
3. Somebody Save Me (3:15)
4. Gypsy Road (3:55)
5. Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone) (5:55)
6. Last Mile (3:47)
7. Coming Home (4:54)
8. Shelter Me (4:47)
9. Heartbreak Station (4:29)
10. More Things Change (4:22)
11. Love's Got Me Doin' Time (5:20)
12. Hot and Bothered (3:57)
13. Through the Rain (5:05)
14. War Stories (4:59)
15. Move Over (3:45
Once Upon a is a great retrospective of the band and includes the unreleased tunes "War Stories" and the Janis Joplin cover "Move Over." "Through the Rain" is a ballad that was on some movie soundtrack I believe.
Cinderella-Live at the Key Club (Dead Line) 1998
1. "More Things Chance"
(4:27)
2. "Push, Push" (2:36)
3. "Hot and Bothered" (5:27)
4. "Shelter Me" (4:54)
5. "Nightsongs" (5:05)
6. "Somebody Save Me" (3:21)
7. "Heartbreak Station" (5:21)
8. "Last Mile" (3:11)
9. "Coming Home" (5:29)
10. "Fallin' Apart at the Seams/drum solo/untitled jam" (10:58)
11. "Don't Know What You Got" (4:34)
12. "Nobody's Fool" (5:03)
13. "Gypsy Road" (5:02)
14. "Shake Me" (4:41)
The liner notes state, "No overdubs to fix the rubs. . . no tricks or studio jive. . . the good and the bad, gave it all we had. . . 100% f***'n live!" That about says it all, now doesn't it. Cinderella are a great live band, and this disc is a tribute to that fact.