the_motleykid's Full Review: Night Songs by Cinderella (Metal)
Definitely one of the bands most people cringe at when remembering the 1980s, Cinderella (not to be confused with that young lass who lost her glass slipper). But despite their often traumatizing taste in clothes (look at the CD cover above), they played a hook filled, dirty brand of rock n roll on their debut album, Night Songs. Now when I picked up this CD I made it a point to keep an especially low profile on my way to the counter, not wanting to be seen by anyone carrying a CD with four guys in drag and “Cinderella” in big pink letters, because most people these days wouldn’t be aware of the popularity and overall quality of their music back in the 1980s. And they also would be oblivious to the fact that Jon Bon Jovi saw them play at a local club, and came away so impressed that he strongly recommended to his label that they sign this band!!
Anyone that has read anything by me before will attest to the fact that I love hair bands, even with their fashion sense (although I can’t laugh at their hair, I look just as bad, or good, in that department) proving to be worrying at times, it would definitely have to be my favourite genre of music, with the loud, crunchy guitars with screaming solos & simplistic yet catchy riffs, and a vocalist that screams even more then the solos do, this is the ultimate music to party to. Cinderella is no exception…
Formed by the multi talented Tom Keifer (singer/songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist) and Eric Brittingham (bass guitar) in 1983, in Philadelphia if I remember correctly, with Jeff LeBar (lead guitar) soon added, the band found it to be a pain in the royal behind finding a drummer. Fred Coury is credited on the album as the drummer, but I read on VH1 no less, that Jody Cortez played drums on this album, not Fred. But by the time the album was released in 1986, Jody was out, Fred was in (and on the cover!!), playing for the tour and future albums.
Tom’s vocals are usually shrill like Dee Snider (of Twisted Sister fame) but are soft and subtle if a ballad calls for that kind of treatment, also worth mentioning Tom wrote every song on the album, so he is definitely worth his salt so to speak. Unfortunately, Fred, Jeff & Eric are average at best with their respective instruments, not bad by any stretch, but they aren’t going to knock your socks or any other undergarment off either. This could have been a huge band if they had Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) on drums, Vito Bratta (White Lion) on lead guitar & Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) on bass guitar. But of course, this fantasy line up will stay just that, fantasy, but still we have a ten course rock n roll feast in the form of Cinderella’s Night Songs.
The album kicks off with the low tempo title track, Night Songs. Noticeably darker sounding then anything else you’ll find on the album, with the eerie riff and methodical drum beats. Interestingly enough, the lyrics aren’t dark in nature, and there are melodies and hooks all over the place. It may be slow, but it is very memorable, and a great way to start the album. Shake Me follows, and is a lot more up beat sounding, and was the first single off the album to boot. Despite it being a great song the single did quiet poorly and it wasn’t until Nobody’s Fool was released as a single did the band grow in popularity and of course album sales (finally reaching three millions copies sold in 1991) increased accordingly. In my opinion the best song off the album is without a doubt the formally mentioned Nobody’s Fool. The song starts off very mellow with a peaceful acoustic guitar line and Tom’s vocals at their softest. That all changes at the chorus which puts a power chord or two into play, while still maintaining the calm vibe of the song. Bugger Avril Lavigne’s Nobody’s Fool (which is an entirely different song before you rockers start panicking) this is the Nobody’s Fool that should be all over the radio, and was actually back in the 80s.
Although the next song, Nothing For Nothing, didn’t get much airplay, it is an upbeat rocker with one of the better riffs on the album, which unfortunately are in short supply as far as this record is concerned. Once Around The Ride is a prime example of the boring/repetitive riffs on the album, its also a great example of Tom Keifer writing great melodies that save the songs that have boring music. The same can be said for Hell On Wheels. But luckily Somebody Save Me follows. It got plenty of airtime back in the day and played a part in making the album sell as well as it did. The next two tracks, In From The Outside & Push Push follow the “lets write crap music but throw in a catchy chorus” mind set, but to be fair, the former has decent dance potential at parties, while the latter is very dull, and hasn’t done a thing for me.
Thankfully we end the album with a strong positive in the form of Back Home Again. The riff is kept simple, but it has a good, heavy kick to it. As far as straight rock songs go, this would be the best musically on the album.
Unfortunately, this record clocks in at 38 minutes, proving to be a short, quick & mostly sweet listen. I wouldn’t say this is a classic of the hair band era, but it comes fairly close to that honor. If it was a bit longer, and had more consistently good riffs, it would go down as a bona fide, five star classic.
Chances are you could pick up this album cheap, and if you get the chance, by all means take it. Tom Keifer is the star of the album, composing it, singing on it, the other guys were just along for the ride as far as I’m concerned.
1. Night Songs
2. Shake Me
3. Nobody's Fool
4. Nothin' For Nothin'
5. Once Around The Ride
6. Hell On Wheels
7. Somebody Save Me
8. In From The Outside
9. Push, Push
10. Back Home Again
“I count the falling tears
They fall before my eyes
Seems like a thousand years
Since we broke the ties
I call you on the phone
But never get a rise
So sit there all alone
It's time you realize
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