Night Songs (Cinderella album) explained

Night Songs is the debut studio album by American glam metal band Cinderella. It was released on June 9, 1986, by Mercury Records.^[2] Mercury issued the album worldwide, while Vertigo Records handled the album's release in the UK.

The album peaked at No. 3 on the US charts on February 7, 1987,^[3] and was certified double platinum for shipping 2 million copies there twelve days later. In May 1991, it was certified triple platinum, having shipped 3 million copies.

Leadoff single "Shake Me" failed to chart, but "Nobody's Fool" cracked the Top 20, reaching No. 13. Third single "Somebody Save Me" went to #66. On May 4, 1987, Cinderella filmed parts of their concert in Philadelphia. These live songs were, along with their three MTV videos, released on home video in August 1987 on Night Songs: The Videos.

Night Songs sold several million copies due to a combination of Cinderella's breakthrough single "Nobody's Fool", MTV airplay, and an opening slot on labelmates Bon Jovi's tour, in support of their album Slippery When Wet.

Critical reception

The album received mixed reviews. David Fricke, writing for Rolling Stone magazine, considered that "[Cinderella] need to jazz up their material and cut away the clichés if they're really interested in hard-rock immortality. Otherwise, their platinum dreams are going to turn into pumpkins".^[4] AllMusic reviewer Steve Huey called it "not bad, just generic". Canadian journalist Martin Popoff put on a par Cinderella's rise to prominence with Poison's success, judging them as "little more than vacant, colourful but life-affirming [Mötley] Crüe derivatives." He described the songs as "heavier than one might expect, but of course safe, shallow and watery like the kiddie pool."

The album has been retrospectively considered a hair-metal classic, being ranked on a vast amount of "best of" lists.

Legacy

After the release of this album, the band slightly changed their sound to fit a more blues rock direction. In October 2014 for her birthday, guitarist Tom Keifer presented Lzzy Hale of Halestorm with the costume jewelry pin he wore on his right shoulder for the Night Songs album cover. Hale subsequently wore the pin on her right hip on the album cover for Halestorm's 2015 Into the Wild Life, to include a touch of tradition.^[5]

Track listing

All songs written by Tom Keifer.

Personnel

Cinderella

• Tom Keifer – lead vocals, guitar, piano
• Jeff LaBar – guitar, vocals
• Eric Brittingham – bass, vocals
• Fred Coury – drums (does not play on the album, joined shortly after it was recorded)^[6]

Additional musicians

• Barry Benedetta – lead guitar on "Back Home Again", "Nothin' for Nothin'" and "Push, Push"^[7]
• Jeff Paris – keyboards
• Jody Cortez – drums on all tracks^[7]
• Tony Mills – background vocals^[8]
• Jon Bon Jovi – background vocals on "Nothin' for Nothin'" and "In from the Outside"
• Bill Mattson – background vocals on "Shake Me"

Production

• Andy Johns – producer, engineer, mixing at the Record Plant, Los Angeles
• David Glover, Joe Hauserman, Mark McKenna, Nick Didia, Paul Wertheimer – assistant engineers
• Mark "Weissguy" Weiss – photography/cover concept

Accolades

Publication	Year	Country	Accolade	Rank
Metal Rules	2003	US	Top 50 Glam Metal Albums	2
Metal Rules	2006	US	Top 10 One Album Heavy Metal Wonders[10]	8
Guitar World	2008	US	Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of the Eighties[11]	8
L.A. Weekly	2011	US	Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of All Time[12]	11
Loudwire	2016	US	Top 30 Hair Metal Albums[13]	7
Consequence of Sound	2018	US	10 Hair Metal Albums That Don't Suck[14]	7
Rolling Stone	2019	US	50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time[15]	18

Notes and References

1. Web site: RIAA - Gold & Platinum . June 18, 2021 . RIAA . en-US.
2. Web site: September 14, 1986 . CINDERELLA SHOWS METAL . August 4, 2020 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
3. Cinderella - Billboard 200. May 16, 2011. Billboard.
4. Fricke . David . David Fricke. November 6, 1986 . Cinderella - Night Songs . https://web.archive.org/web/20090805074528/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/cinderella/albums/album/104921/review/5944824/night_songs . August 5, 2009 . June 10, 2021 . dead . Rolling Stone.
5. Web site: Tom Keifer Gifts Lzzy Hale With Pin From 'Night Songs' Cover . June 29, 2015 . Loudwire.com . September 18, 2015.
6. Web site: Paul Gallotta . Circus 12–1986 : Cinderella . Webcitation.org . September 18, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091022122307/http://geocities.com/lipsticc/keiferinterview.html . October 22, 2009.
7. Web site: Cinderella – Night Songs CD Album . Cduniverse.com . October 25, 1990 . September 18, 2015.
8. Web site: Tony Mills Interview . blastmagazine.net . June 19, 1990 . September 18, 2015.
9. Book: Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. 1st. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. Helsinki. 2006. 978-951-1-21053-5 . fi.
10. Web site: Metal Rules - Top 10 One Album Heavy Metal Wonders. Metal Rules . September 18, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20060518144444/http://www.metal-rules.com/polls/index.php?id=13. May 18, 2006.
11. Web site: December 12, 2008. Guitar World - Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of the Eighties. https://web.archive.org/web/20081220215645/http://www.guitarworld.com/top_20_hair_metal_albums_of_the_eighties?page=0%2C1. December 20, 2008 . June 18, 2021. Guitar World.
12. Web site: December 9, 2011. Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of All Time: The Complete List. February 26, 2021. LA Weekly.
13. Web site: DiVita. Joe. November 9, 2016. Top 30 Hair Metal Albums. June 18, 2021. Loudwire.
14. Web site: February 5, 2018. Consequence of Sound - 10 Hair Metal Albums That Don't Suck. February 25, 2021. Consequence of Sound. en-US.
15. August 31, 2019. Rolling Stone - 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time. June 18, 2021. Rolling Stone. en-US.