CINDERELLA - Rocked, Wired & Bluesed: The Greatest Hits

CINDERELLA
Rocked, Wired & Bluesed: The Greatest Hits
Mercury Records
9/10





Cinderella was one of the more ragged bands that came out of the 80’s hair scene. The band's pop metal style drew a huge influence from blues-based music, but on the band's second record, "Long Cold Winter," the influence bacame much more pronounced that on the band's debut, the multi-platinum "Night Songs."

"Night Songs" was a rocking platter of distorted guitars and downbeats that would make the band a household name. The record was released after coming to the attention of Jon Bon Jovi, a rollicking ride of a record that is represented with four tracks here, the brooding “Night Songs”, the first radio and MTV hit “Shake Me”, the obligatory power ballad, “Nobody’s Fool”, (which was a very dark ballad for an eighties band) and finally the thoroughly jamming “Somebody Save Me”, one of Cinderella’s all-time heaviest tunes.

Although the group’s second effort pointed them in a direction that was more Stones than Sabbath, “Gypsy Road” remains a rocking concert anthem that elicits a tremendous response from fans. Again proving himself as a master of ballad writing, Vocalist/guitarist Tom Keifer offered “Don’t Know What You Got (‘Til It’s Gone)” on the “Long Cold Winter” album, a song that would make a tremendous impact on radio, still enjoying airplay to this very day.

The straight up blues of that album’s title track is here as well and though the track did not achieve the chart success of previous singles, it remains a standard in the band’s live set today. Culled from the final album that would become a commercial success for the band in the earlier years of the band, “If You Don’t Like It” had the attitude and sound of bands like Motley Crue, but records were moving into a different direction during this time and the band had decided to move away from the over produced sounds of the eighties for a more stripped down feel.

“The Last Mile”, while not a ballad could almost be considered a country rock song and is exactly the type of material from which Kid Rock would model his “Cocky” era persona and sound, albeit indirectly. “The More Things Change” retains the bands metal roots, while overlaying its pulsating rhythm with some wonderful slide guitar work. “Coming Home” would complete the group’s trilogy of classic ballads, hitting number twenty on the pop singles chart.

Bands like Cinderella opened the door for heavier types of metal artists to emerge on FM radio in the nineties. Whether you’re a dyed in the wool fan of the band or a new listener seeking out the roots of modern heavy metal, this impressive collection of chart topping tracks is a great collection in order to either become acquainted with the band’s signature style of bluesy pop metal or a great opportunity to relive some memories of time spent with some classic music and ultimately, one of the most kick-ass bands that emerged from the metal scene of the eighties.

Written By: Haystack McLovin'