Customer Reviews

Gold

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Can't believe I'm the first one to review this 2CD collection of Cinderella, their entry in Universal Chronicles' "Gold" series!!! It IS a goodie too.

To be honest, of all the hard rocking bands that emerged in the MTV 80s, Philly's Cinderella possibly got the short end of the stick. They were miscategorized as hair metal, and when they were on the verge of bigger and better things, after 1990s' "Heartbreak Station" and tour, Tom's voice went kaput, it then took 4 years for him to recover and release the excellent followup "Still Climbing". And, you know what then happened...alternative rock was "in" and Cinderella was "out". Not their fault though. Well, 12 years later, Cinderella's brand of rock is "in" again, but I felt they've never fit in to that 80s "hair band" movement anyway.

In a way, Cinderella are/were kind of like a current answer to 70s band the Faces (fronted by Rod Stewart) mixed with AC/DC for good measure. Tom's an amazing songwriter, and he has great influences, like country/roots rock, blues, soul and gospel (maybe that's why he's been based out of Nashville for years now), and it's cool how he mixes all that good stuff together in his writing, add in his throaty wail (like a Brian Johnson/Rod Stewart hybrid...plus his smooth croon on appropriate songs), whilst Jeff, Eric and Fred back him up as an extremely tight and loud, but also loose, soulful and swinging, rock and roll band. Add in the fact that UK producer Andy Johns did the honours on Cinderella's first 2 albums (he did the Faces too, as well as other similar-minded UK bands), and there ya go. I think their music holds up extremely well today because it was fairly timeless from the beginning, although the first album "Night Songs" not as much because of the production style...aka Tom's dreaded REVERB.

Now, the tracklisting...yes, it has live versions of 6 tracks, including the favourites "Somebody Save Me" and "Gypsy Road". Firstly, I like the fact the songs are not in chronological order because it treats each song and album it's from as equals. This means that otherwise overlooked gems like "Sick For The Cure", "Talk Is Cheap", and "Second Wind" get spotlighted as much as "Shake Me" and "Nobody's Fool". I also like the fact that there are as many songs from "Still Climbing" and "Heartbreak Station" as there are from "Night Songs" And "Long Cold Winter", and honestly??? I think the 3rd and 4th albums are better than the first 2, objectively, espesh "Heartbreak Station", my favourite as well as Tom's.

I'll even go so far as to say that Tom's best song he's written is the COUNTRY song "Heartbreak Station", which should have been a bigger hit than it was (#44 pop and #10 rock), it's just a gorgeous, sad, melancholy song (with a fitting, perfectly shot black and white clip, with an old steam train to match, love Tom's pedal steel solo too, very country). I would even suggest that a current alt-country act like Ryan Adams or one with some mainstream appeal like Dierks Bentley, or even the Dixie Chicks, they should cover "Heartbreak Station" and it should be a single!!!!

Back to the live tracks here, 4 are previously unreleased and 2 are from the rare Japanese promo EP "Last Train To Heartbreak Station". Sure, it would have been nice to have the studio singles of "Gypsy Road" and "Somebody Save Me", but the 12-minute live version of "Gypsy Road" just kicks ass and is even better, with the eerie keyboard intro, sorta like "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City" or something Gary Moore would do, and the audience participation bit...shows how tight and fun a live band Cinderella was and continues to be, no ego, and totally unpretentious.

One thing I'd recommend...the compilation "Once Upon A..." has 2 exclusive songs..."War Stories" and a cool cover of Janis Joplin's "Move Over", get that comp for those and studio versions of the live cuts, BUT "Rocked, Wired And Bluesed" is a great single disc with everything remastered. So, get those 2 or download the missing tracks from iTunes, and happy about that DVD of RW&B.

All that's needed are remasters of the 4 albums, with B-sides and unreleased tracks...possibly in a 3CD boxset, and a new album...hopefully their long drawn-out battle with Island Def Jam will get resolved soon, we can all move forward...Cinderella and their fans like us.

I've been a Cinderella fan since the late 80's when Long Cold Winter came out. What a fantastic album of bluesy rock 'n roll. Saw them open up for AC/DC way back when "Shake Me" was their only hit single, and saw their headlining tour with Nelson as a support act (remember them? Non-other than Ricky Nelson's twin son's) Well, Nelson has long been forgotten on the road map of Rock 'n Roll, but Cinderella lives on as strong as ever.

They never really were a "hair metal" band, they just had to take on that image at the time because that was the way the music business was leaning. Ever see the early photos of Gun's 'n Roses when Axl and company were a "Glam Rock" band struggling to break into the club music scene in L.A.? His hair all teased up all over the place. Great stuff. Anyway, Tom Keifer/Cinderella did what they had to do to make it no different than KISS's Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley before them. Point is, don't dismiss them as some kind of has been, old fashion, out-of-style 80's rock that plagues so many other good acts. Cinderella is "the REAL Thing". An honest, hard working, and very talented Rock 'n Roll band.

Now, to the Gold collection. How can you go wrong? Thirty (yes...30!) tracks. All newly remastered with today's technology. (That's something that needs to happen to all the Cinderella albums, but that's another issue) An 18 page booklet of photos and liner notes, including the details of those "new" live songs. Thought maybe they were from the Key Club show in 1999 or maybe the same as the BMG Extended Versions disc from 2005 didn't ya? Well, here's the scoop:

Two of the six tracks have been available before, but only on the hard-to-find, rare Japanese promo disc "Live Train to Heartbreak Station". The other four are from the same live show, which to my excitement was the last concert I attended in my home town of Little Rock, Arkansas. Yes, all you fellow Arkansian's, the Cinderella concert at Barton Coliseum on May 21, 1991 was recorded and is now being released on this 2-disc collection. Awesome! They do a fantastic 12 minute version of Gypsy Road at the end. Highly Recommended to all true ROCK Fans!

Like their benefactors, Bon Jovi, Cinderella were a hair band, but they were often much more than that. True, their first album was generic pop-metal, but they grew up real fast, and almost immediately started writing chronicles of working- and middle-class people struggling against their circumstances- often coming up short, but never ceasing to fight. Cinderella were kind of a heavy metal version of all the great Southern rock bands, if those bands were fronted by the rasp of Rod Stewart circa 1971. Leader Tom Keifer's belief that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia since 2005 for drug-smuggling was unjustly convicted, as well as his advocacy of increased funding for community policing, makes this anthology an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

Don't get scammed. The song list doesn't tell you that 1/4 of the songs are live crap. You will still have to buy the original cd's to get all the studio versions you want.

I bought this because it is remastered, and Cinderella hasn't remastered any of their four studio albums. So I downloaded all of this onto my ITUNES, overriding the original analog versions.

The only problem I Have is the questionable track listing. Do we REALLY need 6 songs from Still Climbing, their worst and least-selling album? Also, way too many songs from Heartbreak Station, their 2nd worst and least selling album. We also get 6 wasteful live tracks. I would have appreciated a few more tracks from the first two albums, which were their only two commercially successful releases anyway. Where's "Somebody Save Me" and "Push Push?"???

There are a few more songs off the first album that I would have included on this in place of other songs, but overall, this is Cinderella in fine form. Definitely Rockin'!

Of all the Greatest Hits packages out their for Cinderella. This one, along the Once Upon A ... disc are both my favorites. Simply, both include previously unreleased tracks and any greatest hits package should be that way. Let me add here, of all the '80's Metal Bands. Cinderella should have had a much longer career than they had. Should never have been so underrated as they where and they had a weapon few bands have with a amazingly talented musician being Tom Keifer.
With this release, your getting a 2 discs, 30 tracks, including 4 live tracks never before released, spans all 4 releases and mixed beautifully. Which I really liked, productions awesome (with only one minor glitch on "Night Songs")and was excited to see "Still Climbing" so well represented on this package. The song selection on here's amazing, as a fan your going love it and can't complain about anything missed. With technology the way it is, just burn Disc 3 with all the favorite tracks they missed. Definately, recommend this release to any new fan and don't be surprised if you don't find yourself buying all their releases on Amazon. If you are a Cinderella fan you already purchased it and crank it up..

It has two CD's that is why its a little pricier. Honestly, I've been listening to part 2 since I got this in 2007. I never listen to part 1 because I thought I lost the CD. BUT, I found the first cd and its just awesome, it has songs I've never really heard.

I also downloaded the Rocked Wired and Blues, greatest hits, its good, but if you want more variety and a sample of their concert, get the Gold.

I saw them in concert in the 80's, 90's. but I've been wanting to see them for the longest. I love them.

cinderella was miscast as a 80s hairband, this band has talent. i have been a fan since NIGHT SONGS was released. I am now in my 50s and just bought this cd they still sound great, this cd will blow you away if you know their music. if you are new to them then crank it up and kick back and enjoy. remastered stuff sounds great.

Cinderella will always be a great band, but I was bummed when I read the tracks on the cd's. No, they are all great songs, and do belong on there, but they forgot a great song off of Night Songs. Push Push. Other then that, it would have been 5 stars.