Night Songs (Cinderella album)

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Night Songs
Studio album by
Cinderella
ReleasedJune 9, 1986[1]
Studio
GenreGlam metal
Length36:05
LabelMercury
ProducerAndy Johns
Cinderella chronology
Night Songs
(1986) 		Long Cold Winter
(1988)
Singles from Night Songs
  1. "Nobody's Fool"
    Released: October 1986
  2. "Shake Me"
    Released: February 1987 (UK)[2]
  3. "Somebody Save Me"
    Released: April 1987

Night Songs is the debut studio album by American glam metal band Cinderella. It was released on June 9, 1986, by Mercury Records.[3] 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,[4] 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.[1]

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[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal6/10[6]

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".[7] AllMusic reviewer Steve Huey called it "not bad, just generic".[5] 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."[6]

The album has been retrospectively considered a hair-metal classic, being ranked on a vast amount of "best of" lists.[8][9][10][11][12]

Legacy[edit]

After the release of this album, the band slightly changed their sound to fit a more blues rock direction.[13] 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.[14]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Tom Keifer.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Night Songs"4:12
2."Shake Me"3:44
3."Nobody's Fool"4:49
4."Nothin' for Nothin'"3:33
5."Once Around the Ride"3:22
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Hell on Wheels"2:49
7."Somebody Save Me"3:16
8."In from the Outside"4:07
9."Push, Push"2:52
10."Back Home Again"3:30
Total length:36:05

Personnel[edit]

Cinderella
Additional musicians
  • Barry Benedetta – lead guitar on "Back Home Again", "Nothin' for Nothin'" and "Push, Push"[16]
  • Jeff Paris – keyboards[16]
  • Jody Cortez – drums on all tracks[16]
  • Tony Mills – background vocals[17]
  • 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

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Night Songs
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Accolades[edit]

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[13] 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[10] 11
Loudwire 2016 US Top 30 Hair Metal Albums[12] 7
Consequence of Sound 2018 US 10 Hair Metal Albums That Don't Suck[8] 7
Rolling Stone 2019 US 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time[9] 18

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "RIAA - Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "Great Rock discography". p. 145.
  3. ^ "CINDERELLA SHOWS METAL". Los Angeles Times. September 14, 1986. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  4. ^ "Cinderella - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Steve Huey. "Night Songs - AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  7. ^ Fricke, David (November 6, 1986). "Cinderella - Night Songs". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Consequence of Sound - 10 Hair Metal Albums That Don't Suck". Consequence of Sound. February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Rolling Stone - 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. August 31, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of All Time: The Complete List". LA Weekly. December 9, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Guitar World - Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of the Eighties". Guitar World. December 12, 2008. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  12. ^ a b DiVita, Joe (November 9, 2016). "Top 30 Hair Metal Albums". Loudwire. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Metal Rules - Top 10 One Album Heavy Metal Wonders". Metal Rules. Archived from the original on May 18, 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  14. ^ "Tom Keifer Gifts Lzzy Hale With Pin From 'Night Songs' Cover". Loudwire.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  15. ^ Paul Gallotta. "Circus 12–1986 : Cinderella". Webcitation.org. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  16. ^ a b c "Cinderella – Night Songs CD Album". Cduniverse.com. October 25, 1990. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  17. ^ "Tony Mills Interview". blastmagazine.net. June 19, 1990. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  18. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0792". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  19. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  20. ^ "Cinderella Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  22. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0793." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Cinderella Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Cinderella Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Cinderella – Night Songs". Music Canada. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  26. ^ "American album certifications – Cinderella – Night Songs". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
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