Night Songs (Cinderella album)

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.

Night Songs
Studio album by Cinderella
Released	June 9, 1986[1]
Studio	Bearsville, Woodstock, New York Kajem, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania Warehouse, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Sound Factory, Hollywood, California
Genre	Glam metal
Length	36:05
Label	Mercury
Producer	Andy Johns
Cinderella chronology
Night Songs (1986) Long Cold Winter (1988)
Singles from Night Songs
"Shake Me" Released: 9 August 1986 (USA), February 1987 (UK)[2] "Nobody's Fool" Released: October 1986 "Somebody Save Me" Released: April 1987

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

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	6/10[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

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

All songs written by Tom Keifer.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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

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)^[15]

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

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[18]	15
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[19]	27
US Billboard 200[20]	3

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[21]	Platinum	100,000^
United States (RIAA)[22]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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[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

1. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
2. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock discography. Canongate Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
3. "CINDERELLA SHOWS METAL". Los Angeles Times. September 14, 1986. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
4. "Cinderella - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
5. Steve Huey. "Night Songs - AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
6. 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. "Consequence of Sound - 10 Hair Metal Albums That Don't Suck". Consequence of Sound. February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
9. "Rolling Stone - 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. August 31, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
10. "Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of All Time: The Complete List". LA Weekly. December 9, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
11. "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. DiVita, Joe (November 9, 2016). "Top 30 Hair Metal Albums". Loudwire. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
13. "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. June 29, 2015. 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. "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. "Canadian album certifications – Cinderella – Night Songs". Music Canada. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
22. "American album certifications – Cinderella – Night Songs". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 22, 2022.