Tom and I go back a long way. The first vinyl album I purchased with my own money was Cinderella’s Night Songs in Dublin and I had to travel 100 miles to get it. My first big outdoor show was Donington in 1987 with 70,000 plus metalheads and Cinderella opened, imagine what that experience did for 16 year old me. After that every album with him on it was a first day purchase. When I moved to the US nine years ago I saw the band again 5 times in the first two years and even forgave the same set in the same order every time. So I am a fan.
After his much publicized vocal issues and what he went through to get his voice back any new material feels like bonus time. The Death Of Me and the superb soulful title track tackle all of that. He could have taken the easy road and kept Cinderella active and just done live shows but he doesn’t do easy. Start from the ground up, get a killer band around him and just be happy. Waiting On The Demons on Rise might be a veiled reference to his former Cinderella band member and his alcohol issues, like why go back to that situation.
Elsewhere All Amped Up definitely has that rocking Cinderella sound, Hype sounds like nothing he’s done before having a slightly modern feel and closing ballad You Believe In Me features Tom, an acoustic guitar and one of the most heartfelt vocal performances I’ve heard in years. This is a great album from a great talent. It’s released on September 13th.
Richie.
