I’ve written about this album many times.

As a Record Vault post.

At 30 Years Old.

The More Things Change

Well, as I normally do I was going through some old magazines and in this case, it was a May 1991 issue of “Guitar For The Practicing Musician”.

Inside the magazine I came across a review by Buzz Morrison of “Heartbreak Station”.

Here it is in italics.

PERFORMANCE: Raw, raspy, rootsy
HOT SPOTS: “Love’s Got Me Doin’ Time”, “Shelter Me”, “Dead Mans Road”
BOTTOM LINE: Knee deep in country-blues loudness

Cinderella is nothing if not daring.

On “Long Cold Winter” they spit in the face of pop metal success with a blast of kickin’ blues rock and still went double platinum.

On “Heartbreak Station”, Cinderella tries even more gender bending, roaming from hard funk to country rock on a visceral, raw record that pays homageto the band’s 60;s and 70’s influences.

Did Buzz mean genre bending?

Not sure, but he definitely had gender bending there.

In severeal places, its more rip-off than tribute, especially “Sick For The Cure” and its “Honky Tonk Woman” aural zerox.

What the fuck is an aural xerox?

Aural means relating to the ear or the sense of hearing.

Xerox is a copy of something written or printed on a piece of paper.

Is that another way to say influences or inspiration.

But the band’s ballsy rocking and bundle of dirty guitar work from Tom Keifer and Jeff LeBar mostly overpower lame songwriting and the big family sound of “Shelter Me” recalls the best of bands like Delaney and Bonnie and Let It Bleed-era Stones.

I had no idea what he meant by Delaney and Bonnie. Thanks to Google, I can tell ya that Delaney & Bonnie were an American duo of singer-songwriters Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett.

In 1969 and 1970, they fronted a rock/soul ensemble called Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whose members at different times included Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Leon Russell, Bobby Whitlock, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, and King Curtis.

So I’m calling em up right now on Spotify to hear what they are like.

While this Philadelphia band cops an Aerosmth like attitude, the Memphis funk of “Love’s Got Me Doin’ Time” and the misty mountain blues of “Dead Man’s Road”, along with the addtion of rolling organ and barking horns on many cuts, show they musical influences largely lie south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Led by Keifer’s straight edge vocals, Cinderella makes “Heartbreak Station” another memorable stop on its rootsy soul train.

I like that “rootsy soul train” comment. So if you haven’t heard “Heartbreak Station” yet, there’s no better time than now.

Get yer fix of gender bending rootsy soul train.

“Heartbreak Station” turned 30 last week. I’ve written about this album and certain songs previously, but it’s that good, it deserves more attention.

It didn’t have the commercial dollars like “Long Cold Winter” or “Night Songs”, but to me it’s their best album. The roots based blues rock with a bit of soul added in, worked really well.

Cinderella had a hair metal band name, but musically and lyrically they proved to be a pariah. The lyrics on this album are a far departure of someone wanting a cherry pie or an unskinny bop or being up all night. The lyrics were on the same level as the Queensryche “Empire” album.

The slide guitar to kick of “The More Things Change” and then that distorted riff.

How can you not like it?

Turned on my radio to the same old song
Some big mouth talking trying to tell us where the world went wrong

These days the radio has been replaced by the internet, podcasts and social media. And these experts are selling news based on some truth, a lot of lies and their own bias. People need to read critically and make up their own minds.

But all this talk of peace and love
It’s only for the news
Cause every time you trust someone
You end up getting screwed

I had a hard time trusting people again between 2010 and 2015 because when I got ripped off and taken for a ride financially by people I trusted, I entered every conversation with negativity and cynicism.

The more things change
The more they stay the same
Everyone’s your brother till you turn the other way
The more things change
The more they stay the same
All we need’s a miracle to take us all away from the pain

“Love’s Got Me Doing Time” has got this funk soul groove with an Aerosmith blues rock swagger. It’s a perfect combination and Keifer delivers a worthy vocal performance.

The gospel tinged blues rock of “Shelter Me” with the brass instruments and Rolling Stone influences, always gets the foot tapping.

“Heartbreak Station” is the piece d’resistance for me. You can call it a ballad, but a clichéd ballad or power ballad it isn’t. The acoustic guitar arpeggios, then the strumming and Keifer doing what he does best with his unique raspy voice.

There’s truth in the words and it translates through the speakers and it still has the same effect on me as it did back then.

Timeless.

And John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin does a string arrangement for it.

“Sick For The Cure” brings the boogie about being sick for music and trying to make it. “One For Rock & Roll” is an acoustic campfire tribute to rock and roll, and I swear it could have come from a John Fogerty album.

“Dead Man’s Road” is a combination of those “Wanted Dead Or Alive” and “Blaze Of Glory” musical themes, in a blues country, rock song with a bit of soul.

And it asks the question, how bad to do you want to make it?

Would you “sell your soul” on Dead Man’s Road. And the drum groove just keeps reminding me of “When The Levee Breaks”. Then the outro starts, with the thundering drum fills and some strings. So I press repeat, just to hear it again.

“Make Your Own Way” is a blast to listen to, a cross between the Rolling Stones, Bad Company and Aerosmith. And the gospel backing vocals in the Chorus, are not too overpowering, just perfect.

The “Sweet Emotion” Aerosmith groove us up next with “Electric Love” with a vocal line that reminds me of Ian Astbury from The Cult.

“Love Gone Bad” rocks out of the gate with its funk blues riff in the verses and a catchy simple chorus. Then for the last minute and a bit, it changes tact, with a blues Pink Panther like groove which fades away and seedy barroom brass instruments take over.

Finally, “Winds of Change” closes the album out, with its acoustic guitars, orchestra and Led Zep influences.

Still sounding classy after 30 years. Ill drink to that.