Cinderella (3) – Heartbreak Station

Heartbreak Station, Cinderella's third studio album and ultimately their last record to achieve platinum success, is one of the forgotten gems in the 80's hard rock era. Long Cold Winter, for all its virtues, was marred by its pop-metal conventions. Heartbreak Station erases such principles. Filled with Rolling Stones / Aerosmith sensibilities and a fearlessness to deviated from the generic formula of hair metal, this genuinely great album showed that Cinderella had more genuine grit than their poodle-haired contemporaries.

Each track is strong, distinctive and never repeating themselves, a fatal error that plagued many hair metal albums. "Electric Love", "Love Gone Bad" and the sweet, boogie-rock of "Sick for the Cure" are swaggering rock n' roll that recalls the best of Aerosmith, when that band did not need power ballads or a Michael Bay movie to climb to the charts. "One For Rock N' Roll" is a simple, country-fused ditty about lacking worries and just playing rock n' roll. And "Shelter Me" is a riotous commentary on censorship (the accompanying video featuring Little Richard was comedy gold).

But the album's coup de graces remain the two songs that have the making of an instant classic: the title track, with its melodic acoustic guitars, honky piano flourishes and an beguiling 12-string guitar solo, and the opulent "Winds of Change" both have an emotional splendor boosted by Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones' majestic strings. The title track, in particular, is the true highlight, ranking with Bon Jovi's "I'll Be There for You", Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" and Skid Row's "I You" as one of the era's greatest power ballads.

It may have not been their most commercially successful album but Heartbreak Station showcased a more ambitious, talented band whom many have taken for granted. Unfortunately, that's what happened when grunge came by and swept everyone associated with hair metal. It was a dark day for 80's hard rock and for Cinderella, as their careers went into a startling decline while bands like Helmet, L7 and Pearl Jam achieved gold status.

You know, what's funny? Back in the 1990's, everyone would have crucified a band for playing music like this but today, everyone wishes we could have an album like this again. It is the testament to Cinderella and especially Tom Kiefer that they created an album that was unfairly neglected and reaped for rediscovery. Even if you're not an 80's hard rock fan, you should pick this album up and give it a try. It is not only a great 80's rock record; it's a great rock album in general.

I have two vinyl versions. One with tracklisting in white font on the back cover and label is of two jellyfish. The other has the tracklisting in red font on the back cover and the label is a normal VERTIGO label. Also, the bar code and cat numbers are positioned differently on the back cover.

Anyone any insight on the different versions?