{"id":11623,"date":"2013-04-30T00:00:41","date_gmt":"2013-04-30T00:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=11623"},"modified":"2013-06-01T14:57:53","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T14:57:53","slug":"album-review-tom-keifer-the-way-life-goes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-tom-keifer-the-way-life-goes\/","title":{"rendered":"TOM KEIFER – The Way Life Goes (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

TOM KEIFER
The Way Life Goes<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMerovee (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Hands up, who remembers Cinderella? One of glam metal\u2019s unsung greats, the hair metal gods were not smiling on these guys from Philadelphia despite several solid albums.<\/p>\n

Vocalist Tom Keifer had one of metal\u2019s most distinctive voices \u2013 a throaty rasp that could strip wallpaper \u2013 and yet despite the potential, this incredible talent was seemingly cut short in the mid-90s when he lost his voice due to the appearance of nodules on the vocal cords, resulting in paralysis of the left cord.<\/p>\n

However, through sheer determination and strength Tom Keifer is back \u2013 long overdue \u2013 with his much talked about solo album for which ideas had originally been sewn after the Cinderella dissolution of 1995. And so, was the album worth the wait? Of course it bloody is, it\u2019s Tom Keifer after all!<\/p>\n

The Way Life Goes<\/em> is far from being the sleazy rock album some may have been expecting, and of the 14 cuts on offer only a handful hint at the past hair metal glories.<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018Solid Ground\u2019 is the one track that reeks of that Cinderella twang, from the swaggering guitars and the percussive stomp to Keifer\u2019s dry yelps. It\u2019s a cracker of a song that takes me back to my youth when I purchased Cinderella\u2019s classic opus Long Cold Winter<\/em> (1988). \u2018Solid Ground\u2019 boasts an infectious jig and guitar riff leading us to a soulful, bluesy shake \u2019n\u2019 roll chorus that brings to mind Cinderella\u2019s \u2018The Last Mile\u2019 from the said album.<\/p>\n

But what of Keifer\u2019s vocals I hear you ask? Well, he\u2019s far from the glass-shattering heights of his early-90s yelps, but he can still shred, although thankfully he allows himself a rest on the breezy \u2018A Different Light\u2019, which boasts a wistfully melodic chorus and is caressed by Greg Morrow\u2019s backbone beat.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, we\u2019re treated to the hard-edged rocker \u2018It\u2019s Not Enough\u2019, the harmonica-laced \u2018Cold Day In Hell\u2019, with its Rolling Stones-styled groove, and the driving \u2018Fool\u2019s Paradise\u2019 with its soaring chorus.<\/p>\n

For me though the album really shines with its more reflective moments. \u2018Thick and Thin\u2019 is a majestic ballad blessed with Tony Harrell\u2019s sweeping piano as Keifer croons \u201cI\u2019ll dry your tears why you are crying\u201d<\/em>, while \u2018Ask Me Yesterday\u2019 is an acoustic charmer where Keifer\u2019s voice is more Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones), rather than glam rocker.<\/p>\n

Tom Keifer clearly has a lot of catching up to do and pivotal track \u2018The Flower Song\u2019, with its summery shuffle, shows a man on top form as the organ drifts through the melody. \u201cOf all the pretty flowers I picked you\u201d<\/em>, Keifer rasps over a southern rock twang.<\/p>\n

However, if you want real rock \u2019n\u2019 roll swagger then the screaming \u2018Mood Elevator\u2019 might be right up your street. It\u2019s the album\u2019s feistiest number, boasting a gutsy vocal and lively guitar rumble. Mind you, it walks hand in hand with the darker edged \u2018Welcome To My Mind\u2019 which exudes an air of angst over a moody melody.<\/p>\n

Tom Keifer\u2019s debut solo opus is an impressive piece of work that is multi-layered and jam-packed full of emotion with not a duff tune to be found. Proof also that those early Cinderella records weren\u2019t just a fluke, and further evidence that this guy is clearly a wonderful talent when it comes to writing rock \u2019n\u2019 roll songs.<\/p>\n

The Way Life Goes<\/em> is Tom Keifer bearing his soul, effortlessly combining shimmer, shake and heartbreak, and I can\u2019t wait for the next instalment. The train keeps a rollin\u2019…<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TOM KEIFERThe Way Life Goes Merovee (2013)Rating: 8\/10 Hands up, who remembers Cinderella? One of glam metal\u2019s unsung greats, the hair metal gods were not smiling on these guys from Philadelphia despite several solid albums. Vocalist Tom Keifer had one of metal\u2019s most distinctive voices \u2013 a throaty rasp that could strip wallpaper \u2013 and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,581],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-tom-keifer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11623"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12115,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11623\/revisions\/12115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}