February 16th, 2013 - Night Songs For the Polygamist

Good evening!  Grab your red cowboy boots, tie a colorful bandanna around your thigh, and wrap a lacy scarf around your belt because we are taking Brews and Tunes into hair-metal adrenaline high-gear!!  How's 'bout some Cinderella "Night Songs" and a Wasatch Polygamy Porter from the Utah Brewers Cooperative?  Hell yeah! 

Steeped in a healthy dosage of L.A. glam in the vein of Mötley Crüe, Ratt, and W.A.S.P. and some heavy, Led Zeppelin-esque blues, Cinderella's debut album, "Night Songs" took the metal scene by storm in 1986.  With Tom Keifer's distinct and raspy vocals along with his and Jeff LaBar's crunching guitars, Eric Brittingham's thumping bass, and Fred Coury's driving and rhythmic drumming, "Night Songs" is a fist-pumping, sexually-driven rocker.   Yes, these guys had teased hair, way too much make-up, and a somewhat silly name, but unlike some of their contemporaries, I would argue that Cinderella had the chops to back it all up.  Keifer is a great guitarist hands-down.  And his raspy vocals are powerful, emotional, and honest.  Opening track "Night Songs" is worth its weight in gold... an almost mystical beast of a song.  "Shake Me," "Once Around The Ride," and "Push, Push" are sexually-charged bluesy rockers reminiscent of AC/DC's work.  "Nobody's Fool" (probably their biggest hit) is a masterfully written ballad, full of angry, jealous truth and raw emotion.  "Nothin' For Nothin'" just plain kicks ass as does "Hell On Wheels..." some great slide guitar in the intro there!  "Somebody Save Me" is another great rocker as is "In From The Outside" and the finale, "Back Home Again" has a certain early Aerosmith quality... you know WAY BACK when Aerosmith still rocked!  :)  (As a side note: I had the pleasure of meeting drummer Fred Coury a few years back.  He is a very gracious, very cool guy!  And a kick-ass drummer to boot!)

For the very rocking, very sexy, and very nocturnal "Night Songs" I thought we should go with something that goes down easy, but is a bit smoky, very dark and mysterious, and hinting at the abnormal (at least in terms of the name)... thus the Polygamy Porter!  The Polygamy Porter pours a deep mahogany... almost opaque black with a thin mocha head with fairly good lacing.  The nose is dominated by rich, dark chocolate notes and a hint of smoked grains.  It is a medium-bodied beer with light to medium carbonation.  The flavor is rich and earthy, yet very drinkable.  There are notes of chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, and oak with a smooth, smoky finish.  This is a good session porter that goes down easy and is great for kicking back on a Saturday with the boys in Cinderella.  As the name suggests, you will want more than one... concurrently, you will want to listen to "Night Songs" again and again!  And I think the twisted, devious behaviour of polygamists fits well with the decadence of 1980s, L.A. metal excess... don't you?  :)

Cheers!