Tom Keifer – The Way Life Goes (2013)
When I first caught wind of Tom Keifer working on a solo album , I was excited that new tunes would be coming from the Cinderella front man. That was four years ago! Mr. Keifer has been working on They Way Life Goes for a long time. I can gladly say that good things come to those who wait. The Way Life Goes is one of Tom’s most brilliant pieces of work, and possibly his best song writing since Cinderella’s Long Cold Winter. It really is that good.
The Way Life Goes is NOT a hard rock record by any means. It is an honest to goodness rock record, with elements of blues, a little bit of country, and some hard rock moments as well. I was fortunate enough to experience some of the songs on this record live on Tom’s tour a couple of months ago, and I really enjoyed what I heard. I knew then that this album may be something special, but I wasn’t expecting it to be THIS good. This CD has been on constant repeat since I picked it up a week ago.
There are so many good songs on The Way Life Goes, it is hard for me to pinpoint a favorite, but “Thick and Thin” and “Ask Me Yesterday” are songs that really get me thinking. I love the harder rocking moments of the songs “Solid Ground”, “Mood Elevator” and “Welcome To My Mind”. “The Flower Song” is a terrific song to put the convertible top down on a sunny afternoon and enjoy the day. “You Showed Me” has a bit of a Beatle-esque quality to it. This is another tremendous song that deserves a ton of airplay. “Ain’t That A Bitch” is a cool bluesy rocker that has a 70’s type of feel to it.
The fact is, there is NOT one bad song on this CD. The songs on The Way Life Goes are arranged in a way that keeps the album flowing and interesting.
Fantastic song writing, and outstanding playing fill The Way Life Goes and Tom Keifer’s voice has never sounded better! If you buy one CD in 2013, this is the one to get!
I can’t recommend this enough! This is easily one of the best releases of the year! Don’t miss this!!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
l. Solid Ground
2. A Different Light
3. It’s Not Enough
4. Cold Day In Hell
5. Thick And Thin
6. Ask Me Yesterday
7. Fools Paradise
8. The Flower Song
9. Mood Elevator
10. Welcome To My Mind
11. You Showed Me
12. Ain’t That A Bitch
13. The Way Life Goes
14. Babylon
Tom Keifer – Vocals, Background Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Slide Guitar, Keyboards
Greg Morrow – Drums & Percussion
Michael Rhodes – Bass
Tony Harnell – Piano, B3, Wurlitzer, Clavinet
Background Vocals – Etta Britt, Crystal Taliaferro, Savannah Keifer,Vicki Carraco, Kent Agee, Chuck Turner
Additional Guitars – Ron Wallace, Pat Buchanan, Jeff Labar
Saxophone -Bobby Keys, Jim Horne
Midi Programming & Strings – Mitch Goldfarb, Blair Daly
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Hard Rock Hideout 
Tom is the BAD ASS genius behind Cinderella. Another masterful piece of work! 20 years of waiting…. We really didn’t know what we had… til it was gone. So much crap has been produced in those 20 years that my ear drums hurt… Don’t let the world wait another 20 years to hear real music again!!!
I am loving this album. Need to give it a few more spins to see where it may rate overall in 2013, bur so far – I love it!
Album is just awsome! Dreaming about you to come to Latvia! I know that its in Europe and its a small country, but still dreaming to see you live.
I’ve been a Cinderella fan since the first time I heard Night Songs way back in the day. I’ve seen Tom and the boys many times and have had the pleasure to talk to them a couple times…good people. I was excited when I heard about Tom’s solo record coming out, been hoping for new music for many years, although he has enough great music to carry him the rest of his career. I was fortunate enough to see Tom and his new band at a small intimate venue before the new album was released couple months ago. As expected, the show didn’t disappoint. Tom sounded great and the new band was tight and right, had an awesome time. Loved everything the band played that night. Can’t wait for the next tour Tom, whether with the new band or the Cinderella Band. Fan for life, Marc L.
Not a bad record at all. the tunes that are good are really really good. To me though, there is a bit too much mid-tempo filler. Still, definitely worth buying. As far as 2013 releases go, the new records from Krokus, Deep Purple and Saxon are all better than this one, but it is still very good.