Customer Reviews

Breaking Hearts

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4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

the breaking hearts album was integral in elton's 1980's. it has some strong selections that rock like "restless" and "lil frigerator" and some great ballads that never were released as singles, like "in neon" and "burning buildings". the remastered cd is much better than the original cd release.

In 1984, a year after the success of his "Too Low For Zero" album, Elton John continued his resurgance with this album. And while the former album was picture-perfect in it's arrangements and tight production values, "Breaking Hearts" went in the opposite direction, aiming more for a rock and (at times) country-esque feel. It was his most consistently rocking album since 1975's "Rock Of The Westies", as evident by the opening notes of the first track, "Restless".

The country-tinged lead single, "Sad Songs (Say So Much)", rocketed to the Top 5 that Summer was all over the airwaves and media (thanks to a linkage of the song to Sassoon products). The video, like the one for his anthemic "I'm Still Standing" was memorable, with Elton in full video-mugging-for-the-camera mode.

The follow-up single in America was "Who Wears These Shoes" (again with a country-tinge to it). It did nearly as well, peaking at #16. "Passengers" was released as the follow-up in the rest of the world. A percussive-reggae track dealing with racial tensions ("Deny the passenger, who wanna get on"), it was an oddity on the album, but hit the top of most European music charts.

Other highlights include "Li'l Frigerator", which is easily his best straight-out rock track since "Street Kids" on "Rock Of The Westies". The title track is stripped down to EJ's voice and piano and drives the loneliness of the lyrics dead home. A modest third single in America was "In Neon", which is actually one of the few radio singles (that I can remember) to be written in a 3/4-waltz style and tempo. Again, very country-esque.

But as with the other recently remastered albums from 1979-1984, this re-issue of "Breaking Hearts" would have been even better with bonus tracks (as done with his "Classic Years" re-issues). They could have added B-sides like "A Simple Man", "Lonely Boy" and "Tortured", thus giving the consumer (and the hard-core fans) more bang for the buck. *sigh*.

But all in all, this is a strong, straight-ahead album, with the remastering enhancing the sound immencely. The packaging is also superb. Though still a "singles" artist during this time, "Breaking Hearts" is a worthy album in the piano-man's illustrious catalog.

It was always going to be hard to follow his hugely successful 1983 album, Too low for zero, which is regarded as something a comeback album. Not that Elton had ever been away, but his albums during the period 1977 to 1982 aren't generally held in such high regard as most of his early albums released between 1970 and 1976. Actually, Elton's albums from that period aren't all as bad as some would have you believe. I enjoy some of them, particularly Blue moves and 21 at 33, but it would be fair to say that Elton made some mistakes during that period, the biggest by far being the album Victim of love. So the 1983 comeback (if that's what it was) surprised a lot of people who had written Elton off as a has-been. But with this album, Elton proved that Too low for zero was no fluke. While Breaking hearts doesn't quite match the brilliance of its predecessor, it comes close. With basically the same people involved, and the same recording studio in Montserrat (some years before the volcanic eruption that devastated the island), the sound and style is similar to Too low for zero, the difference being in the songs.

Four of the songs here became British hits (though only two were big hits), while there were three hits in America, although only two hits were the same songs in both countries. The standout track on the album is Sad songs say so much. It made the American top five and the British top ten. The second and biggest British hit (where it made the top five) from the album was Passengers. The lyrics are difficult to understand, but the liner notes to this re-mastered CD suggest that it is actually about South African apartheid, so the train and its would-be passengers are metaphorical. Passengers never became an American single, for whatever reason. The third British single and the second American single was Who wears these shoes?. It made the top twenty in America but was only a minor British hit, perhaps because most people who wanted the song bought the album. The third American single, In neon, became a top forty hit there. In Britain, that song was relegated to the B-side, with the A-side being the album's title track, but it was only a minor hit. Again, any Brits who wanted it probably already had the album.

The five tracks already mentioned provide reasons enough to buy the album, but the other five tracks (Restless, Slow down Georgie she`s poison, Li'l 'frigate, Burning bridges, Did he shoot her?) are all worth a listen. Perhaps the pick of them is Burning bridges, but there's not a lot to choose between them quality-wise.

Buying this album shouldn't take precedence over Too low for zero or Elton's classic albums of the early to mid-seventies. Nevertheless, every self-respecting committed Elton John fan should buy this album eventually.

"Breaking Hearts" is perhaps Elton's best album of the eighties. Although his previous album "Too Low For Zero" is considered by many to be his real comeback album after six years of indifference by his fans, this album is better in many ways. It has a more guitar driven sound than any Elton release since "Rock Of The Westies." John is in top vocal form and the songs are at once catchy and remain in the listener's mind long after the album is over. There's not an ounce of filler here. "Restless" is one of his best rockers ever and "Sad Songs Say So Much" is perfect melodic pop. The jaunty "Who Wears These Shoes?" has dark lyrics that oppose the lighthearted aura of the music.

When many of Elton's albums were remastered and re-issued about ten years ago, somehow "Breaking Hearts" was left out. Finally the remastering is done but the album is only available as an import. It should be made available here in the states so that old and new fans alike can appreciate one of the best efforts of Elton's long and fruitful career.

With Breaking Hearts, Elton and Taupin achieved something not normally associated with their releases: for the first time in years, they made an album that doesn't capitalize on the success of the previous release (Too Low For Zero).

They've always tried to at least do something totally different while recording follow up releases or at least expand and make an even better pop album. For instance, will anybody ever confuse Caribou with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road? Of course not. But after making their classic, they delivered Caribou and basically told their audience, this one isn't going to be a great but hang in there because the next one is even better (which led to Captain Fantastic).

Which is why Breaking Hearts is a slight let down after Too Low For Zero. Breaking Hearts has some great songs on it but the whole effort seems forced. Perhaps a different producer would have taken these songs to the next level. Producer Chris Thomas lets a great song such as Restless, languish. Probably the best Rolling Stones effort Elton ever attempted just doesn't get off the ground despite the excellent rhythm section of Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray. The sing along chorus is also great but with no where to go. The second song, Slow Down Georgie, has a slight country feel but is so fragmented that by the time the band has found the groove it breaks into instrumental interludes that destroy the cohesiveness of the overall melody. The song starts and stops like a train ride. Lil Frigerator laments the story of a cold hearted woman but really, can you actually sing a song when the chorus has the word 'frigerator' in it? Taupin should know better. But the band tries hard to make a great rock song over this absurd lyric to no avail.

Meanwhile, Did He Shoot Her fires up a great old cowboy western lyric complete with shooting snythesizers that are a bit distracting. And the title track, Breaking Hearts, tells the story of a playboy whose best days are behind him. Elton and the band deliver a soothing vocal and beautiful harmonies but again, it takes itself very seriously with Elton's piano as the sole instrument.

But for all that is wrong with this release, the other songs more than make up for it. Who Wears These Shoes, with a Motown feel (and a little of Hall & Oates Maneater bass line), strolls along nicely and is a great little pop tune. In Neon, a wonderful story of a faded starlet, has haunting backing vocals and one of Elton's best ever vocals. Burning Buildings, is another lost classic ballad that should be heard from more often. Passengers, is completely different with its sing song chorus and tells the tale of the struggles in South Africa. And the big hit off the album, Sad Songs, may not be the strongest song Elton has written but you can'd deny it's endearing appeal. It's just too catchy to ignore!

Breaking Hearts seems like Elton was treading water. The overuse of synthesizers distracts from some of the songs here and a more organic sound would have been welcome. But some of the songs, had they been better produced, showed promise. This is a solid effort. It just doesn't really go anywhere. And after the fantastic Too Low For Zero, this one failed to build upon that success.

This is an Elton album that didn't receive as much "pub" as others. Two songs released as singles.."Who Wears These Shoes?" and "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
As usual, the songs are both contemplative and rockin'

I thought I already had the CD version of this album..as I had the CDs of all EJ albums...along with the original vinyl!! What a great surprise to find this album on amazon.com!!

Capitalizing on the momentum Elton regained with "Too Low for Zero" and the hit "I Guess That's Why The Call It The Blues," the reunited team Elton (Taupin, Davey Johnston, Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson) quickly released "Breaking Hearts" a little more that a year later. While it is a good album and has three great singles on it, it falls short of "Too Low For Zero" and is also dated in its sound.

Blame for that falls to producer Chris Thomas, who burdened a lot of the album with 80's buzzy synthesizers and a reluctance to let the rockers really rock. "Restless" and "Slow Down Georgie" could have been knockouts like "I'm Still Standing," but they just come off as restrained. "Who Wears These Shoes" has a great soul bass-line and a good kick, and was deservedly a hit. (It also had a great video.) The big hit was "Sad Songs Say So Much," which not only was a top ten single and MTV hit, but was quickly mutated into a jeans commercial. Both of these songs are classic Elton, the hooky choruses and trademark vocal harmonies of his glory days are intact.

The other of Elton and Bernie's greatest strengths is also here: great ballads. Their second tribute to Edith Piaf, "In Neon," is a rare top forty record in waltz time. But better still is the title track. Mostly Elton and his solo piano, it is the kind of song that can give you chills. There is also the quirky experimental song in "Passengers." A major hit outside the US, a cryptic call for peace in a reggae mode. It is the most unusual song amongst a batch of rather atypical 80's Elton, on an album that could have used a bit more fire. For the most part, it is a consistent Elton John album with the usual prerequisite great hits (especially "Sad Songs'), but still just average overall.

"Breaking Hearts" is probably noteworthy for two reasons. First, it was the first 1980s album featuring the complete reunion of the John/Taupin songwriting team; indeed, as an album, it is consistently better than the more popular - and critically acclaimed - "Two Low For Zero". And second, it is also the last Elton John album featuring his original rhythm section of bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson, who were both important members of his band during the halcyon artistic period of the early to mid 1970s (After the "Breaking Hearts" tour Elton dismissed both Murray and Olsson, who would appear together only one more time backing vocals on his mid 1980s "Reg Strikes Back" album.). However, artistically, as much as I enjoy several songs from this album, I strongly believe that both Elton John and Bernie Taupin were musically treading water, creating catchy pop-oriented rockers and ballads at the expense of making more memorable music (And yet, I will note that a third reason why this album is noteworthy is because the John/Taupin songwriting team would write some of their best country-flavored rock and pop songs in their career, with their Top 5 American hit "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" a classic example, crafting songs that are far more memorable than any I've heard recently from the Brooklyn, NY fringe community of country/folk musicians led by mediocre songwriters Alex Battles and "Dock Oscar" Stern.).

My favorite songs from "Breaking Hearts" include not only "Sad Songs (Say So Much)", but also the ballads "In Neon", a beautiful, memorable tribute to Edith Piaf (The John/Taupin songwriting team's second tribute after "Cage The Songbird" from "Blue Moves") and the title song, "Breaking Hearts". I also like a lot "Burning Buildings" too, and regard as interesting failures; "Restless", "Who Wears These Shoes?" and "Did He Shoot Her?", which are both lyrically and melodically, second-rate versions of the songwriting team's great songs from the early to mid 1970s. Production-wise, producer Chris Thomas did a fine job, but I think he opted too much for synthesizers, relying upon them for songs like "Did He Shoot Her?" and even, "Sad Songs (Say So Much)".

Breaking Hearts is the second record following the full-scale reunion of Elton John And Bernie Taupin, and it is a more than satisfactory listening experience. With a sound quite different from its predecessor, Too Low For Zero, Breaking Hearts is heavier on upbeat numbers and straight-up rockers, and it doesn't have the light, almost airy feel of its predecessor. Too Low For Zero sounds almost as though it was recorded in a cloudbank; Breaking Hearts is firmly grounded upon the Earth. It comes right out of the gate with a state-of the world rocker called 'Restless,' a good example of Bernie Taupin's sharp yet somehow blase social commentary; it goes on with 'Slow Down Georgie (She's Poison)' a mid-tempo rocker about a friend who's in the grip of a man-eater (and we're not talkin' 'bout lions or tigers here). Both songs stand up well as mid-'80s pop, and they manage not to sound too dated, unlike most musical fare from 1984. 'Who Wears These Shoes?,' another mid-tempo number, this one on the reliable old topic of infidelity (Bernie has written quite a few songs on that subject over the years; makes you wonder, doesn't it?), comes next, sharing the quality of almost obscene catchiness that permeates most of this record. Whatever else one might say about it, Breaking Hearts has great hooks.
The title track follows; it's a slower, more piano-oriented song, a lament of the fact that it gets harder to love 'em and leave 'em as one gets older. Bernie Taupin certainly deserves some kind of credit for making the troubles of an utter cad sound so sympathetic. Next up we have the driving rocker 'Lil 'Frigerator,' about a cold, calculating but irresistable piece of jailbait, along the lines of Too Low For Zero's 'Whipping Boy,' but with a better hook and heavier sound. This brings what we old folks used to call 'side one' to and end.
But those days are past, no? There are no more sides; now there are only whole records and songs. Either way, the album continues with 'Passenger,' a song that Americans generally just wouldn't understand- or should I say, wouldn't have understood before airline security got beefed up to the point where waiting in long lines has become more a part of our lifestyle. It's actually a whimsical, mid-tempo tune about standing in line for the trains that make travelling around Europe so much easier than getting around this self-centred, car-obsessed country, a song that illustrates the monotony of the situation without becoming overly monotonous itself. 'In Neon' follows, a nice ballad about dreams of Hollywood success. The energy picks up again on 'Burning Buildings,' a song that represents taking the love-plunge as akin to leaping from a flaming skyscraper. A bit on the melodramatic side, but a good song nonetheless. 'Did He Shoot Her?' is the follow-up, an excellent piece of fast-paced, rhythmic rock that tells a story of getting revenge on some creep who's hurt a beloved ex. The last track here is the best-known, 'Sad Songs (Say So Much)' Like the rest of the record, it is incongruously upbeat; perhaps this is all meant ironically (either that, or it's an excuse for the over-long and kinda depressing 'Blue Moves' 8 years earlier); heaven knows Taupin loves his irony. So, to conclude, Breaking Hearts is a mid-eighties Elton John record that doesn't deserve to be consigned to the television time capsule that contains most of 1984; it is a well-crafted, consistently engaging record with enough hooks to provide spare hands for a whole fleet of pirates. It boggles my mind that the year in which it was made is now twenty-two years in the past! To put it in perspecitve: if Breaking hearts were a person, it would be graduating from college this year! And I'm sure that, if it were, it would've graduated with flying colours.

THIS IS NOT THE BEST ALBUM OF ELTON, BUT HAS SOME JEWELS IN IT LIKE THE SINGLES "IN NEON", "SAD SONGS" & WHO WEARS THESE SHOES?" PLUS THE HORRIBLE "PASSENGERS", EVERY FAN MUST HAVE IT, ALTHOUGH THIS IS NOT HIS BEST, IT'S WORTH ENOUGH YOU'LL SEE.I THOUGHT IT WAS OUT OF PRINT.