Customer Reviews

Heartbreaker

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hearbreaker finds a young band stepping into maturity to defy the process of disintegration. Whatever was happening to them at the time, Free turned out one of the best and most enduring recordings of 1972. Though Bad Co. would rock harder and sell many more records, they never came close to the sublime majesty of this one.

Free's song structures, based on blues, gospel, and rock-steady elements, sound more potent and less contrived than ever. Paul Rodger's lyrics have finally grown out of teenage adolescence and express the melancholy and humor of a young man. And analog distortion has never sounded so good - with Andy Johns' crackling production, Free catches fire on Wishing Well and burns through every track to its final resting place on Seven Angels.

1972 was a golden year for album-rock radio, and Heartbreaker wears the classic sound of those times with impressive power and dignity.

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson covered 2 of the songs on this album during the Tattooed Millionaire tour. I bought this CD to hear what the original songs sounded like. Blown away cannot describe the feeling I got when first hearing this disc. Come Together In the Morning, Heartbreaker and Easy on My Soul are some of the best songs made by ANY group.

Maybe it's the mastering of Island records CD release of "Heartbreaker" vs. the mastering of A&M records CD release of "Fire and Water", but whatever it is, the "Heartbreaker" CD has never sounded as good as 1970's "Fire and Water". Turning the table in consideration of the music, "Heartbreaker" has never quite received the same acclaim as "Fire and Water" either, although Free's most emotionally charged & gut wrenching music was written & recorded during these sessions. Free was known for blues rock, and by 1972 they indeed had the blues.

Track 1, "Wishing Well", begins very sloppy and distorted. It's like putting an album on the turntable and the needle skipping a flaw in the vinyl, or like the engineer almost forgot to turn the recording equipment on. You can almost hear the kaos, right there in the recording studio, of a band that is hanging on by a thread. From its flawed beginning, "Wishing Well" settles into one of Free's best songs. Paul Kosssoff helped write Wishing Well, but unfortunatly did not play guitar on the songs recording, and it shows.

Track 2, "Come Together In The Morning" written by Paul Rodgers, starts out wonderful. At exactly 00:40 into the song the distortion and feedback get out of hand. Kossoff regains control and Rodgers finishes out one of the most beautiful songs in Free's catalog, but unfortunately it is forever scared by the distortion level in the beginning.

Track 3, "Travellin In Style", has a warm earthly tone, and is one of the best tracks on this CD. This song is most remenscent of the fun days of the once teen-age rock & roll band that was Free in 1968.

Track 4, "Heartbreaker" written by Rodgers, is classic blues-based rock at it's finest. Distortion and feedback are better than in Wishing Well, and we have Kossoff's guitar playing to thank for it. One of the best tracks here.

Track 5, "Muddy Water", the 1st Brundrick composition, which Kossoff does NOT play guitar in.
Track 6, "Common Mortal Man", the 2nd Brundrick composition, which Kossoff DOES play guitar in.
Both Brundrick compositions are equally very well done.

Track 7, "Easy On My Soul" written by Rodgers, is an alright song that suffers from the absence of Kossoff's guitar yet again. Let's face it, Rodgers was always a better vocalist than a guitar player.

Track 8, "Seven Angels" written by Rodgers, is without question the best track on this CD. This is what ROCK & ROLL is all about. Kossoff & Rodgers are at the top of their game here, even if their game is on the edge of collapsing.

"Heartbreaker" is testamony that you can never go home again. Free would never again be the teen-age band they once were. The next recording Paul Rodgers & Simon Kirke would make after Heartbreaker, 1974's "Bad Co.", was a quantum leap from the deep rooted blues that these boys were in during 1972. Paul Kossoff would later die from a heart attack due to his Mandrax abuse. While undocumented, I believe that Bad Company's song "Shooting Star" from 1975's "Straight Shooter" album was written for Paul Kossoff, in contrast to those who believe that Free's song "Wishing Well" was written for him. But that's just me.

I'm still amazed that only 2 of Free's recordings have even been deemed worthy of putting on CD in the U.S., "Fire and Water" and "Heartbreaker". We need to write letters to Island Records and tell them to wake up and properly remaster "Heartbreaker" and the entire Free catalog.

UPDATE:
The entire Free album catalog has been remastered with extra tracks available as British imports in 2001/2002. They are priced quite reasonable, but availability may vary. They are well worth getting because the sound quality is so much better.

This is one the best blues/rock albums ever recorded.
Every note,every song on this disk is outstanding.
Paul Kossof's guitar leads rival anyone's,
anywhere.Paul Rodgers one of the best lead singers of any
era. You do not need to spend the extra $ required for the
version of this disk with "bonus tracks" ---this version stands up just fine on it's own.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY A VERY PICKY INDIVIDUAL--MYSELF.Spend a small portion
of your entertainment $ for this one.One listen and you iz
hooked.

I agree with music fan from Netherlands. 'Heartbreaker' is a great album. While not as good as Free Live (which is one of those all time greats - not enough stars to rate), I agree, but a 5 star album nevertheless. To talk of the naive lyrics etc etc is to miss the whole meaning of the blues. It is to play and sing with passion and feeling. 'Heartbreaker' has everything. You dont believe it, challenge yourself with one listen, it will catch you by the heartstrings. You'll never regret it.

This is a good album. No matter what is said in the review that comes with the description of the album on this website. A nephew of mine had this on LP. I was really touched way back then by strong lyrics, thorough playing of all involved and especially the singing of Paul Rodgers. Come together..., Muddy Water and Easy on my Soul are my favorites besides of course Wishing Well. A quote from that last song `Some say love is, some say what is love but I say easy on my soul, easy on my soul.` Hear P. R. sing it and you`ll know what I mean. Justly reissued on CD. Heartfelt music, do buy it!!!

Theres not many that can match Paul Rogers' soul on the microphone. He is without a doubt one of the greatest vocalists of the 70s. This album is everything anyone could want in classic rock and now I'm going to order tons of sobs and fire and water. This album is amazing. Standout tracks include Wishing Well, Easy On My Soul, Heartbreaker, Come Together in The Morning, and 7 Angels. This album is not pretentious at all but it should be because it rocks so f'in hard. It hasn't left my CD changer in weeks.

Free's very popular hit "All Right Now" has a way of eclipsing all their other work. So most people aren't buying the Greatest Hits CD, they buy "Fire and Water", on which "All Right Now" can be found. "Heartbreaker", their last effort, is an exceptionally fine heavy rock recording which overall I think is better than "Fire and Water;" in addition, I happen to like "Wishing Well" (the opening cut) more than "All Right Now." Nothing on "Heartbreaker" has as catchy a chorus as that for "All Right Now," but I think the lyrics to the songs on Heartnreaker are superior, I think the songs are better thought out, and I think the production is better.

At the time of this recording, Free was a band in turmoil. Bassist Andy Fraser had left the group and Paul Kosoff was fighting a losing battle against a drug addiction that would eventually kill him. However, adversity sometimes brings out the best in roc n roll bands and Free certainly delivers a fine record in Heartbreaker.

As a matter of fact, the first three songs on this recording are phenomenal. Wishing Well features some stunning guitar solos, aggressive passionate vocals, and a captivating song structure that just sticks in your memory. Some people claim that Paul Kosoff does not play on this song but I tend to doubt those folks. There is no way Paul Rodgers could play a guitar solo like that.

Come Together In The Morning is a stunning follow up to Wishing Well. Beautiful soulful vocals by Paul Rodgers accompanyed by a good moody guitar/piano background. Travelling In Style is another strong tune with a delightful country flavor.

After these three tracks the songs are a little hit and miss. I do tend to like Seven Angels and Common Mortal Man. The other tracks are passable but not too memorable. Also, there is a little too much keyboards and not enough guitar on some of these tunes.

Therefore, the verdict is a 3 1/2-3 3/4 star rating which rounds nicely to a four.

My need to get "Wishing Well" which I will admit is one of my favourite songs, necessitated me to buy this album. I have heard Rogers and Kossoff many times before on other Free discs, but had missed this one. The title track is soulful, others are meaningful, and Wishing Well just rocks! What I truly liked is to hear Rogers voice as it was when Free really where a supergroup, and to see how many of the tracks could have been Bad Company songs without any problems at all. So why only 4 stars? Because there are only 8 tracks on the album, and I would have loved more.