Customer Reviews

Heartbreaker

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My favourite Free album now sounds even better thanks to a remastering that let's the music shine. After the poor "Free at Last" ( recorded just before the band split for the first time) who would have expected an album as good as this?( Especially without the bass playing and songwriting of Andy Fraser who it seems could not reconcile himself to work with Paul Rodgers again).
The album has it's fair share of bluesy rockers( "Wishing Well" ,"Heartbreaker" and perhaps drummer Simon Kirke's finest performance in "Seven Angels") but it is the slower , more soulful numbers that really make this album special. John Bundrick's two songs "Common mortal man" and Muddy Water" are both suberb and have had me searching for a copy of his solo album (Broken Arrows) for a long time. His keyboard work throughout is polished and always sympathetic to the tunes and what the other musicians are playing. He is clearly a powerful addition to the band. The vocals of Paul Rogers are at times quite stunning in the emotion they are able to convey,and on "come together in the morning" he and guitarist Paul Kossof are captured at an absolute peak ( just listen to the slow fade out and then fade in at the end of the tune-suberb!). Paul Rodgers also pens all the other tunes on the disc and has never written a better bunch of songs ,even the somewhat slight "Easy on my soul" is rendered as a classic by these guys.
In all it is sad that this was the end of a band that had so much potential, but at least we have "Heartbreaker " to remind us of what was.

It took me about six years to realise what a magnificent album this is -- it was 1979; I was an Oxford student, slightly drunk and mourning a relationship that had just ended -- but it has remained one of my Top 20 favourites ever since. Paul Kossoff's guitar solos on 'Come Together in the Morning' are still some of the most ethereal, spine-tingling elements to emerge from the whole 60s/70s era.

I have had this album on cassette and on unremastered CD. It's always been a notoriously murky mix -- but on a track like 'Wishing Well' that's how it should be. The great news is that this remaster rescues many instruments from the dense wall of sound of the original, particularly the percussion and acoustic guitar. Forget the bonus tracks -- e.g. the timbales on the US mix of 'Wishing Well' -- they are interesting once, but you won't want to remember this classic album for the tinny piano doodlings of the rehearsal versions.

The informative sleeve notes are by Britain's Phil Sutcliffe, the CD itself now resembles the original LP centre label.

In the UK this will rightly become the standard version of HEARTBREAKER, and is priced to replace the AAD version once stocks run out. In the US, we may have to continue buying on import. Very, very strongly recommended.

THIS IS TRULY A CLASSIC ALBUM THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE WITHOUT.EVERY SONG ON THE CD IS EXCEPTIONAL AND IT IS THE GREATEST SWAN SONG I HAVE HEARD TO-DATE. FREE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST BAND OF THEIR ERA AND PAUL RODGERS HAS A VOICE THAT IS AMAZING.PAUL KOSOFF'S GUITAR WORK IS TRULY SOME OF THE MOST TALENTED GUTIAR AROUND AND HE WAS HIGHLY UNDERRATED . HIS PRESENTATION ON THIS ALBUM EXCEEDS ANY OF HIS PREVIOUS WORK AND RIP BROTHER I KNOW YOU ARE ROCKING AND PLAYING WITH THE GREAT ONE HIMSELF -MY MAKER MUST HAVE BEEN A HARD HEARTBREAKER-

The epitome of the '70's blues/rock scene is exhibited in this disc! Tho Free was in the throws of disbanding, due to the personnel conflict's, they managed to put out what I believe is the best of their endeavor's. Many band's tried to emulate this sound, but never quite made it! With Andy Johns at the helm, who had last worked w/ Free in '71, the sound that was created by the team of Rodgers, Kirke, Tetsu, and Rabbit, certainly set the standard. It's a shame that personnel conflict's ruined what could have been a greater creative period in music! Kossoff's guitar work on "Come together in the morning" is HUGE! and the contribution's by Snuffy Walden Smith was a perfect match for what this team was capable of doing, when Koss was unable to participate, due to his drug addiction's.
I don't believe Bad Company ever came close to the sound that was generated by this team of musician's. It's a shame! This is a must have for fan's of the '70's sound!

This album deserves to be (at least) as popular as Led Zeppelin's first two albums or Deep Purple's "In Rock" and "Machinehead" albums. Simply great. And by the way, you should check out Ten Years After's "A Space in Time" too.
The high point of the album, which includes many fine tracks, is "Come Together in the Morning". And the original version of "Wishing Well" is so much more powerful than the better-known version by Gary Moore, which just doesn't do the song justice. While many reviewers rave about Paul Kossoff's guitar work, I think this album is a real showcase for Paul Rodgers, one of rock music's greatest singers.

Here we go Free! I respect this great band for their superior musicianship, earthy sound, catchy hooks & deep emotions. Free is primarily a blues hard rock outfit with 'Voice Of Rock' Paul Rodgers & guitar extraordiniore Paul Kossoff in their ranks. They already proved their mettle with Tons Of Sobs, Free & the classic Fire & Water. Heartbreaker is no exception. The CD kicks off with Wishing Well, an all-time Free classic which is at par with Fire & water, Mr. Big & All Right Now. Next track, Come Together in the Morning holds the spirit of the album & is continued till the end. Tracks like Heartbreaker, Muddy Water etc. are enough to show the world that Free was a band of calibre although their span was too short. But, if you look at it in a positive way, then you may say all good things last short. Paul Rodgers' superb vocals coupled with some clean & melodic guitaring by Kossoff make this album a must-own for die-hard Free fans like me. The difference of this album with other early Free offerings like Tons Of Sobs & Fire And Water is that it has a less blusy feel. And yes, bassboy Andy Fraser is not on this disc ! The remastered CD offers 6 bonus tracks which are equally interesting & the sound quality of the package is excellent.

after all these years this remains one of my very favorite music CD's and one which i never tire of listening to.

There seems to be a new resurgence of interest in 1970s music, particularly among today's 15 - 25 year olds. I grew up in the 70s and my friends' teenage sons are regularly asking me for recommendations of lesser known 1970s bands. They all know about Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the like, but they are not familiar with most of the lesser known 1970s bands.

To assist others looking for lesser known 1970s music, I'm posting recommendations of 1970s bands and albums that aren't very well known but are worth the attention of a new generation of listeners.

Free's Heartbreaker, released in 1973, is one such album. It's my favourite of Free's studio albums.

Heartbreaker was Free's final album before the band's final break up. Before Heartbreaker was released, guitarist Paul Kossoff and bass player Andy Fraser had left the band, to be replaced for the Heartbreaker sessions by Tetsu Yamaguchi on bass (Tetsu went on to become the bass player for The Faces, which featured Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood - now with the Rolling Stones - on guitar) and Rabbit on guitar.

After releasing Heartbreaker, Free broke up for the last, and final, time. After the band broke up, Free vocalist Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke joined Mott The Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs to form Bad Company. On this album you can definately hear the musical direction Paul Rodgers was heading in toward his work with Bad Company.

Heartbreaker is not a very well known album, but it's still a really good one. If you like Bad Company, you'll like this one.

If you're interested in checking out some really good, but less well known, 1970s music, Free's Heartbreaker is an album that's worth your attention.

There's a lower priced version of Heartbreaker (currently less than $7) available on Amazon but it doesn't have the extra tracks this one does. These extra tracks are mainly studio out takes of the tracks on the orginal release but there are also a couple of unreleased tracks and a B-side single that wasn't on the original album. I found the extra tracks worthwhile. For those of us who remember the original band, it's interesting to hear the outtakes. Some new listeners might not care about them.

If you can live without the extra tracks, save yourself some cash and buy the less expensive version without the extra tracks.

So, once you listen to this record you notice that Free is no "One hit wonder" band, doesn`t matter what the charts say. Free is more than "All right now". Just listen to the A side of this record (I mean the first four tracks, if you prefer).
Heartbreaker has all the fundamental elements of 70`s blues/rock. I feel sorry for Andy Fraser abscence and Kossoff lack of stability to fullfill the whole album due to insufficient health conditions. However John Bundrick does his contribution to give a new sound to the band and Paul`s voice is in a unique moment here. He could sing heavy bluesy rock in a smooth, alternating passion, anger, peace and suffering like no one else.
Nowadays it`s very clear for me the influece those guys have on many bands that would come years ahead. How about Whitesnake first records for instance? (trouble / Lovehunter)
I would put in evidence the following songs:
Wishing well - such a nice vibe!
Come together in the morning - Kossoff`s fine time on this record
Travellin`in style - laid back, nice vibe II
Hearbreaker - as powerful as blues/rock can be (Deep Purple`s Mistreated would never exist without this track)
Easy on my soul - nice melody and catchy chorus

Many bands have their last records remarked as weak efforts or unecessary releases.
For Free`s sake... that`s not the case.

The remnants of the band Free pulled it together one more time and recorded a follow -up to `Free at Last' entitled `Heartbreaker' and there couldn't have been a more appropriate title as the band was in heartbreak due to Andy Fraser leaving and the downward spiral of Paul Kossoff. Koss was involved in the sessions for the current album but his overall contributions were spotty and erratic, though brilliant in spots. Tetsu Yamauchi and Rabbit Brundick were briefly Free members though to call this band Free was kind of a joke as it was forged more from the determination and personality of Paul Rodgers than anything else. Many have called `Heartbreaker' Free's best album and although it is more rocking than its predecessor, the magic of the original foursome was indeed missing. Classics include lead song and single "Wishing Well", a real barnstormer of a track, "Come Together in the Morning", featuring a stunning solo from Kossoff and the title cut...clearly inspiring Deep Purple's "Mistreated". "Easy on My Soul" was later rerecorded for a Bad Co. b-side and "Seven Angels" closes the record in fine fashion. The seeds of Rodgers and Kirke's future band were clearly sewn in `Heartbreaker' any many critics would argue that the duo would never eclipse their former band in terms of artistry or chemistry and they are probably correct. Free was doomed from the start but like many great bands with volatile chemistry - there was a genius that was undeniable.