Heartbreaker

by

Free

Edit

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.

Even though Andy Fraser had left the group after the Free at Last debacle, efforts were sought to continue the band and so Tetsu Yamauchi took Fraser's place on Bass, while John "Rabbit" Bundrick was added on keys exclusively to add another element of depth within the ensemble. Paul Kossoff's unreliability was paramount during the sessions for Heartbreaker, although his playing is on at least 85% of the recordings; Snuffy Walden, a friend of Rabbit's, also filled in guitar duties to help smoothen and quicken the recording sessions. Paul Rodgers songwriting is in peak form here and he and Simon Kirke simultaneously pull off a somewhat pseudo version of Free within this stage of the band's career. Wishing Well is the leadoff track here and contains elements of a darker nature but Koss's guitar playing is essentially what drives this number along with Kirke's powerful kit playing, Rabbit's driving Piano and Paul Rodgers soulful tone. Come Together in the Morning is a beautifully written Rodgers original which, once again, is complimented by the passionate guitar accompanyment of Paul Kossoff. Travelin' in Style has a nice laid back carefree groove within its 4 min. length. The title track, penned by Rodgers, is a classic style Free blues-rock vamp that has excellent organ playing by Rabbit adding a nice touch to this riff laden groover driven still by the inimitable playing of Kossoff.

Rabbit Bundrick contributes two tracks in the forms of a soul ballad, Muddy Water, which is sung well by Rodgers and has nice harmonies interlaid too, driven as it is by Bundrick's melodic piano and organ flourishes. Common Mortal Man has a pastoral-like feel as this track is a bit more forceful in melody and echoes Magic Ship and Soldier Boy from the previous Free At Last in its overall delivery. Easy on My Soul is another piano driven track, which has a contemplative tone and shows more growth from Paul Rodgers' songwriting style, and one can't but help be impressed by the instrumental prowess of this lineup, esp. the talent of Bundrick coming to the fore. Seven Angels closes out the record and features both Snuffy Walden and Paul Kossoff contributing the respective guitar parts, while the song itself is another stunning Rodgers original that has a mini-epic feel within its arrangement and overall ensemble performance.

I like this album, even though its a revamped lineup, as one can hear the obvious transitional feeling throughout its duration; and not to mention, adding two newer members to replace one departed member. Paul Rodgers does a fine job from a songwriting and performance perspective, as its obvious this record was more or less his baby; coupled with the strong contributions from Rabbit and the competent and cocksure bass playing of Tetsu backed by Kirke's powerful kit playing. Kossoff was a bit compromised on this outing but when he shone(like on the first half of this), the results were stunning. Heartbreaker is definitely a notch above the previous Free At Last, even though the chemistry is a little different here, Heartbreaker works...3 and a half stars.