S Edwards - 9/3/2009

Heartbreaker was the last studio album released by seminal British rock band Free and is perhaps their most under-appreciated effort.
The classic songwriting partnership of Paul Rogers and Andy Fraser had been broken when Fraser left the band to form Sharks. An outstanding bass player, Fraser was going to be an almost impossible act to follow but Free rallied by drafting in not one but two replacements. Tetsu Yamauchi took over bass playing duties, while Texan keyboard player John "Rabbit" Budrick, another strong songwriter, supplemented the new line-up.
By all accounts the Heartbreaker sessions were fraught with difficulties, tensions and personality clashes. All this was compounded by Paul Kossoff's ailing health problems, which saw Snuffy Walden, a guitar friend of Rabbit's filling the breach on some of the tracks.
And yet from this maelstrom came a wonderfully diverse and powerful album, arguably as good as anything in the Free canon.
From the dramatic opener 'Wishing Well', which see Paul Rodgers lay down his statement of intent, this record instantly grabs you and refuses to let go.
'Come Together In The Morning' features some of the most haunting guitar Kossoff ever put to record, with emotion literally dripping out of every note.
Rabbit's 'Muddy Water' is tailor made for Paul Rodger's souful vocals and is a triumph, while Heartbreaker ia a tour-de-force. The album closes with 'Seven Angels' a rousing finale and a fitting end to the career of a wonderful band.
If you haven't heard this album do yourself a favour and buy it now. You won't be disappointed.