Elton John: Breaking Hearts (West German ''Target'' Pressing) CD Track Listing

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Elton John Breaking Hearts (West German ''Target'' Pressing) (1984)
Breaking Hearts (West German ''Target'' Pressing)\n\nOriginally Released July 1984\nGeffen CD Edition Released 1984 ??\nMCA CD Edition Released May 1992\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Building off of the success of his previous long player Too Low For Zero (1983), Elton John (piano/vocals) retained his 'classic quartet' for the follow-up Breaking Hearts (1984). After an eight year ('75 -- '83) hiatus Dee Murray (bass/backing vocals), Davey Johnstone (guitar/backing vocals) and Nigel Olsson (drums/backing vocals) briefly reunited with John and Bernie Taupin (lyrics) to attempt a musical resurrection of their early-to-mid '70s sound. Without question this is one of John's most consistent efforts during his half decade on Geffen Records ('81 -- '86). However the shift in pop music styles since 1975 as well as lack of edgy material, seemed to stifle the band's return to full form circa Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (GYBR) (1973) or Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975). Breaking Hearts was not light on hits either, yielding "Who Wears These Shoes" as well as the Top 5 smash "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"." The oft over looked "L'il 'Frigerator" is a high octane rocker that could be considered a post script to "Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n' Roll)" from GYBR. The opening cut "Restless" is also one of the spunkier tracks and came off particularly well when John hit the road with his formidable sidemen to support the disc. The vast majority of Breaking Hearts however, is met with varying degrees of success. Both "In Neon" and the reggae-dub influenced "Passengers" were best suited to the lighter pop genre and Adult Contemporary radio format where John joined the ranks of Phil Collins, Lionel Ritchie and George Michael. This stylistic direction, while concurrently popular, also criminally under-utilised the synergy between the artist and band. With the exception of the noir 'unplugged' title performance "Breaking Hearts (Ain't What It Used To Be)" a majority of the LP is indistinguishable from much of the rest of his mid '80s and early '90s catalogue. -- Lindsay Planer\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nMore consistent than "Too Low" - has his best song too!, May 28, 2005\nReviewer: JWP "Uncle Jesse Tanner" (San Jose, CA)\nI've got a feeling I'm gonna be really unpopular, but I've never been a big fan of Elton John's 70's material (a few songs here and there, but overall, it's too "singer-songwriter-y"), and in the 90's he just got too boring, for lack of a better word. \n\nBecause I tend to like catchy pop songs, I prefered some of his 80's hits, namely from TOO LOW FOR ZERO. \n\nEven if nothing else here equals my favorite, the big hit "Sad Songs" -- an upbeat classic rock/pop-rock song with a strong 80's sound which blends piano and guitaring really well -- some sure comes close! \n\nGotta rave about the 'beware of chaeating girlfriend' advice in the heavy guitar-driven "Slow Down Georgie" (which recalls his 1983 hit "Kiss the Bride") and the 80's-style hard rockability of "Lil' Fridgerator." These just sound like alot of fun, as does the new wave-ish "Who Wears these Shoes", a minor hit. \n\nThe hard pop of "Did he Shoot Her" is like a 1984 update of his harder 70's rock sound. \n\nThe album-opening "Restless" is one of my favorites - a rocker showing Elton in a humorously angry mode. Very upbeat and guitar-driven with subtle use of synths. If not for the unmistakable vocals, I could almost call it an REO Speedwagon or Loverboy song (that's a compliment!) mixed with a bit of vintage 60's rock. \n\nThe accoustic, singer-songwriter type title track, which sounds like a gigolo's anthem (LOL), and "In Neon" - which attempts a kind of Christopher Cross sound, only less good - are the two ballads. \n\n"Burning Bridges" is a mid-tempo, political themed song with a strong British pop sound (makes clever use of the bagpipes too!). \n\nWhile these three are far from bad, they're less catchy and don't stand up in quality to much of the upbeat material, IMHO. \n\nI'm torn between whether to call this or TOO LOW FOR ZERO my favorite EJ album. That one had more standout hits, but this is a slightly better consistant listen. On a side note, while "Who Wears These Shoes" is a good song, I'm not sure it should've been the other single - I bet either Restless, Slow Down, or Burning Bridges would've pushed it a little further up the charts. \n\nAlso, out of 10 songs, only two are ballads, while 8 are upbeat rockers or pop numbers. For a piano singer-songwriter such as Elton, that's a bit of a departure, but I love it - in fact, I'd even go far enough to say this is probably his overall hardest rocking album.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nAverage isn't good enough for Elton, January 17, 2005\nReviewer: Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City)\nThis CD fails to make it into the four star category mainly because too many of the songs feel only partially "cooked". "Passengers" has a GREAT hook but the verses never really click. The title tune could have been a great tribute to an aging Don Juan but it's just too spare for the radio. It needs more "punch" in the chorus. "In Neon" is a pale "Candle in the Wind" rewrite. \n\nChoosing "Who Wears These Shoes?" as the 2nd single probably killed the CD's momentum. Had "Did He Shoot Her?" (not a great song but "commercial" sounding) or "Slow Down Georgie" been chosen instead, followed with "Burning Buildings" and a re-tooled "Passengers", this could've been a 4 hit album. \n\nTHE GOOD: "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"[#5 U.S.], while not in the league of his best 70s material, is catchy and lodges its hooks deep in your cranium. It deserves the heavy airplay it continues to receive on adult contemporary radio. "Burning Buildings" paints the portrait of a love affair that's over although neither lover will admit it. "Slow Down Georgie (She's Poison)" is a friend's warning about a straying woman. \n\nTHE BAD: The only other hit tune on here, "Who Wears These Shoes?" [#16,1984] is pretty unremarkable and suffers from an uncomfortable transition from the 2nd verse into the hook. "L'il 'Frigerator" wastes a nice rocker on lyrical piffle comparing an emotionally distant woman to the kitchen appliance. \n\nBOTTOM LINE: \nThis is one I'd borrow from your local library or a friend before making the decision to pay your hard-earned money. Definitely a comedown for someone who's written LPs like CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY,TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION and DON'T SHOOT ME, I'M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSolid Elton from the mid-80s, January 23, 2002\nReviewer: Quinn Miller "millerq72" (Columbus, OH United States)\nBreaking Hearts is possibly my favorite Elton album from the 80s, at least it stands up well alongside Jump Up! and Too Low for Zero as far as quality of product. That said, it doesn't compete with his finest works of the 70s. We all got used to the fact that Elton wasn't coming up with his old magic on a consistent basis by this time. Rather, the tunes were solid and smooth, with catchy beats, nice choruses and sometimes interesting lyrics from Taupin. The songs that demonstrate these qualities best are Who Wears These Shoes?, the title track, In Neon (yes, it was released as a single, EMc, and reached #38 in the states) and Burning Buildings. The last one mentioned, happens to be my favorite ballad of his from the 80s, love that acoustic guitar solo by Johnstone at the mid-break! A thing of beauty for sure! Overall, a pleasant enough of an experience, but one gets the idea Elton could have tried a little harder. An accusation that he would admit to be true further down the road.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nAn Underrated 1980's Elton John album, April 14, 2001\nReviewer: John Kwok (New York, NY)\n"Breaking Hearts" is a far cry from Elton John's best work in the 1970's, or his recent resurgence in the late 1980's into the 1990's. Yet there are some great tracks on this album, which was the last one featuring his original band (Bassist Dee Murray died in 1987.). Perhaps the finest song is "In Neon", but I also enjoyed "Slow Down Georgie", and of course, "Sad Songs (Say So Much)". Not to be missed either is the opening track, "Restless"- which could be a decent rock and roll tune if it was played at a faster tempo - nor the whimsical "Passengers".\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nPretty lifeless, June 17, 2000\nReviewer: Chris Cormier "Wonderbar" (canada) \nThis album has a few half decent tracks - "Who Wears These Shoes', 'Slow Down Georgie', "Breaking Hearts", "Passengers" but the overall feel is pretty plastic and detached. He's just not putting much emotion into this one. Not really any bad or annoying songs, but this was the first album where the music sounds like it was done on a machine (actually I think it was)\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nIncredible, January 23, 2000\nReviewer: A music fan\nI saw Bernie Taupin interviewed one time and he said he dropped off the lyrics to "Sad Songs Say So Much" at Elton's. He didn't look at the words until Bernie left. Bernie said he lived about three minutes away at the time - and when he walked in the door the phone was ringing. It was Elton and he had just finished writing "Sad Songs Say So Much" and wanted Bernie to have a listen. That's not comprehendable to us mortals. Sad Songs alone is worth the price of this cd. But the other tunes are very good too. No wonder they call him Captain Fantastic.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nJust Okay, December 22, 1999\nReviewer: Hapworth (Palma de Mallorca, Spain)\nAlright, Breaking Hearts may sound great in comparison to Leather Jackets or Ice on Fire. But it's still a rather lifeless effort. Like Too Low For Zero, this one suffers from complacency; it's representative of industry product rather that pop/rock magic. Even Sad Songs (Say So Much), the obvious hit, is a bit too comfortable for me, lacking the glitz, warmth and buzz of Elton's crucial 70's work. I'll take Bennie and the Jets, Tiny Dancer, Pinky, Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters over any of the songs on this album.\n\nHalf.com Details \nProducer: Chris Thomas \n\nAlbum Notes\nPersonnel: Elton John (vocals, keyboards); Davey Johnstone (vocals, guitar); Dee Murray (bass, background vocals); Nigel Olsson (drums, background vocals).\n\nRecorded at Air Studios, Montserrat and 301 Studios, Sydney, Australia.\n\nIn the early '80s, Elton John no longer dominated the singles and album charts the way he had during the previous decade. He was still hugely popular, but he was in the process of redefining himself as an artist when he released BREAKING HEARTS in 1984. Gone were the 12-inch platform heels, the outrageous costumes and wild stage antics, but his music hadn't really changed all that much. He still alternated chiefly between piano-based rock songs and melodic, emotional ballads, despite throwing in occasional new wave-sounding keyboards and other slick touches of the era.\n"Sad Songs (Say So Much)", the record's high-charting hit, sports a melody that is hard to dislodge from the mind, even after a single listen. The chugging opening track "Restless" has a gritty Rolling Stones feel, while "Who Wears These Shoes" has a soulful, springy backbeat that is reminiscent of Motown groups like the Supremes. On the title track, John demonstrates his ability to write simple, affecting ballads. Alternating between his low and high registers, he is accompanied only by piano and a few high, Beatle-esque background vocals. "Passengers" has a sea-shanty flavor, with its sing-song, call-and-response chorus.
This misc cd contains 10 tracks and runs 40min 48sec.
Freedb: 72098e0a
Buy: from Amazon.com

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