Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)

"Heartbreaker"
Italian single picture sleeve
Song by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin II
Released	22 October 1969 (1969-10-22)
Recorded	21 May 1969; July 1969 [1]
Studio	A&R, New York [1]
Genre	Blues rock [2] [3] hard rock [4]
Length	4:15 [5]
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	John Bonham John Paul Jones Jimmy Page Robert Plant
Producer(s)	Jimmy Page

"Heartbreaker" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1969 album, Led Zeppelin II . It was credited to all four members of the band, recorded at A&R Recording and Atlantic Studios in New York City during the band's second concert tour of North America, and engineered by Eddie Kramer. ^{[6] [7]}

Composition

"Heartbreaker" has been described as an "unashamed slice of heavy rock," containing "a few very unorthodox touches." It opens the second side of Led Zeppelin II and features a distorted, "swaggering" guitar riff by Jimmy Page. The song's third verse contains three ascending changes in key. Two minutes into the track, Page performs a spontaneous, unaccompanied 46-second guitar solo that utilizes the pull-off technique. ^{[8] [7]} "Heartbreaker" was ranked number 320 in 2004 by Rolling Stone magazine, in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, ^[9] and number 328 in 2010. ^[10]

Background and recording

In a 1998 interview with Guitar World, Page commented that the guitar solo was recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York, as opposed to A&R Studios in New York, where the rest of the track was recorded. This gave the solo a different sound than the rest of the song. ^[11] He claims to have recorded the track using a Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall Stack, adding that this was the first recorded instance of him using this combination. ^[11] However, others who were present at the recording session contended that the song was recorded using a Rickenbacker amplifier, attributing the distorted tone of Page's guitar work to the disrepair of the appliance. ^[12]

Influence and legacy

"Heartbreaker" is one of the songs featured in Nick Hornby's book 31 Songs . Record producer Rick Rubin has remarked, "One of the greatest riffs in rock. It starts, and it's like they don't really know where the 'one' is. Magical in its awkwardness." ^[13] Eddie Van Halen once claimed the "Heartbreaker" solo as the inspiration behind his adoption of the tapping technique he later popularized. ^[8] In one review with Guitar World, he said: "I think I got the idea of tapping watching Jimmy Page do his "Heartbreaker" solo back in 1971. He was doing a pull-off to an open string, and I thought wait a minute, open string ... pull off. I can do that, but what if I use my finger as the nut and move it around? I just kind of took it and ran with it. ^[14]

Steve Vai has also commented about it in a September 1998 Guitar World interview: "This one [Heartbreaker] had the biggest impact on me as a youth. It was defiant, bold, and edgier than hell. It really is the definitive rock guitar solo." ^[15] The solo was voted the 16th-greatest guitar solo of all time by Guitar World magazine. ^[7] Brett Milano of uDiscover Music rated the guitar solo as one of the 100 all-time greatest. ^[16]

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin: ^[1]

• Robert Plant – vocals
• Jimmy Page – guitars
• John Paul Jones – bass
• John Bohnam – drums

See also

• List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs § Heartbreaker

References

1. Guesdon & Margotin 2018, p. 126.
2. "Led Zeppelin Biography". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2014. their blues-rock approach on such tracks as "Whole Lotta Love," "Heartbreaker" and "Ramble On."
3. Williamson, Nigel (2007). The Rough Guide to Led Zeppelin . Rough Guides UK. p.  164. ISBN   978-1-8435-3841-7.
4. Rooksby, Rikky (2010). Riffs: How to Create and Play Great Guitar Riffs Revised and Updated Edition (1st ed.). Backbeat Books. p. 81. ISBN   978-1-4768-5547-9.
5. Led Zeppelin II (Album notes). Led Zeppelin. New York City: Atlantic Records. 1969. Inside cover. SD 8236.
6. Lewis, Dave (6 December 2016). "Led Zeppelin: The Story Behind Led Zeppelin II". Classic Rock . Retrieved 15 June 2017.
7. "100 Greatest Guitar Solos: No. 16 "Heartbreaker" (Jimmy Page)". Guitar World. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
8. Pilkington, Steve. On Track: Led Zeppelin. SonicBond Publishing. pp. 28–29.
9. "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1-500)". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 20 August 2006.
10. "328. Led Zeppelin, 'Heartbreaker'". Rolling Stone . 7 April 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
11. Tolinski, Brad; Di Bendetto, Greg (January 1998). "Light and Shade". Guitar World .
12. Pilkington, Steve. On Track: Led Zeppelin. SonicBond Publishing. pp. 28–29. The amp used is unclear [...] others present have said it was a Rickenbacker amp which enabled the distortion owing to its poor state of repair
13. "Fifty Artists Pick Their Personal Top 10s – Rick Rubin: Led Zeppelin". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 11 December 2010.
14. Bosso, Joe (20 November 2008). "Van Halen: VH1". Guitar World . Archived from the original on 15 January 2011.
15. Kitts, Jeff; Tolinski, Brad (2002). Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time!. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 189. ISBN   978-0-6340-4619-3.
16. Milano, Brett (11 September 2020). "The Best Guitar Solos: 100 Hair-Raising Moments". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 15 September 2020.

Bibliography

• Guesdon, Jean-Michel; Margotin, Philippe (2018). Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Running Press. ISBN   978-0-316-448-67-3.