''Heartbreaker'' is an album by the American R&B group

the O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

. It was released in 1993 on

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

. The album peaked at No. 75 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Production

Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an Americans, American singer-songwriter and producer. Levert was best known for singing with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon of the vocal group LeVert. Levert ...

Eddie Levert Edward Willis Levert (born June 16, 1942) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of The O'Jays. He is the father of Gerald Levert (1966–2006) and Sean Levert (1968–2008) Biography Levert was born in Bessemer, Alabama, but ...

's son, cowrote and produced two of the album's songs. ''Heartbreaker'' was the first album with Nathaniel Best, who had replaced

Sammy Strain Samuel Strain Jr. (born December 9, 1939) is an American R&B vocalist, known for his time as a member of Little Anthony and the Imperials (1958–1972; 1992–2005) and The O'Jays (1975–1992). He holds the unusual distinction of being twice in ...

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that "many numbers aren't much different from the classic material that made them superstars in the '70s; that's both part of the music's charm and something that might trouble fans hoping the group would experiment with the vocal arrangements as well as the production." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' thought that the album "makes up in savvy arrangements what it lacks in well-crafted lyrics, but its real appeal lies in the still smooth Philly soul harmonies and ddieLevert's gritty testifying." The ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' wrote that "while the CD is filled with gorgeous harmonies and melodies, the vocal performances sometimes are almost spoiled by tinny-sounding mechanical tracks with programed electronic drums."

Track listing

#"Cryin' the Blues" (Edwin Nicholas, Gerald Levert) - 5:59 #"One Wonderful Girl" (Alan Gordon) - 4:28 #"Somebody Else Will" (Edwin Nicholas, Gerald Levert) - 6:27 #"Show Me the Right Way" (Dwain Mitchell, Eddie Levert, Walter Williams) - 5:25 #"Trouble" (Dwain Mitchell, Eddie Levert, Walter Williams) - 4:11 #"Can't Let You Go" (Dwain Mitchell, Eddie Levert, Sherena Wynn, Walter Williams) - 4:10 #"Decisions" (Dwain Mitchell, Eddie Levert, Sherena Wynn, Walter Williams) - 4:20 #"No Can Do" (Dwain Mitchell, Eddie Levert, Sherena Wynn, Walter Williams) - 4:21 #"Heartbreaker" (Dwain Mitchell, Eddie Levert, Sherena Wynn, Walter Williams) - 4:27 #"He Loves You" (Dwain Mitchell, Eddie Levert, Walter Williams) - 7:59

References

{{Authority control 1993 albums The O'Jays albums EMI Records albums