Only Love Can Break A Heart – GENE PITNEY****

True Love Never Runs Smooth/Cry Your Eyes Out/Only Love Can Break A Heart/Donna Means Heartbreak/I Should Try To Forget/My Heart Your Heart/Half Heaven Half Heartache/Tower Tall/(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance/Little Betty Falling Star/If I Didn’t Have A Dime/Going To Church On Sunday

Powerful balladeer Gene Pitney had been popular in the USA for a couple of years before he made his big breakthrough in Britain. Only Love Can Break A Heart includes three US top twenty hit singles, the title track plus (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance and Half Heaven Half Heartache. (US:48)

“Only Love Can Break A Heart became Gene Pitney’s first chart LP and remains one of the strongest albums of the era - far better than many artists Greatest Hits sets.”

“Only Love Can Break A Heart was Gene's biggest ever hit single in his homeland. However, none of these songs did much in the UK. In those days, Brits were slow to accept fine American singers, but ultimately Gene's popularity became greater in the UK than the USA.”

“One of the earliest commercial recordings from the great Gene Pitney. He went on to record over twenty albums and had many more hit singles, especially in the UK, but albums such as this provided him with a great start to his career. Whilst not my personal favourite, it is one which no self-respecting Gene Pitney fan should be without.”

“By the time of this album Gene Pitney was a solid chart star and with songs by such writers as Bacharach & David he never looked back. Essential for lovers of preinvasion American pop.”

“Most people remember Gene as the consummate ballad singer, but he was very versatile. At the early stage of his career he got to stretch his rock/party music muscles a bit too, so you'll find some great uptempo dance songs here. But the voice that inspired dozens of top twenty torch songs was always there."

"This album was Gene Pitney's third, and he was already an established star at this point in his career. The hit single Only Love Can Break A Heart was a ballad sung in the distinctive Pitney voice. The LP is a mixed affair, with many ballads, and an uptempo western flavoured song, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.”