Dolly Parton found increasing success in the late '70s, and
Heartbreaker showcases her increasing confidence beautifully. In 1978
Parton was the winner of the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year award, probably due in part to
Heartbreaker's rise to number one on the country charts and its two number one singles ("I Really Got the Feeling" and the title track). While the clean country-pop is a step away from her much rootsier previous albums, it is the natural progression toward her
9 to 5 and Odd Jobs pop crossover success in the years to come. Unfortunately with this BMG Special Products release, the liner notes are nonexistent (
Parton's duet partner,
Richard Dennison, on "We're Through Forever ('Til Tomorrow)" goes completely uncredited) and the disco remixes of "Baby I'm Burning" and "I Wanna Fall in Love" (which were two of the year's biggest club hits) would've been terrific bonus cuts, but they are nowhere to be found. Still, it's great to have
Heartbreaker back in print, no matter the shortcomings of the packaging. ~ Zac Johnson