It's Hard
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| It's Hard | ||
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| Studio album by The Who | ||
| Released | September 4, 1982 | |
| Recorded | June 1982 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 46:22 | |
| Label | Polydor Records (UK), Warner Bros. (US) | |
| Producer(s) | Glyn Johns | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Who chronology | ||
| Face Dances (1981) |
It's Hard (1982) |
Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (1994) |
It's Hard is the 10th studio album by British rock band The Who and the second album after drummer Keith Moon died. It was released in 1982 on Polydor in the UK, peaking at number 11, and released on Warner Bros. in the US where it peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts. Their 11th studio album - called Endless Wire - wasn't released for another 24 years.
Contents |
[edit] History
There are two schools of thought with consideration to It's Hard. Some view it as an album inspired by the tense political climate of the early 1980s, as Pete Townshend did. Others see it merely as The Who fulfilling the contract to their American record label, as Roger Daltrey thought. The split in opinion is evident in reviews of the time - praised by some critics and panned by many others. Most notably, the album received a five-star review in Rolling Stone.
The first track, "Athena," is one of the few songs that was well received on It's Hard. The demo version was called "Theresa," named after actress Theresa Russell. It was written after Pete Townshend met Russell and promptly fell for her, only to be rejected the next day. His frustration with her not reciprocating his love is expressed in this song, which he renamed "Athena" to hide who the song was really about. Townshend planned on "Athena" to be part of the revival of Lifehouse. "Athena" peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Pop Singles charts. The lyric sheet for "Athena."
In the years since its release, "Eminence Front" has become the most consistently critically acclaimed and recognizable song from this album. Many people who dislike It's Hard as a whole still think "Eminence Front" is one of the best songs The Who have ever recorded.
The album cover, designed by Graham Hughes, depicts a young boy playing the Space Duel arcade game. It is a reference to Tommy, with the pinball table that the main character played updated to the times. It was not popular with Townshend, who criticized it shortly after the album's release because of the lack of the band's input.
See also 1982 in music.
[edit] Track listing
- "Athena" (Townshend) – 3:46
- "It's Your Turn" (Entwistle) – 3:39
- "Cooks County" (Townshend) – 3:34
- "It's Hard" (Townshend) – 3:47 (extended on the 1997 remastered version and had some different guitar parts on the beginning of the song)
- "Dangerous" (Entwistle) – 3:15 (extended on the 1997 remastered version and the vocals were remixed)
- "Eminence Front" (Townshend) – 5:39 (on the 1997 remastered version, the vocals were remixed to be on both speakers and used some different bass parts)
- "I've Known No War" (Townshend) – 5:45 (on the 1997 remastered version, the vocals were remixed)
- "One Life's Enough" (Townshend) – 2:21
- "One At A Time" (Entwistle) – 2:55
- "Why Did I Fall for That" (Townshend) – 3:18 (extended outro on the 1997 remastered version)
- "A Man Is A Man" (Townshend) – 3:48
- "Cry If You Want" (Townshend) – 4:35 (extended outro on the 1997 remastered version)
The 1997 digitally remastered reissue of It's Hard added four live tracks:
- "It's Hard" (Townshend) – 4:56 (This version was recorded on the last show of The Who's tour in 1982 at Toronto on December 17.)
- "Eminence Front" (Townshend) – 5:37
- "Dangerous" (Entwistle) – 3:48
- "Cry If You Want" (Townshend) – 7:12 (This track was recorded at the same show as the aforementioned "It's Hard" track.)
[edit] Singles
Athena (UK 40) (US 28)
Eminence Front (US 68)
[edit] Personnel
- Roger Daltrey - Vocals, guitar
- Pete Townshend - Guitars, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals
- John Entwistle - Bass guitar, french horn, synthesizer, vocals
- Kenny Jones - Drums
- [with]
- Andy Fairweather-Low - Additional guitar and vocals
- Tim Gorman - Additional keyboards
[edit] Personnel - Production
- Jon Astley - Executive producer
- Chris Charlesworth - Executive producer
- Bill Curbishley - Executive producer
- Richard Evans - Album art design, album art direction
- Graham Hughes - Photography
- Glyn Johns - Producer, engineer
- Robert Rosenberg - Executive producer
- Greg Fulginiti - Mastering
- Bob Ludwig - Remastering
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The Billboard 200 | 8 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Athena" | Mainstream Rock | 3 |
| 1982 | "Athena" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 28 |
| 1982 | "Cry If You Want" | Mainstream Rock | 34 |
| 1982 | "Dangerous" | Mainstream Rock | 38 |
| 1982 | "Eminence Front" | Mainstream Rock | 5 |
| 1982 | "It's Hard" | Mainstream Rock | 39 |
| 1983 | "Eminence Front" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 68 |
[edit] References
- www.thewho.net. It's Hard Liner Notes. Accessed on February 18, 2005.
- www.allmusic.com. It's Hard Album Credits. Accessed on February 18, 2005.
