The Hard Road

The Hard Road is a 2006 release by Australian hip hop group, the Hilltop Hoods from Adelaide, South Australia. It was released on 1 April (April Fools' Day) 2006 by Obese Records. It debuted at #1 on the Australia ARIA Albums Chart, unprecedented for an independent label release and for an Australian hip hop group. This earned The Hard Road the ARIA #1 chart position. The album contains the top 20 single, "Clown Prince". The album achieved Gold status (35,000 units) on 8 April 2006, a week after release and has now surpassed Platinum status (70,000 units). The album won the Triple J J Award in 2006. The award was announced on 1 December. Five songs from the album placed on the annual Triple J Hottest 100 chart announced on 26 January 2007. Songs "Recapturing The Vibe", "Stopping All Stations", "What a Great Night", "Clown Prince" and "The Hard Road" placed #77, #56, #41, #23, and #3 respectively. "An Audience with the Devil" samples the spoken parts (the interview between Suffa and the Devil) from the Millennium episode "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me".

Track listing

1. "Recapturing The Vibe" - 3:26
2. "Clown Prince" - 3:52
3. "The Hard Road" - 4:06
4. "Stopping All Stations" - 3:52
5. "Conversations from a Speakeasy" (featuring Omni) - 3:28
6. "What a Great Intro" - 0:24
7. "What a Great Night" - 3:07
8. "City of Light" - 3:40
9. "Obese Lowlifes" (featuring Mystro and Braintax) - 2:24
10. "Circuit Breaker" - 3:29
11. "Breathe" - 3:15
12. "The Blue Blooded" (featuring Blue Blooded Allstars) - 4:47
13. "Monsters Ball" - 4:19
14. "An Audience with the Devil" - 4:06
15. "The Captured Vibe" (featuring DJ Reflux) - 2:12
16. "I Can't Take It" (Deluxe Version Bonus Track)

Secret track and extra material

1. Video clip of the first single "Clown Prince" is available for viewing on the CD.
2. Untitled secret track ("Ya Feel Big?", which works only on some stereos) - to access this track, start on track 1, "Recapturing the Vibe", and scan backwards. The song is about Hilltop Hoods' rise to fame and the struggles they endured because of this rise.

Singles

1. "Clown Prince" - 2006
2. "The Hard Road" - 2006
3. "What a Great Night" - 2006
4. "Recapturing The Vibe" - 2007

Song credits

Due to the MCs Suffa and Pressure performing different verses and choruses of varying songs, the sections done by DJ Debris and the large number of guest artists featured on the album, what follows is an extensive list of song credits.

1. "Recapturing The Vibe" - 3:26
   • Produced by Suffa
   • Verse 1: Pressure
   • Verse 2: Suffa
   • Scratches by DJ Debris
2. "Clown Prince" - 3:52
   • Produced by Debris
   • Verse 1: Suffa
   • Verse 2: Pressure & ct
   • Verse 3: Suffa & Pressure
   • Scratches by DJ Debris
   • Contains samples of "Laying Pipe" by Pornosonic, "Excursions" by A Tribe Called Quest and "Things Done Changed" by Notorious B.I.G.
3. "The Hard Road" - 4:06
   • Produced by Suffa
   • Verse 1: Suffa
   • Verse 2: Pressure
   • Verse 3: Suffa
   • Scratches by DJ Debris
   • Contains a sample of "Out in the Woods" by Leon Russell
4. "Stopping All Stations" - 3:52
   • Produced by Suffa
   • Performed by Pressure
   • Scratches by DJ Debris
   • Contains samples of "Ego Trippin' (Part II)" by De La Soul and "1-800 Suicide" by Gravediggaz
5. "Conversations from a Speakeasy" featuring Omni - 3:28
   • (M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/J. McDonald)
   • Produced by Suffa
   • Verse 1: Pressure
   • Verse 2: Omni
   • Verse 3: Suffa
   • Scratches by DJ Debris
   • Contains a sample of "You Gots to Chill" by EPMD
6. "What a Great Intro" - 0:24
7. "What a Great Night DNR" - 3:06
   • Produced & performed by Suffa
   • Scratches by DJ Debris
   • Contains a sample of "For Pete's Sake" by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
8. "City of Light" - 3:40
   • Produced by Suffa
   • Verse 1: Suffa
   • Verse 2: Pressure
   • Scratches by DJ Debris
   • Bass guitar by Chris Lambert
   • Electric guitar by Nick Lambert
9. "Obese Lowlifes" featuring Mystro and Braintax - 2:24
   • (M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/K. Dafarmo/J. Christie)
   • Produced by Suffa
   • Verse 1: Mystro
   • Verse 2: Pressure
   • Verse 3: Braintax
   • Verse 4: Suffa
   • Scratches by DJ Debris
   • Contains samples of "These Walls Don't Lie" by Promoe
10. "Circuit Breaker" 3:29
    • (M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/D. Rankine)
    • Produced by Trials
    • Verse 1: Suffa
    • Verse 2: Pressure
    • Scratches by DJ Debris
    • Contains samples of "Professor Booty" by Beastie Boys and "Buddy" by De La Soul
11. "Breathe" - 3:15
    • Produced by Suffa
    • Performed by Pressure
    • Scratches by DJ Debris
    • Bass Guitar by Chris Lambert
    • Trumpet by Phil Ingram
    • Contains a sample of "Unbelieveable" by Notorious B.I.G.
12. "The Blue Blooded" featuring Blue Blooded Allstars - 4:47
    • (M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/R. Mortimer/D. Rankine/A. Baker/L. Latukefu/P. Ridge/J. Laroner/D. Young/T. Staff/R. Warren/M. Honson)
    • Produced by Suffa
    • Introduction: Trials
    • Verse 1: Suffa
    • Verse 2: Mortar
    • Verse 3: Trials and Sesta
    • Verse 4: Hau
    • Verse 5: Drapht
    • Verse 6: Vents
    • Verse 7: Muphin and Pegz
    • Verse 8: Robby Balboa
    • Verse 9: Honz
    • Verse 10: Pressure
13. "Monsters Ball" - 4:19
    • (M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/A. Simmons)
    • Produced by Simplex
    • Verse 1: Suffa
    • Verse 2: Pressure
14. "An Audience with the Devil" - 4:06
    • (M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/D. Rankine)
    • Produced by Trials
    • Performed by Suffa
    • Contains samples from an episode of Millennium entitled "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me"
15. "The Captured Vibe" featuring DJ Reflux - 2:12
    • (M. Lambert/D. Smith/B. Francis/D. Yates)
    • Produced by Suffa
    • Scratches by DJ Reflux

Chart positions

References