IT'S HARD

'''It's Hard''' is the tenth 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 eleventh studio album, ''Endless Wire'', wasn't released for another 24 years. The US rights to both this album and ''Face Dances'' would later revert to MCA Records.

Contents

History

Track listing

Bonus tracks on 1997 remastered edition

Singles

Personnel

Production

Charts

Album

Singles

References

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, but was then disguised. "Athena" peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Pop Singles charts.
In the years since its release, "Eminence Front" has become the most consistently critically acclaimed and recognizable song from this album.
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.

Track listing

#"Athena" (Townshend) – 3:46
#"It's Your Turn" (Entwistle) – 3:39
#"Cooks County" (Townshend) – 3:35
#"It's Hard" (Townshend) – 3:47
#
★ Extended on the 1997 remastered edition, with some different guitar parts in the beginning of the song.
#"Dangerous" (Entwistle) – 3:15
#
★ Extended on the 1997 remastered edition, with remixed vocals.
#"Eminence Front" (Townshend) – 5:39
#
★ On the 1997 remastered edition, the vocals were remixed to be on both speakers, and it used some different bass parts.
#"I've Known No War" (Townshend) – 5:46
#
★ On the 1997 remastered edition, the vocals were remixed.
#"One Life's Enough" (Townshend) – 2:22
#"One At A Time" (Entwistle) – 2:55
#"Why Did I Fall for That" (Townshend) – 3:18
#
★ Extended outro on the 1997 remastered edition.
#"A Man Is A Man" (Townshend) – 3:49
#"Cry If You Want" (Townshend) – 4:35
#
★ Extended outro on the 1997 remastered edition.

Bonus tracks on 1997 remastered edition

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, 17 December 1982 in Toronto.
#"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.

Singles

★ "Athena" (UK 40, U.S. 28)

★ "Eminence Front" (U.S. 68)

Personnel

★ Roger Daltrey – vocals, guitar

★ Pete Townshend – guitars, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals

★ John Entwistle – bass guitar, French horn, synthesizer, vocals

★ Kenney Jones – drums

★ Andy Fairweather-Low – additional guitar and vocals

★ Tim Gorman – additional keyboards

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

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1982	The Billboard 200	8

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	"Athena"	''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock	3
1982	"Athena"	The Billboard Hot 100	28
1982	"Cry If You Want"	''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock	34
1982	"Dangerous"	''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock	38
1982	"Eminence Front"	''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock	5
1982	"It's Hard"	''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock	39
1983	"Eminence Front"	The Billboard Hot 100	68

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.