It's Hard
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It's Hard is the final studio album by British rock band The Who and the second album after drummer Keith Moon died. It was released in 1982 and peaked at number 11 on the United Kingdom album charts and number 8 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts in the United States.
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 1980's, 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, as well; It's Hard was praised by some critics and panned by many others.
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 had met Russell and promptly fell for her, only to be rejected the next day. His frustration of her not reciprocating his love is expressed in this song, which he renamed "Athena" as 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." (http://www.thewho.net/linernotes/Athena.htm)
The album, 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 with 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.
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Track Listing
- "Athena" (Townshend) - 3:46
- "It's Your Turn" (Entwistle) - 3:39
- "Cooks County" (Townshend) - 3:34
- "It's Hard" (Townshend) - 3:47
- "Dangerous" (Entwistle) - 3:15
- "Eminence Front" (Townshend) - 5:39
- "I've Known No War" (Townshend) - 5:45
- "One Life's Enough" (Townshend) - 2:21
- "One at a Time" (Entwistle) - 2:55
- "Why'd I Fall for That" (Townshend) - 3:18
- "A Man Is a Man" (Townshend) - 3:48
- "Cry If You Want" (Townshend) - 4:35
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) - 5:44
- "Dangerous" (Entwistle) - 3:48
- "Cry If You Want" (Townshend) - 7:12 (This track was recorded at the same show as aforementioned "It's Hard" track.)
Personnel
- Roger Daltrey - vocals
- Pete Townshend - Guitar, keyboards, synthesizers vocals
- John Entwistle - Bass guitar, french horn, synthesizers, keyboards, vocals
- Kenny Jones - Drums
- Andy Fairweather-Low - Vocals
- Tim Gorman - Keyboards
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
External Links
- Lyrics (http://www.thewho.net/discography/albums/itshard.html)
- Guitar tablature (http://thewho.net:16080/whotabs/itshard.htm)
References
- www.thewho.net. It's Hard Liner Notes (http://www.thewho.net/linernotes/It'sHard.htm). Accessed on February 18, 2005.
- www.allmusic.com. It's Hard Album Credits (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4791BDC48AF7020F09A3A4FC6A167F71DCD56E98B1A274F75DDBA3D068E027BFD45F48796E4AF36F87BB0FE26BB580FD3CFA25EF6DF67373884FEC61D&uid=MIW060502182031&sql=10:en2uak5k5m3x~T2). Accessed on February 18, 2005.