The Who It's Hard U.S Vinyl Pressing Vinyl Rip Flac
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It's Hard
Studio album by The Who
Released 4 September 1982
Recorded June 1982, Turn Up-Down Studio at Glyn Johns' home in Surrey, England, United Kingdom
Genre Rock, hard rock
Length 46:29
Language English
Label Polydor
Producer Glyn Johns
Professional reviews
* Allmusic 2/5 stars link
* Robert Christgau (C) link
* Rolling Stone 5/5 stars link
Singles from It's Hard
1. "Athena"
Released: 1982
2. "Eminence Front"
Released: 1982
3. "It's Hard"
Released: 1983
It's Hard is the tenth studio album by the English rock band The Who. It is the last Who album to feature bassist John Entwistle and drummer Kenney Jones, as well as the last Who album to be released on Warner Bros. Records in the United States. It was released in 1982 on Polydor in the UK, peaking at number 11[1], and released on Warner Bros. in the US where it peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.[2] The US rights to both this album and Face Dances would later revert to MCA Records.
Contents
History
The album received a five-star review in Rolling Stone.
The first track, "Athena" peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Pop Singles charts.
The album cover, designed by Graham Hughes, depicts a young boy playing Atari's Space Duel arcade game. It is a reference to Tommy, with the pinball table that the main character played updated to the times.
In 1997, MCA re-released the album with new mixes for "Athena" and "Eminence Front" that corrected problems with the original 1982 mix. The lead vocals on both songs had been hard-panned to opposite channels, and Townshend and Daltrey shared a vocal flub on "Eminence Front."
Pete Townshend has been sometimes noted to give a brief history of "Eminence Front" before playing it in concert. He would explain what the song was about, and finish by saying the album's name (It's Hard), followed by "That's what she said!"
Track listing
All songs written by Pete Townshend except where noted.
Side one
1. "Athena" – 3:46
2. "It's Your Turn" (John Entwistle) – 3:39
3. "Cooks County" – 3:51
4. "It's Hard" – 3:47
5. "Dangerous" (Entwistle) – 3:36
6. "Eminence Front" – 5:39
Side two
7. "I've Known No War" – 5:56
8. "One Life's Enough" – 2:22
9. "One at a Time" (Entwistle) – 3:20
10. "Why Did I Fall for That" – 3:56
11. "A Man Is a Man" – 3:56
12. "Cry If You Want" – 5:18
Personnel
The Who
* Roger Daltrey: Vocals, Guitar
* Pete Townshend: Guitars, Lead vocals on "Eminence Front", Secondary Lead Vocal on "Athena" and "Cooks County", piano and synthesizer on "One Life's Enough"
* John Entwistle: Bass, Lead vocals on "One at a Time", synthesizer on "Dangerous" and "One at a Time"
* Kenney Jones: Drums.
Additional musicians
* Andy Fairweather-Low: vocals, guitar on "It's Your Turn"
* Tim Gorman: synthesizer on "Dangerous", "One Life's Enough" and "One at a Time", organ on "Dangerous"
Production
* Jon Astley: executive producer
* Chris Charlesworth: executive producer
* Bill Curbishley: executive producer
* Richard Evans: album art design, album art direction
* Greg Fulginiti: mastering
* Graham Hughes: photography
* Glyn Johns: production, engineering
* Bob Ludwig: remastering
* Robert Rosenberg: executive producer
Sales chart performance
Album
Year Chart Position
1982 Billboard 200 8[2]
UK Albums Chart 11[1]
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1982 "Athena" Billboard Mainstream Rock 3[citation needed]
1982 "Athena" The Billboard Hot 100 28[citation needed]
UK Singles Chart 40[1]
"Cry If You Want" Billboard Mainstream Rock 34[citation needed]
"Dangerous" Billboard Mainstream Rock 38[citation needed]
"Eminence Front" Billboard Mainstream Rock 5[citation needed]
"It's Hard" Billboard Mainstream Rock 39[citation needed]
1983 "Eminence Front" The Billboard Hot 100 68[citation needed]
[edit] Sales certifications
Organization Level Date
RIAA – U.S. Gold 3 November 1982[3]