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The Who: It's Hard

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: MCA Records
Released: 1982
Time:
 70:56
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: ****...... (4/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.thewho.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2010.05.16
Price in €: 2,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Athena (Townshend) - 3:46
[2] It's Your Turn (Entwistle) - 3:39
[3] Cook's County (Townshend) - 3:48
[4] It's Hard (Townshend) - 3:43
[5] Dangerous (Entwistle) - 3:18
[6] Eminence Front (Townshend) - 5:40
[7] I've Known No War (Townshend) - 5:58
[8] One Life's Enough (Townshend) - 2:20
[9] One at a Time (Entwistle) - 3:02
[10] Why Did I Fall for That (Townshend) - 3:24
[11] A Man Is a Man (Townshend) - 3:54
[12] Cry If You Want (Townshend) - 4:39
[13] It's Hard (Live) - 5:01 *
[14] Eminence Front (Live) - 5:43 *
[15] Dangerous (Live) - 3:48 *
[16] Cry If You Want (Live) - 7:12 *

* - Previously unreleased bomus tracks.

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


John Entwistle - Synthesizer, Bass Guitar, Horn, Vocals
Tim Gorman - Keyboards
Kenney Jones - Drums
Andy Fairweather Low - Vocals
Pete Townshend - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals

Glyn Johns - Producer, Engineer, Original Recording Producer
Jon Astley - Executive Producer, Remixing, Remastering
Bob Ludwig - Reissue Producer, Remixing, Remastering
Andy MacPherson - Reissue Producer, Remixing, Remastering
Chris Charlesworth - Executive Producer
Bill Curbishley - Executive Producer
Robert Rosenberg - Executive Producer
Richard Evans - Art Direction, Design
Graham Hughes - Photography

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1989 CD MCA Records MCAD-25986
1989 CS MCA Records MCAC25986
1999 CD Polydor POCP9208

Who fans tend to dismiss the two studio albums that the group made with former Small Faces drummer Kenny Jones after original drummer Keith Moon's death in 1978, but both FACE DANCES and IT'S HARD are solid rock albums that deserve to be judged on their respective merits. Recorded in 1982, IT'S HARD was the Who's final studio album and it is arguably the least rock-oriented album that The Who made. At the time this album was recorded, Pete Townshend was experimenting with writing in a variety of pop styles and both of the singles from IT'S HARD, "Athena" and "It's Hard" showcase an adventurous, near-theatrical approach that is actually well-suited to Roger Daltrey's somewhat dramatic singing. On other songs, like the ominous "Eminence Front" Townshend sticks to familiar Who territory. However, it is bassist John Entwistle who provides such Who-like rockers as "It's Your Turn." Now remastered and featuring four live bonus cuts, IT'S HARD is ready to rediscovered by Who fans who didn't give this album a fair chance back in 1982.

Recorded at Turn Up-Down Studios, Surrey, England, in June 1982 and live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada on December 16-17, 1982.



Driven by Pete Townshend's arching musical ambitions, It's Hard was an undistinguished final effort from the Who. Featuring layers of synthesizers and long-winded, twisting song structures, the album featured few memorable melodies and little energy, with only the anthemic "Athena" and the terse "Eminence Front" making a lasting impression.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine - All Music Guide



Recovered, it would seem, from the dual tragedies of Keith Moon's death and the Cincinnati concert (a period which fueled Townshend's solo work but left the band appearing splintered), the Who have once again produced an album bristling with the kind of single-minded commitment that hasn't been heard since Who's Next. This renewed energy shows in both the songs and performances on It's Hard. As usual, Townshend takes a spokesman's stance, but has succeeded this time around in getting across his messages without undermining the group's musical power. To the casual listener, the record packs sufficient wallop to keep stadium crowds punching fists in the air, but careful attention to the lyrics offers insights and admonitions particularly relevant to the hard times ahead. "Why Did I Fall For That?" may not have the dazzling dynamics of "Won't Get Fooled Again," but the spirit remains, and "I've Known No War" is a bitterly potent indictment of the new militarism that could lead to ultimate destruction. In a similar vein, the lyrics of "Athena" scan poorly (Townshend mistakenly confuses obscurity with poetic imagery), but the melodic hooks, especially in John Entwistle's horn charts, keep the track alive and kicking. Credit goes to the bassman, too, for his own song contributions. While not as complex in structure as Townshend's, nor as thematically ambitious, they address a cheating mate ("One At A Time"), younger bands ("It's Your Turn") and realistic paranoia ("Dangerous") in straightforward rockers that sit well within the unified framework of the album. But for one ballad, Townshend's effective "One Life's Enough," the LP roars by to show a band in rare form. They play tight and hard (kudos to Kenney Jones' unobtrusive but rocksteady drumming) and show that they mean to go out (if this current tour is indeed the last) swinging. When a band has produced as much brilliant material as the Who has over the years, the real surprise may not lie in individual tracks themselves as much as in the fact that the band can carry the weight of our expectations without sounding burdened. Yes, It's Hard, but it's good, too.

Marianne Meyer - CMJ.com
Nov 10, 2000
 

 L y r i c s


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