It's Hard
Encyclopedia
It's Hard is the tenth studio album by 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 to be released on Warner Bros. Records
in the US. It was their last album until 2006's Endless Wire
. It was released in 1982 on Polydor in the UK, peaking at #11, and on Warner Bros. in the US where it peaked at #8 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts. The US rights to both this album and Face Dances
subsequently reverted to the band, who then licensed them to MCA Records
(later Geffen Records
, itself once distributed by WB) for reissue. The album achieved gold status by the RIAA
in the US on November 1982.
", peaked at #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 machine
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.
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").
in 1982 supporting the album.
"Dangerous" was the first song from this album to be played live, as the third song on the band's first 1982 concert. Its live performances did not deviate too far from the studio cut.
"Athena" was played sporadically on the 1982 tour, sometimes as an encore and other times in the regular set. The band hated playing the song and thought that their performance on it was not up to their standards, so they dropped it in the middle of the tour.
"A Man Is a Man" was also played sporadically on the same tour, and was its last performance also came during the same concert with the last performance of "Athena".
"It's Hard" was played the entire 1982 tour and regularly featured a short full-band jam at its conclusion.
"Cooks County" was only played once, on 6 October 1982 at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago
, in place of "It's Hard". This was because the song was written by Townshend after seeing a television documentary on Chicago's Cook County Hospital.
"Eminence Front" was one of two songs (the other being "Cry If You Want") from this album to last until after the 1982 tour, and the only to become a staple of the band's concerts. It was played in the tours of 1982, 1989
, 1999
, 2002
, 2004
, 2006, 2007
, 2008, and 2009. A highlight of these live performances was the guitar solo before the lyrics came in, where Townshend would play the solo differently every night.
"Cry If You Want" was played in every 1982 concert except one. These performances featured Townshend playing an extended guitar solo as an outro. In 2006, Daltrey requested that it be brought back, and it was for the first leg of the tour. However, it did not stay in the set list for long, only lasting three concerts. Later, the band would start incorporating it into their jams of "My Generation
", albeit in a shorter and jazzier form, where it has lasted until 2009.
except where noted.
Side one
Side two
1997 reissue bonus tracks
The 1997 digitally remastered reissue of It's Hard added four live tracks recorded on the last show of The Who's 1982 tour
, on 17 December in Toronto
.
Additional musicians
Production
Singles
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
. It is the last Who album to feature bassist John Entwistle
John Entwistle
John Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...
and drummer Kenney Jones
Kenney Jones
Kenneth Thomas "Kenney" Jones is a veteran English rock drummer best known for his work in Small Faces, Faces, and The Who.-Small Faces to the Faces:...
, as well as the last to be released on Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
in the US. It was their last album until 2006's Endless Wire
Endless Wire (The Who album)
Endless Wire is the eleventh album by the English rock band The Who released on 30 October 2006, through Polydor Records and the following day in the United States by Universal Republic. It was their first new album of original material in twenty-four years following the release of It's Hard in 1982...
. It was released in 1982 on Polydor in the UK, peaking at #11, and on Warner Bros. in the US where it peaked at #8 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts. The US rights to both this album and Face Dances
Face Dances
Face Dances is the ninth album by English rock band The Who. It was originally released in 1981 in the US on Warner Bros. Records and in the UK on Polydor Records...
subsequently reverted to the band, who then licensed them to MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
(later Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
, itself once distributed by WB) for reissue. The album achieved gold status by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
in the US on November 1982.
History
The first track, "AthenaAthena (song)
"Athena" is a song written by Pete Townshend and recorded by The Who. It appears as the first track on the group's tenth studio album It's Hard, released in 1982. It was released as the first single from that album, achieving moderate chart success at #28 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but received...
", peaked at #28 on the Billboard Pop Singles charts.
The album cover, designed by Graham Hughes, depicts a young boy playing Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
's Space Duel
Space Duel
Space Duel is an arcade game released in 1982 by Atari Inc. It is a direct descendant of the original Asteroids, with asteroids replaced by colorful geometric shapes like cubes, diamonds, and spinning pinwheels. Shoot all objects to complete a level. Space Duel is the first and only multi-player...
arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
. It is a reference to Tommy
Tommy (rock opera)
Tommy is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records/MCA in the United States. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was...
, with the pinball machine
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
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.
Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
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").
Live performances
Just over half of this album has been played live over the course of the band's career, most of the performances coming from the then farewell tourThe Who Tour 1982
The Who Tour 1982 was The Who's last with drummer Kenney Jones. While the tour was originally intended to support their 1982 album It's Hard, the band later announced it would be their final tour, though they would eventually reunite twice and then tour again in 1989.-History:Aside from two warm-up...
in 1982 supporting the album.
"Dangerous" was the first song from this album to be played live, as the third song on the band's first 1982 concert. Its live performances did not deviate too far from the studio cut.
"Athena" was played sporadically on the 1982 tour, sometimes as an encore and other times in the regular set. The band hated playing the song and thought that their performance on it was not up to their standards, so they dropped it in the middle of the tour.
"A Man Is a Man" was also played sporadically on the same tour, and was its last performance also came during the same concert with the last performance of "Athena".
"It's Hard" was played the entire 1982 tour and regularly featured a short full-band jam at its conclusion.
"Cooks County" was only played once, on 6 October 1982 at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, in place of "It's Hard". This was because the song was written by Townshend after seeing a television documentary on Chicago's Cook County Hospital.
"Eminence Front" was one of two songs (the other being "Cry If You Want") from this album to last until after the 1982 tour, and the only to become a staple of the band's concerts. It was played in the tours of 1982, 1989
The Who Tour 1989
The Who Tour 1989 was The Who's reunion tour in celebration of their 25th anniversary and their first without drummer Kenney Jones, who had replaced Keith Moon in 1979...
, 1999
The Who 1999 Performances
The Who reformed again for a series of shows in late 1999 following both the momentum from their 1996-97 Quadrophenia tours and Pete Townshend's renewed interest in his Lifehouse rock opera. These performances are notable in that they were the first time the band played as a five-piece group since...
, 2002
The Who Tour 2002
The Who Tour 2002 was a tour by The Who, partially in support of the DVD The Who & Special Guests: Live at the Royal Albert Hall. It is perhaps known best as the first tour the band did without original bassist John Entwistle, who died the night before the North American tour was to begin; the...
, 2004
The Who Tour 2004
The Who embarked upon a series of live shows in 2004, including the band’s first ever performances in Japan and their first in Australia since 1968.-History:...
, 2006, 2007
The Who Tour 2006-2007
The Who Tour 2006–2007 was The Who's first worldwide concert tour since 1997, supporting their Endless Wire album.-History:In December 2005, Rolling Stone magazine announced that The Who would be touring in the summer of 2006, visiting Australia, Canada, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the...
, 2008, and 2009. A highlight of these live performances was the guitar solo before the lyrics came in, where Townshend would play the solo differently every night.
"Cry If You Want" was played in every 1982 concert except one. These performances featured Townshend playing an extended guitar solo as an outro. In 2006, Daltrey requested that it be brought back, and it was for the first leg of the tour. However, it did not stay in the set list for long, only lasting three concerts. Later, the band would start incorporating it into their jams of "My Generation
My Generation
My Generation is the debut album by the English rock band The Who, released by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom in December 1965. In the United States it was released by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation in April 1966, with a different cover and a slightly altered track...
", albeit in a shorter and jazzier form, where it has lasted until 2009.
Track listing
All songs written by Pete TownshendPete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
except where noted.
Side one
- "AthenaAthena (song)"Athena" is a song written by Pete Townshend and recorded by The Who. It appears as the first track on the group's tenth studio album It's Hard, released in 1982. It was released as the first single from that album, achieving moderate chart success at #28 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but received...
" – 3:46 - "It's Your Turn" (John EntwistleJohn EntwistleJohn Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...
) – 3:39 - "Cooks County" – 3:51
- "It's Hard" – 3:47
- "Dangerous" (Entwistle) – 3:36
- "Eminence FrontEminence Front"Eminence Front" is a song written and sung by Pete Townshend of The Who. It appears as the sixth track on the group's 1982 studio album, It's Hard. The single reached #68 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is the only song from the album that the band has opted to play live after the initial...
" – 5:39
Side two
- "I've Known No WarI've Known No War"I've Known No War" is a song by British rock band The Who, originally released on their 1982 album It's Hard. Written by Pete Townshend, the song reflects personal thoughts on the Cold War, and contains lyrics referring to the end of World War II....
" – 5:56 - "One Life's Enough" – 2:22
- "One at a Time" (Entwistle) – 3:20
- "Why Did I Fall for That" – 3:56
- "A Man Is a Man" – 3:56
- "Cry If You Want" – 5:18
1997 reissue bonus tracks
The 1997 digitally remastered reissue of It's Hard added four live tracks recorded on the last show of The Who's 1982 tour
The Who Tour 1982
The Who Tour 1982 was The Who's last with drummer Kenney Jones. While the tour was originally intended to support their 1982 album It's Hard, the band later announced it would be their final tour, though they would eventually reunite twice and then tour again in 1989.-History:Aside from two warm-up...
, on 17 December in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
- "It's Hard" – 4:56
- "Eminence Front" – 5:37
- "Dangerous" (Entwistle) – 3:48
- "Cry If You Want" – 7:12
Personnel
The Who- Roger DaltreyRoger DaltreyRoger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Pete TownshendPete TownshendPeter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Eminence Front", co-lead vocals on "Athena" and "Cooks County", pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and synthesiser on "One Life's Enough" - John EntwistleJohn EntwistleJohn Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, brassBrass instrumentA brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
, backing vocals, lead vocals on "One at a Time", synthesiser on "Dangerous" and "One at a Time" - Kenney JonesKenney JonesKenneth Thomas "Kenney" Jones is a veteran English rock drummer best known for his work in Small Faces, Faces, and The Who.-Small Faces to the Faces:...
– drums
Additional musicians
- Andy Fairweather-LowAndy Fairweather-LowAndrew Fairweather Low is a Welsh guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. He was a founding member of 1960s British pop band, Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.-Early career:Fairweather Low first found fame as a...
– rhythm guitar on "It's Your Turn" - Tim GormanTim GormanTim Gorman is a rock keyboardist born and based in San Francisco. He has worked as a session musician from the 1980s until the present, his most notable collaborations being with Duane Eddy, Paul Kantner and The Who....
– synthesiser and organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
on "Dangerous", electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
on "Eminence Front", synthesiser on "One Life's Enough" and "One at a Time"
Production
- Jon Astley – executive producer
- Chris Charlesworth – executive producer
- Bill CurbishleyBill CurbishleyBill Curbishley is a music producer and band manager, best known for his work with English rock groups The Who and Judas Priest as well as artists Jimmy Page and Robert Plant....
– executive producer - Richard Evans – album art design and direction
- Greg Fulginiti – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Graham Hughes – photography
- Glyn JohnsGlyn JohnsGlyn Johns is a musician, recording engineer and record producer.-Career:He has worked with such artists as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Easybeats, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, The Steve Miller Band, Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, The Ozark...
– production, engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Bob LudwigBob LudwigBob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....
– remastering - Robert Rosenberg – executive producer
Sales chart performance
Album| Chart (1982) | Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 | 8 |
| UK Albums Chart | 11 |
Singles
| Single | Chart (1982) | Position |
|---|---|---|
| "Athena" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 3 |
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 28 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 40 | |
| "Cry If You Want" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 34 |
| "Dangerous" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 38 |
| "Eminence Front" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 5 |
| "It's Hard" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 39 |
| Single | Chart (1983) | Position |
|---|---|---|
| "Eminence Front" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 68 |