Take It So Hard
Encyclopedia
"Take It So Hard" is the first single from Keith Richards
first solo record, Talk is Cheap
. The long-time Rolling Stones guitarist
recorded the record after band mate Mick Jagger
refused to tour in 1986 in support of the album Dirty Work . The second song of the eleven track record, it is a powerful example of vocal rock harmonies and rhythmic guitar, piano and percussion syncopation
, with an overlay of vocal tracks that bury the lyrics within the push and pull of the music.
Richards described writing and recording Talk is Cheap as a bit by bit accumulation of song threads and recording sessions. Except for "Make No Mistake", which he said came to him all at once, "Take It So Hard" like other songs was put together through several recording sessions in 1987 and 1988
The song was reviewed in Rolling Stone magazine positively, but Richards never explained the lyrics. Kurt Loder
called it the "perfect Keith single"
. The music video for the song shows Richards and the X-Pensive Winos- the name for Richards' backing band- in the ruins of a sports stadium playing in the nuclear dust after an atomic bomb has destroyed everyone but the cat-like musician. "Take it So Hard" led off the 1988 concert tour sets, and was played in the 1992-1993 Main Offender
dates as well.
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
first solo record, Talk is Cheap
Talk Is Cheap
Talk Is Cheap is the solo album debut by Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, released in 1988. Recorded and released following a brief creative and personal fallout with Mick Jagger, Talk Is Cheap received glowing reviews upon its release....
. The long-time Rolling Stones guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
recorded the record after band mate Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
refused to tour in 1986 in support of the album Dirty Work . The second song of the eleven track record, it is a powerful example of vocal rock harmonies and rhythmic guitar, piano and percussion syncopation
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
, with an overlay of vocal tracks that bury the lyrics within the push and pull of the music.
Richards described writing and recording Talk is Cheap as a bit by bit accumulation of song threads and recording sessions. Except for "Make No Mistake", which he said came to him all at once, "Take It So Hard" like other songs was put together through several recording sessions in 1987 and 1988
The song was reviewed in Rolling Stone magazine positively, but Richards never explained the lyrics. Kurt Loder
Kurt Loder
Kurt Loder is an American film critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at Rolling Stone, during a tenure that Reason later called "legendary". He has contributed to articles in Reason, Esquire, Details, New York, and Time. He has also made cameos on...
called it the "perfect Keith single"
. The music video for the song shows Richards and the X-Pensive Winos- the name for Richards' backing band- in the ruins of a sports stadium playing in the nuclear dust after an atomic bomb has destroyed everyone but the cat-like musician. "Take it So Hard" led off the 1988 concert tour sets, and was played in the 1992-1993 Main Offender
Main Offender
Main Offender is the second studio album by Keith Richards and the last to date. Released in 1992 in between The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels and Voodoo Lounge projects, Main Offender remains to date Richards' most recent offering as a solo artist.Regrouping with his group of musician friends known...
dates as well.
Personnel
- Keith Richards: lead, backing vocal, guitar, percussion
- Waddy WachtelWaddy WachtelRobert "Waddy" Wachtel is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work...
: guitar - Steve Jordan: drums, background vocal, bass
- Charley DraytonCharley DraytonCharley Drayton is an American multi-instrumental musician and producer, who has played as a drummer and bass guitarist for many bands and artists and is currently the drummer in Australian rock bands Divinyls and Cold Chisel....
: bass, background vocals, drums - Ivan NevilleIvan NevilleIvan Neville is a multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to members of The Neville Brothers....
: piano and keyboards