It's Hard
Studio album by The Who
Released	September 4, 1982
Recorded	June 1982
Genre	Rock
Length	46:22
Label	Polydor Records (UK), Warner Bros. (US)
Producer(s)	Glyn Johns
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (C) link Rolling Stone link
The Who chronology
Face Dances (1981)	It's Hard (1982)	Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (1994)

It's Hard is the 10th studio album by British rock band The Who and the second album after drummer Keith Moon died. It was released in 1982 on Polydor in the UK, peaking at number 11, and released on Warner Bros. in the US where it peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts. Their 11th studio album - called Endless Wire - wasn't released for another 24 years. The album cover of The Whos Its Hard album. ... A Studio Album is an album of regular studio recordings. ... The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. ... September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1920s vintage Polydor export label with its double-horn gramophone logo In 1954 Polydor Records introduced their distinctive orange label. ... Warner Bros. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Glyn Johns (born 1942 in Epsom, England) is a recording engineer and record producer who has worked with such artists as The Beatles, The Steve Miller Band, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, Midnight Oil and the Blue Öyster Cult Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 2_stars. ... Robert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to Xgau), born April 18, 1942, is an American essayist, music journalist, and rock critic. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. ... Face Dances is an album by British rock band The Who originally released in 1981 in the US on Warner Bros. ... Thirty Years of Maximum R&B is a box set by British rock band, The Who. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. ... A drummer at practice A drummer is a musician who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ... Keith John Moon (August 23, 1946 – September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. ... Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ... Endless Wire is a studio album by The Who, and their first new studio album of original material in twenty-four years following the release of Its Hard in 1982. ...

History

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 1980s, 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 - praised by some critics and panned by many others. Most notably, the album received a five-star review in Rolling Stone. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE (born 1 March 1944) is a rock vocalist, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of The Who, an English rock band. ... This article is about the magazine. ...

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 met Russell and promptly fell for her, only to be rejected the next day. His frustration with her not reciprocating his love is expressed in this song, which he renamed "Athena" 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." A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. ... Russell in 2005 interview for the Criterion Collection DVD Bad Timing Theresa Russell (born Theresa Paup on 20 March 1957 in San Diego, California) is an American actress. ... For the 2005 album by the band Lifehouse, see Lifehouse (2005 album). ...

In the years since its release, "Eminence Front" has become the most consistently critically acclaimed and recognizable song from this album. Many people who dislike It's Hard as a whole still think "Eminence Front" is one of the best songs The Who has ever recorded. Eminence Front is a song written and sung by Pete Townshend of The Who. ... Eminence Front is a song written and sung by Pete Townshend of The Who. ...

The album cover, 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 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. Space Duel is an arcade game released in 1982 by Atari. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Tommy (1969) is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ... Pinball is a type of coin-operated arcade game 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. ...

See also 1982 in music. See also: 1982 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1982 Record labels established in 1982 other events of 1982 list of years in music 1980s in music // January 15 - K.C. and the Sunshine Bands Harry Wayne Casey is seriously injured in an automobile accident in Miami, Florida. ...

Track listing

1. "Athena" (Townshend) – 3:46
2. "It's Your Turn" (Entwistle) – 3:39
3. "Cooks County" (Townshend) – 3:34
4. "It's Hard" (Townshend) – 3:47 (extended on the 1997 remastered version and had some different guitar parts on the beginning of the song)
5. "Dangerous" (Entwistle) – 3:15 (extended on the 1997 remastered version and the vocals were remixed)
6. "Eminence Front" (Townshend) – 5:39 (on the 1997 remastered version, the vocals were remixed to be on both speakers and used some different bass parts)
7. "I've Known No War" (Townshend) – 5:45 (on the 1997 remastered version, the vocals were remixed)
8. "One Life's Enough" (Townshend) – 2:21
9. "One At A Time" (Entwistle) – 2:55
10. "Why Did I Fall for That" (Townshend) – 3:18 (extended outro on the 1997 remastered version)
11. "A Man Is A Man" (Townshend) – 3:48
12. "Cry If You Want" (Townshend) – 4:35 (extended outro on the 1997 remastered version)

The 1997 digitally remastered reissue of It's Hard added four live tracks: Eminence Front is a song written and sung by Pete Townshend of The Who. ... Remaster (and its derivations, frequently found in the phrases digitally remastered or digital remastering) is a word and concept ushered into the mass consciousness via the digital age, although it had existed before then. ...

1. "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.)
2. "Eminence Front" (Townshend) – 5:37
3. "Dangerous" (Entwistle) – 3:48
4. "Cry If You Want" (Townshend) – 7:12 (This track was recorded at the same show as the aforementioned "It's Hard" track.)

December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Singles

Athena (UK 40) (US 28) Helmeted Athena, of the Velletri type. ...

Eminence Front (US 68) Eminence Front is a song written and sung by Pete Townshend of The Who. ...

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

Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE (born 1 March 1944) is a rock vocalist, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of The Who, an English rock band. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... Peter Dennis Blandford (Pete) Townshend (born May 19, 1945 in Chiswick, London), is an English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer who is best known as the guitarist and principal songwriter for the rock band The Who. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Parts of the guitar. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... A synthesizer (or synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument designed to produce electronically generated sound, using techniques such as additive, subtractive, FM, physical modelling synthesis, phase distortion, or Scanned synthesis. ... John Alec Entwistle (October 9, 1944 – June 27, 2002) was the bass guitar player for The Who, as well as secondary songwriter, singer, and horn player. ... Martin EB18 Bass Guitar in flight case. ... The horn is a brass instrument consisting of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... Kenneth Thomas Kenny (or Kenney) Jones (born September 16, 1948 in Stepney, London, UK) is a veteran British rock drummer best known for his work in the Small Faces, the Faces, and the Who. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is mostly a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer. ... Andy Fairweather Low with his copies of Blues Matters! magazine ([1]) (Taken on November 4 2006) Andrew Andy Fairweather-Low (born 2 August 1946, in Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed, Wales) is a British guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. ...

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
• Greg Fulginiti - Mastering
• Bob Ludwig - Remastering

Bill Curbishley is a music producer, best known for his work with English rock group The Who. ...

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ...

Singles - Billboard (North America)

References

• www.thewho.net. It's Hard Liner Notes. Accessed on February 18, 2005.
• www.allmusic.com. It's Hard Album Credits. Accessed on February 18, 2005.