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 link Robert Christgau (C) link Rolling Stone link
The Who chronology
Face Dances (1981) It's Hard (1982) Endless Wire (2006)
Singles from It's Hard
"Athena" Released: 1982 "Eminence Front" Released: 1982 "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.^{[citation needed]} The US rights to both this album and Face Dances would later revert to MCA Records.

Contents 1 History 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 4 Sales chart performance 5 Sales certifications 6 References

[edit] 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."

[edit] 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

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 tour, 17 December 1982, in Toronto.

13. "It's Hard" – 4:56
14. "Eminence Front" – 5:37
15. "Dangerous" (Entwistle) – 3:48
16. "Cry If You Want" – 7:12

[edit] 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

[edit] Sales chart performance

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1982	The 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]

[edit] 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.

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