Editing It's Hard

{{for multi|the Who song|It's Hard (song)|the Eleanor Friedberger song|Rebound (Eleanor Friedberger album)|the album by The Bad Plus|It's Hard (The Bad Plus album)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = It's Hard
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[the Who]]
| cover        = The who its hard album.jpg
| alt          = 
| released     = September 1982
| recorded     = June 1982
| studio       = Turn Up-Down Studio at [[Glyn Johns]]' home in [[Surrey]], England
| genre        =
* [[Rock music|Rock]]
* [[hard rock]]
| length       = {{duration|m=46|s=36}}
| label        =
* [[Polydor Records|Polydor]]
* [[Warner Records|Warner Bros.]]
| producer     = [[Glyn Johns]]
| prev_title   = [[Hooligans (album)|Hooligans]]
| prev_year    = 1981
| next_title   = [[Who's Greatest Hits]]
| next_year    = 1983
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = It's Hard
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Athena (song)|Athena]]
 | single1date = August 1982<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-who/chart-history/hsi/|title=Billboard}}</ref>
 | single2     = [[Eminence Front]]
 | single2date = December 1982<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-who/chart-history/hsi/|title=Billboard}}</ref>
 | single3     = [[It's Hard (song)|It's Hard]]
 | single3date = February 1983
}}}}
'''''It's Hard''''' is the tenth [[studio album]] by the English rock band [[the Who]]. Released in September 1982, it was the final Who album to feature bassist [[John Entwistle]], who died in 2002. It was also the second and final Who studio album with drummer [[Kenney Jones]], as well as the last to be released on [[Warner Bros. Records]] in the US. It was released on [[Polydor Records]] in the UK, peaking at No. 11, and on Warner Bros. in the US where it peaked at No. 8 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Pop Albums chart.<ref name="US">{{cite web | url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5822|pure_url=yes}} | title=Artist Chart History – The Who | website=[[AllMusic]] | access-date=24 June 2008 }}</ref> 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 [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] in the US in November 1982. It was their last album for over two decades until ''[[Endless Wire (The Who album)|Endless Wire]]'' in 2006.

== Artwork ==
The album cover, designed and photographed by Graham Hughes,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thewho.com/music/its-hard/ | title=It's Hard }}</ref> depicts a young boy playing an [[Atari]] ''[[Space Duel]]'' [[arcade game]].{{cn|date=March 2022}} This is intended as a contemporary update to the song "[[Pinball Wizard]]", from the album ''[[Tommy (The Who album)|Tommy]]''.{{cn|date=March 2022}}

== Background ==
The first track on the album, "[[Athena (song)|Athena]]", peaked at No. 28 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Pop Singles chart. "Dangerous", "It's Your Turn" and "One at a Time" were written by Entwistle, but he only sang lead vocals on "One at a Time" with Daltrey singing lead on the two others.

In 1997, [[MCA Records]] re-released the album with new mixes for several songs, correcting problems evident in the original mixes for "Athena" and "[[Eminence Front]]".

In 1994, Daltrey said "''It's Hard'' should never have been released" and that he also had arguments with Townshend over the release of the album. He stated the record company wanted them to make a new record, then do a tour for the album, so in many ways they were forced to release it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thewho.net/linernotes/ItsHard.htm |title=The Hypertext Who › Liner Notes › It's Hard |access-date=2015-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220231002/http://www.thewho.net/linernotes/ItsHard.htm |archive-date=20 February 2015}}</ref> In a 1985 interview, Townshend said, "''Face Dances'' and ''It’s Hard'' were made by a band who were very unsure about whether or not they wanted to be making a record, and I think that’s a terrible doubt."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ijamming.net/from-the-jamming-magazine-archives-pete-townshend-1985-part-2/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523064345/http://www.ijamming.net/from-the-jamming-magazine-archives-pete-townshend-1985-part-2 |archive-date=23 May 2017 |title=From the Jamming! Magazine Archives: Pete Townshend, 1985 (Part 2) {{!}} iJamming.net}}</ref>

Alternate takes exist of "[[Eminence Front]]" featuring Roger Daltrey on lead vocals and "One Life's Enough" featuring Pete Townshend on lead vocals.

"[[I've Known No War]]" features the orchestra arrangement from the 1979 [[Quadrophenia (film)|Quadrophenia film]] version of "I've Had Enough".

== Critical reception ==
{{Music ratings
| rev1      = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/its-hard-mw0000192308|title=The Who – It's Hard |work=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=7 February 2017}}</ref>
| rev2      = [[Robert Christgau]]
| rev2score = C<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=the+who |title=CG: the who |publisher=Robert Christgau |access-date=2012-02-25}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev3score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
| rev4      = ''[[MusicHound]]''
| rev4score = {{rating|1|5}}<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/1227 1227]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/1227}}</ref>
| rev5      = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Parke Puterbaugh |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/3045/22014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608082627/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/3045/22014 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 June 2010 |title=It's Hard &#124; Album Reviews |website=[[RollingStone.com]] |date=1982-09-30 |access-date=2012-02-25}}</ref>
| rev6      = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev6score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-who/albumguide |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206034417/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-who/albumguide |title=The Who: Album Guide |website=[[RollingStone.com]] |archive-date=6 February 2011 |access-date=2 September 2015}}</ref>
}}
Critical reviews on its release in 1982 were polarized. Parke Puterbaugh of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' gave it the magazine's highest rating (5 stars) and commented that it was "their most vital and coherent album since [the 1971 album] ''[[Who's Next]]''".<ref name="rsreview">{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/its-hard-19820930 |title=It's Hard &#124; Album Reviews |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=1982-09-30 |access-date=2013-10-26 |archive-date=10 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110104648/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/its-hard-19820930 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Puterbaugh also proclaimed that the song "[[I've Known No War]]" was "a song that could become an anthem to our generation much the way '[[Won't Get Fooled Again]]' did a decade ago."<ref name="rsreview" /> [[Robert Christgau]], on the other hand, icily disparaged the "prolix" nature and "operatic pretensions" of Townshend's musical ideas, as well as his "book-club poetry".<ref name="Christgau">{{Cite news |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv1-83.php |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide |work=[[The Village Voice]] |date=25 January 1983 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709122913/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv1-83.php |archive-date=9 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] considered the album to be an "undistinguished final effort" with "few memorable melodies and little energy".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/its-hard-mw0000192308|title = It's Hard - the Who &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits &#124; AllMusic|website = [[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

== Live performances ==
{{unsourced section|date=March 2022}}
[[File:The Who - JFK Stadium, Philadelphia September 25, 1982.jpg|thumb|right|The stage before a September 1982 performance at [[John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia)|John F. Kennedy Stadium]] in [[Philadelphia]]]]
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 tour 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 at 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 mid-tour.

"A Man Is a Man" was also played sporadically on the same tour, and its last performance also came during the same concert with the last performance of "Athena".

"It's Hard" was played throughout 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 [[John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County|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 one to become a staple of the band's concerts. It was played in the tours of 1982, 1989, 1999, 2002, 2004, [[The Who Tour 2006–2007|2006–2007]], 2008, 2009, [[The Who Hits 50!|2014]], 2015, 2016, 2017, [[Moving On! Tour|2019]], and 2022.

"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 lasted until 2009. The song was briefly revived for [[The Who Hits 50!]] tour in late 2014.

== 2011 reissue ==
{{unsourced section|date=March 2022}}
On 24 December 2011 the original mix of the album was reissued in Japan in a miniature replica of the original album art work. The album was remastered by [[Jon Astley]] for this reissue using [[Direct Stream Digital]] (DSD) to transfer the analog master tape to digital and included the bonus tracks added to the CD release of the album. The release was a limited edition in the [[Compact Disc Digital Audio#Format variations|SHM-CD]] format. The reissue included a picture of the original vinyl label.

== Track listing ==
All songs written by [[Pete Townshend]] except where noted. The 1997 [[digitally remastered]] reissue of ''It's Hard'' added four live tracks recorded on the last show of the Who's [[The Who Tour 1982|1982 tour]], on 17 December in [[Toronto]].

{{Track listing
| headline  = Side one
| title1    = [[Athena (song)|Athena]]
| length1   = 3:46
| title2    = It's Your Turn
| writer2   = [[John Entwistle]]
| length2   = 3:39
| title3    = Cooks County
| length3   = 3:46
| title4    = [[It's Hard (song)|It's Hard]]
| length4   = 3:39
| title5    = Dangerous
| writer5   = Entwistle
| length5   = 3:17
| title6    = [[Eminence Front]]
| length6   = 5:37
}}
{{Track listing
| headline  = Side two
| title1    = [[I've Known No War]]
| length1   = 5:46
| title2    = One Life's Enough
| length2   = 2:22
| title3    = One at a Time
| writer3   = Entwistle
| length3   = 2:55
| title4    = Why Did I Fall for That
| length4   = 3:21
| title5    = A Man Is a Man
| length5   = 3:54
| title6    = Cry If You Want
| length6   = 4:34
}}
{{Track listing
| headline  = 1997 reissue bonus tracks
| title13   = It's Hard
| note13    = live
| length13  = 4:56
| title14   = Eminence Front
| note14    = live
| length14  = 5:37
| title15   = Dangerous
| note15    = live
| writer15  = Entwistle
| length15  = 3:48
| title16   = Cry If You Want
| note16    = live
| length16  = 7:12
}}
{{Track listing
| headline  = 2022 reissue bonus tracks
| title13   = Eminence Front
| note13    = Pete and Roger Vocals
| length13  = 5:29
| title14   = Cry If You Want
| note14    = Early Alternative Mix
| length14  = 5:44
| title15   = One Life's Enough
| note15    = Pete Vocals
| length15  = 2:23
| title16   = Dangerous
| note16    = 1997 Unedited Mix
| writer16  = Entwistle
| length16  = 3:33
}}

== Personnel ==
===The Who===
*[[Roger Daltrey]]&nbsp;– lead vocals, rhythm guitar, backing vocals on "Eminence Front" and "One at a Time"
*[[Pete Townshend]]&nbsp;– guitar, Yamaha E70 organ on "Eminence Front", backing vocals, lead vocals on "Eminence Front", co-lead vocals on "Athena" and "Cooks County"
*[[John Entwistle]]&nbsp;– bass, horns, backing vocals, lead vocals on "One at a Time"
*[[Kenney Jones]]&nbsp;– drums

===Additional musicians===
*[[Andy Fairweather Low]]&nbsp;– rhythm guitar on "It's Your Turn"
*[[Tim Gorman]]&nbsp;– keyboards, electric piano on "Eminence Front"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://petetownshend.net/news/exclusive-new-interview-with-tim-gorman|title = Exclusive new interview with Tim Gorman!| date=13 November 2016 }}</ref>

===Production===
*[[Glyn Johns]]&nbsp;– Producer, engineer
*[[Jon Astley]]&nbsp;– Executive producer
*[[Chris Charlesworth]]&nbsp;– CD reissue executive producer
*[[Bill Curbishley]]&nbsp;– Executive producer
*[[Doug Sax]] – Mastering
*[[Bob Ludwig]]&nbsp;– Remastering
*Robert Rosenberg – Executive producer
*[[Richard Evans (designer)|Richard Evans]]&nbsp;– CD reissue design
*Graham Hughes&nbsp;– Design and photography

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Chart performance for ''It's Hard''
! scope="col"| Chart (1982)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
| align="center"| 55
|-
{{album chart|Canada|3|artist=The Who|album=It's Hard|chartid=6939a|rowheader=true|access-date=6 December 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Netherlands|43|artist=The Who|album=It's Hard|rowheader=true|access-date=6 December 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Norway|28|artist=The Who|album=It's Hard|rowheader=true|access-date=6 December 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|47|artist=The Who|album=It's Hard|rowheader=true|access-date=6 December 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|UK|11|artist=The Who|album=It's Hard|rowheader=true|access-date=6 December 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|8|artist=The Who|access-date=6 December 2022|rowheader=true}}
|}

== Certifications ==
{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for ''It's Hard''}}
{{certification Table Entry|title=It's Hard|artist=The Who|award=Gold|region=Canada|type=album|relyear=1982}}
{{certification Table Entry|title=It's Hard|artist=The Who|award=Gold|relyear=1982|certyear=1982|region=United States|type=album}}
{{certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Portal|1980s}}

==External links==
* {{Discogs master|68507}}
* [http://www.thewho.net/?q=discography/albums/ItsHard.html Liner Notes]

{{It's Hard}}
{{The Who}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1982 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Glyn Johns]]
[[Category:MCA Records albums]]
[[Category:Polydor Records albums]]
[[Category:The Who albums]]
[[Category:Warner Records albums]]