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DISCID=930b210c,9d0b230c,9e0b220c
DTITLE=The Who / It's Hard (Original CD Edition)
DYEAR=1982
DGENRE=Rock
TTITLE0=Athena
TTITLE1=It's Your Turn
TTITLE2=Cooks County
TTITLE3=It's Hard
TTITLE4=Dangerous
TTITLE5=Eminence Front
TTITLE6=I've Known No War
TTITLE7=One Life's Enough
TTITLE8=One At A Time
TTITLE9=Why Did I Fall For That
TTITLE10=A Man Is A Man
TTITLE11=Cry If You Want
EXTD=It's Hard (Original CD Edition)\n\nOriginally Released 1982\nMCA 
EXTD=CD Edition Released May 1989\nMCA Remastered + Expanded CD Editio
EXTD=n Released June 3, 1997\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Driven by Pete Town
EXTD=shend's arching musical ambitions, It's Hard was an undistinguish
EXTD=ed final effort from the Who. Featuring layers of synthesizers an
EXTD=d long-winded, twisting song structures, the album featured few m
EXTD=emorable melodies and little energy, with only the anthemic "Athe
EXTD=na" and the terse "Eminence Front" making a lasting impression. T
EXTD=he new compact disc reissue adds four bonus tracks to the origina
EXTD=l 12-song lineup, all of them live. These alternate versions of "
EXTD=Eminence Front," athe title song and "Cry If You Want," along wit
EXTD=h John Entwistle's "Dangerous," all come from performances at the
EXTD= Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada. Although no specific reco
EXTD=rding dates are given in the booklet, these bonus tracks give us 
EXTD=far more lively versions of these songs than their original studi
EXTD=o counterparts. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Cub Koda\n\nCMJ Ne
EXTD=w Music Report\nRecovered, it would seem, from the dual tragedies
EXTD= of Keith Moon's death and the Cincinnati concert (a period which
EXTD= fueled Townshend's solo work but left the band appearing splinte
EXTD=red), the Who have once again produced an album bristling with th
EXTD=e kind of single-minded commitment that hasn't been heard since W
EXTD=ho's Next. This renewed energy shows in both the songs and perfor
EXTD=mances on It's Hard. As usual, Townshend takes a spokesman's stan
EXTD=ce, but has succeeded this time around in getting across his mess
EXTD=ages without undermining the group's musical power. To the casual
EXTD= listener, the record packs sufficient wallop to keep stadium cro
EXTD=wds punching fists in the air, but careful attention to the lyric
EXTD=s offers insights and admonitions particularly relevant to the ha
EXTD=rd times ahead. "Why Did I Fall For That?" may not have the dazzl
EXTD=ing dynamics of "Won't Get Fooled Again," but the spirit remains,
EXTD= and "I've Known No War" is a bitterly potent indictment of the n
EXTD=ew militarism that could lead to ultimate destruction. In a simil
EXTD=ar vein, the lyrics of "Athena" scan poorly (Townshend mistakenly
EXTD= confuses obscurity with poetic imagery), but the melodic hooks, 
EXTD=especially in John Entwistle's horn charts, keep the track alive 
EXTD=and kicking. Credit goes to the bassman, too, for his own song co
EXTD=ntributions. While not as complex in structure as Townshend's, no
EXTD=r as thematically ambitious, they address a cheating mate ("One A
EXTD=t A Time"), younger bands ("It's Your Turn") and realistic parano
EXTD=ia ("Dangerous") in straightforward rockers that sit well within 
EXTD=the unified framework of the album. But for one ballad, Townshend
EXTD='s effective "One Life's Enough," the LP roars by to show a band 
EXTD=in rare form. They play tight and hard (kudos to Kenney Jones' un
EXTD=obtrusive but rocksteady drumming) and show that they mean to go 
EXTD=out (if this current tour is indeed the last) swinging. When a ba
EXTD=nd has produced as much brilliant material as the Who has over th
EXTD=e years, the real surprise may not lie in individual tracks thems
EXTD=elves as much as in the fact that the band can carry the weight o
EXTD=f our expectations without sounding burdened. Yes, It's Hard, but
EXTD= it's good, too. \n 1978-1999 College Media, Inc. Used by permis
EXTD=sion. All rights reserved\n\nCD Connection Review\nAdditional per
EXTD=sonnel: Andy Fairweather-Low (guitar); Tim Gorman (electric piano
EXTD=, organ, synthesizer). \n\nProducer: Glyn Johns \n\nReissue produ
EXTD=cers: Jon Astley, Andy Macpherson. \n\nRecorded at Turn Up-Down S
EXTD=tudios, Surrey, England, in June 1982 and live at Maple Leaf Gard
EXTD=ens, Toronto, Canada on December 16-17, 1982. \n\nWho fans tend t
EXTD=o dismiss the two studio albums that the group made with former S
EXTD=mall Faces drummer Kenny Jones after original drummer Keith Moon'
EXTD=s death in 1978, but both FACE DANCES and IT'S HARD are solid roc
EXTD=k albums that deserve to be judged on their respective merits. Re
EXTD=corded in 1982, IT'S HARD was the Who's final studio album and it
EXTD= is arguably the least rock-oriented album that The Who made. At 
EXTD=the time this album was recorded, Pete Townshend was experimentin
EXTD=g with writing in a variety of pop styles and both of the singles
EXTD= from IT'S HARD, "Athena" and "It's Hard" showcase an adventurous
EXTD=, near-theatrical approach that is actually well-suited to Roger 
EXTD=Daltrey's somewhat dramatic singing. \n\nOn other songs, like the
EXTD= ominous "Eminence Front" Townshend sticks to familiar Who territ
EXTD=ory. However, it is bassist John Entwistle who provides such Who-
EXTD=like rockers as "It's Your Turn." Now remastered and featuring fo
EXTD=ur live bonus cuts, IT'S HARD is ready to rediscovered by Who fan
EXTD=s who didn't give this album a fair chance back in 1982. \n\nROLL
EXTD=ING STONE REVIEW\nIt figures. Just when the Who had ceased to mat
EXTD=ter much--the band members having channeled a lot of their power 
EXTD=and volatility and commitment into solo careers, employing the Wh
EXTD=o chiefly as a vehicle to take a greatest-hits revue on the road 
EXTD=-- it figures that they'd make their most vital and coherent albu
EXTD=m since Who's Next. It's fitting that It's Hard is a great record
EXTD= because, given the inverted world of Pete Townshend's mind, it's
EXTD= what you were least expecting.\n\nThe measure of worth of a Who 
EXTD=album is the passion that Pete Townshend brings to it, and whethe
EXTD=r that passion translates into songs from which a group voice can
EXTD= emerge, so that it makes sense for the Who to be playing them. T
EXTD=hat hadn't been the case in too long a time. Thus, Empty Glass, T
EXTD=ownshend's audacious 1980 solo album, found him stepping away fro
EXTD=m the band's aegis and sounding surer of himself than he had in y
EXTD=ears, while Face Dances, the lackluster Who album that came in it
EXTD=s wake, seemed to indicate that the Who had played out their rope
EXTD=. Townshend's recent solo LP, All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese E
EXTD=yes, depicted the artist's descent into an abyss of excess -- and
EXTD= his heroic reemergence -- in an obsessive, soul-baring orgy of o
EXTD=rnate, cryptic verse and tough, tensile music. Surely by now he'd
EXTD= demonstrated that he could stand alone, and that he could comman
EXTD=d attention with his own voice.\n\nWhy, then, dig in with the Who
EXTD= all over again? Curiously, it partly has to do with the fact tha
EXTD=t Townshend must concede some of his freedom to the group process
EXTD=. As he put it in a recent interview: "... the Who provide me wit
EXTD=h a platform and a set of restrictions, constraints and limitatio
EXTD=ns that are important." Those limitations apparently help Townshe
EXTD=nd focus his writing, which tended to wander abstractly through C
EXTD=hinese Eyes. By comparison, the generally broader, more political
EXTD=ly minded lyrics of It's Hard seem as straightforward as the even
EXTD=ing news. Beyond that, however, Townshend's renewed ties to the W
EXTD=ho symbolize his rapprochement with the world after a period of e
EXTD=xile in the wasteland. For the first time, he may have needed the
EXTD= Who more than they needed him -- as a demonstration of the coope
EXTD=rative interaction that's necessary to get things done in the wor
EXTD=ld, and as a unified front prepared to do battle with some of the
EXTD= pressing problems of our time through the medium of rock & roll.
EXTD= In any event, It's Hard is a strong affirmation of this band's a
EXTD=bility to reach millions with powerful rock & roll and trenchant,
EXTD= galvanizing politics.\n\nThe key to the album is "I've Known No 
EXTD=War," a song that could become an anthem to our generation much t
EXTD=he way "Won't Get Fooled Again" did a decade ago. "I've Known No 
EXTD=War" is one conscientious objector's statement of defiant opposit
EXTD=ion, tempered by the realities of the present day. To wit, that a
EXTD= nuclear war, despite our best pacifistic inclinations, is in the
EXTD= hands of a few men who will simply decide to push a button, and 
EXTD=that the ensuing annihilation will be sudden, certain and eternal
EXTD=: "War--I've known no war/I'll never know war/And if I ever know 
EXTD=it/The glimpse will be short/Fireball in the sky." Roger Daltrey 
EXTD=gives a stirring reading of the lyrics, conveying both thoughtful
EXTD= speculation and outright anger. Just as eloquent is Townshend's 
EXTD=guitar playing, which suggests deep reserves of humanity while te
EXTD=legraphing the iconographic dread of holocaust.\n\nEqually merito
EXTD=rious is "Cry if You Want," which harks back to another Who class
EXTD=ic, "I Can See for Miles," in that it can be taken at face value,
EXTD= or as something greater. Ostensibly an autobiographical rant abo
EXTD=ut the headstrong, somewhat hypocritical fires of their youth, "C
EXTD=ry if You Want" might also be read as an epitaph for the arrogant
EXTD=, self-important idealism of this generation: "Once it was just i
EXTD=nnocence/Brash ideas and insolence/But you will never get away/Wi
EXTD=th the things you say today." Those angry words are hammered home
EXTD= by the roaring thunder of a band playing as if its life depended
EXTD= on it. If you'd been wondering if the Who would ever click toget
EXTD=her again, here's all the proof you need: Daltrey's razor-edged v
EXTD=ocals, Townshend's slashing guitar, John Entwistle's rumbling bas
EXTD=s and Kenney Jones' martial drum rolls entwine in a ferocious att
EXTD=ack.\n\nThe entire album is vibrant with the palpable energy of r
EXTD=ekindled bonds and rediscovered group values. Daltrey sings in as
EXTD= natural a voice as he's ever used, employing his blustery growl 
EXTD=more sparingly and, hence, effectively. Entwistle has contributed
EXTD= three numbers that are quintessential Who songs, not merely the 
EXTD=darkly witty curios he's generally known for. And Jones has at la
EXTD=st found his niche in the Who; in fact, his newfound assertivenes
EXTD=s has toughened up the band's sound to a pitch it hasn't had sinc
EXTD=e Keith Moon began losing steam.\n\nLongtime fans will no doubt a
EXTD=pproach reverie when they hear "Athena," the single and album ope
EXTD=ner. The trademark Who intro of roiling acoustic guitar, drums an
EXTD=d ping-ponging bass glides into one of Daltrey's most playful voc
EXTD=als. And when Townshend takes over for the "just a girl, just a g
EXTD=irl" chorus, you know you're in Who heaven. But then the going ge
EXTD=ts tough, and topical: It's Hard is full of relentless, densely t
EXTD=extured songs that excoriate private failures and the drift of th
EXTD=e world at large toward lawlessness and ruin. Throughout, Townshe
EXTD=nd seeks to define the actions that will accomplish something bey
EXTD=ond well-intentioned rhetoric.\n\nIt's a long road the Who have t
EXTD=raveled from the bristling, bare-knuckled fury of their early day
EXTD=s to the present. They rank among a handful of vanguard rock musi
EXTD=cians who show signs of pushing through the age barrier and creat
EXTD=ing a viable adult vocabulary for rock, one that faces up to the 
EXTD=moral responsibilities of middle age and allows them to use their
EXTD= craft to effectively shape consciousness. It must seem especiall
EXTD=y ironic to Townshend that this is true of the band that sang "ho
EXTD=pe I die before I get old" back in 1965, but there you go: always
EXTD= the group that delivers the unexpected. (RS 379 - Sep 30, 1982) 
EXTD= -- PARKE PUTERBAUGH\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nAn awesome an
EXTD=d unfairly maligned early Eighties album, July 23, 2004\nReviewer
EXTD=: Anyechka (Rensselaer, NY United States)\nThis was the last Who 
EXTD=studio album I purchased, a fact that may have influenced my love
EXTD= for it. I'd been waiting a long time for it, had to specially or
EXTD=der it from one of the music stores in my college town after havi
EXTD=ng waited in vain for ages for it to show up on its own, and ende
EXTD=d up paying $17.84, which is a rather high price for a CD in one 
EXTD=of the music stores in Amherst, MA! After waiting so long, it had
EXTD= better be good. Even after it was in my hands and I was back in 
EXTD=my room, I had to spend what felt like fifteen or twenty minutes 
EXTD=trying to pry the CD out of the jewel case; it was screwed in so 
EXTD=tightly I was afraid it might break. In addition to this long wai
EXTD=t, I had already heard all of the negative hype surrounding it an
EXTD=d was expecting something at least mediocre, if not outright bad.
EXTD= Therefore I was pleasantly surprised when I fell in love with it
EXTD= upon the very first note. Probably a lot of older fans hated it 
EXTD=because they were unfairly comparing it to their great masterpiec
EXTD=es which had gone before, and the fact that they didn't like Kenn
EXTD=ey Jones's drumming. As a younger fan, I had more of a historical
EXTD= perspective on it. (This album was released a few months before 
EXTD=I turned three, but I can't recall having heard any of these song
EXTD=s on the radio at the time; it may have been made in my lifetime,
EXTD= but I was a bit too young to remember it and thus was able to co
EXTD=me to it in early adulthood with a blank slate.) \n\nThis album i
EXTD=s a thousand times better than FD. The only song on IH I don't li
EXTD=ke is "Why Did I Fall for That?" The others are pulsating and ali
EXTD=ve with energetic music, upbeat, interesting, touching, sometimes
EXTD= political lyrics, top-notch vocals, all-around great quality. It
EXTD='s a great series of statements about some of the things going on
EXTD= in the early Eighties. A lot of fans hate "A Man Is a Man" and "
EXTD=One Life's Enough," but I love both of those songs (perhaps becau
EXTD=se I'm a female fan and most Who freaks are men); the latter song
EXTD= is incredibly lush, beautiful, and erotic. It might not be as we
EXTD=ll-known as the New Wave records that were so common in this era,
EXTD= but I think it's aged better, and besides, how many albums put o
EXTD=ut in 1982 are still remembered today? \n\nThe bonus tracks suffe
EXTD=r from the same problem as the three bonus tracks on WBN--they're
EXTD= just live versions of songs we just heard earlier on the album (
EXTD=though WBN features one live song that wasn't on that album but a
EXTD= hit from several years ago), not unreleased material that, in th
EXTD=e case of a number of their other albums, doubled the length when
EXTD= they were reissued. But the bonus tracks here are more exciting,
EXTD= with great onstage dialogue; the CD reissue even manages to end 
EXTD=with the same song that the original LP did, only in a live versi
EXTD=on. "Cry If You Want" is such a powerful and emotional early Eigh
EXTD=ties classic, a perfect album closer either live or in a studio v
EXTD=ersion, and most of all a fantastic swan song.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUST
EXTD=OMER REVIEW\nThe Who's Final Anthem, March 13, 2004\nReviewer: Bu
EXTD=d Sturguess (Seminole, Texas, USA)\n"I hate it!" was lead singer 
EXTD=Roger Daltrey's opinion of "It's Hard," The Who's last studio alb
EXTD=um to date. This was in stark contrast to Pete Townshend's view; 
EXTD=the guitarist/songwriter seemed eager about the album and felt th
EXTD=at The Who had been musically born again and revitalized. The sam
EXTD=e difference between the opinions of Daltrey and Townshend appear
EXTD=ed among critics and fans. Rolling Stone called "It's Hard" The W
EXTD=ho's best since "Who's Next," while others were less impressed. S
EXTD=ome fans ate it up, others quickly spit it out. Whether all of th
EXTD=is has anything to do with the fact that The Who hasn't recorded 
EXTD=another studio album since then or not, "It's Hard" is a headstro
EXTD=ng album that contains as much angst, bitterness, and determinati
EXTD=on as their most heraled albums. \n"It's Hard" is identifiably 80
EXTD=s, considering the synthesizers that fill the album; but it shoul
EXTD=d be noted that The Who were among the first to innovate the use 
EXTD=of the synthesizer in the first place (see "Who's Next," recorded
EXTD= eleven years earlier). But the range of emotions overwhelm even 
EXTD=the synthesizers. The entire album is an anthem. The Who's instan
EXTD=tly recognizable contempt for the fact that they were getting old
EXTD=er is obvious; Roger Daltrey belts bassist John Entwistle's words
EXTD= in 'It's Your Turn,' "I was a face in a magazine/When you were s
EXTD=till playing with your plasticine." Also evident is the group's d
EXTD=isenchantment with the emptiness of the 1982 music scene, as they
EXTD= state in the title track "Any kid can chatter, few can inform. I
EXTD=t's hard..." Much of the material here is catchy, even when it ge
EXTD=ts down to the nitty-gritty, examples being the bar band-like 'On
EXTD=e At a Time' and the more accessible 'Why Did I Fall For That,' '
EXTD=Cooks County,' and 'Eminence Front,' the closest thing to an audi
EXTD=ence-embraced hit on the album...except of course the opener 'Ath
EXTD=ena.' \nThere are four bonus tracks on this remaster of "It's Har
EXTD=d," all of them recorded live. These concert tracks, especially t
EXTD=he title song, reveal to the audience the true anthemic purposes 
EXTD=of this album. Another studio release from The Who would have bee
EXTD=n great, but for the time being, we are left with "It's Hard" as 
EXTD=their studio swan song, and frankly it doesn't get much better th
EXTD=an this.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nShould be a 4 STAR revi
EXTD=ew, but..., December 31, 2006\nReviewer: DJ MR Smith (Seattle)\n.
EXTD=..MCA Records included the wrong version of the track "Cry If You
EXTD= Want" on this reissue. A killer cut from the original Warner Bro
EXTD=thers vinyl record, the original take of "Cry If You Want" has be
EXTD=en replace on this reissue with a less powerful mix emphasizing t
EXTD=he snare drum, rather than Pete's windmill power chords that orig
EXTD=inally added a terrific coda to the song. \n\nOtherwise, I find I
EXTD=t's Hard to be a rather underrated album by The Who; much better 
EXTD=than Face Dances. The AOR/Classic Rock hit "Eminence Front" has a
EXTD= surprisingly solid funk/disco groove - and I mean that in the be
EXTD=st possible way. The forgotten radio song Athena remains as likab
EXTD=le as ever. \n\nWith repeated listening, it's the deeper cuts tha
EXTD=t really push this record a notch or two above Face Dances and pe
EXTD=rhaps even Who Are You. There isn't anything here as thunderous a
EXTD=nd anthem-oriented as the song "Who Are You" - but the lyrics and
EXTD= arrangements are some of the bands best. "A Man Is A Man", "I've
EXTD= Known No War", and the title track "It's Hard" are equally as pe
EXTD=rsonal and compelling as the material on Pete Townshend's solo tr
EXTD=iumph Empty Glass. \n\nJohn Entwistle wrote three of the songs he
EXTD=re and all are high points on the album, specifically "Dangerous"
EXTD=, a mantra of paranoia. \n\nOf course it's Kenny Jones and not Ke
EXTD=ith Moon on drums. Purists will always diss the album for this fa
EXTD=ct alone. Still, considering song craft, relevance, general likea
EXTD=bility of that material here, I find that this CD sits nicely on 
EXTD=the shelf alongside Who By Numbers and Pete Townshend's Empty Gla
EXTD=ss. \n\nThe original Warner Brothers version of the song "Cry If 
EXTD=You Want" can be found the now out-of-print (not-remastered) CD f
EXTD=rom that label.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSome pretty good s
EXTD=ongs with a couple of weaker ones from 1982, August 22, 2006\nRev
EXTD=iewer: Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI)\nWell, this record came out
EXTD= in 1982 and rose to #8 on the charts. Rolling Stone gave it a ra
EXTD=ve review and I remember liking it very much. Roger Daltrey has b
EXTD=een quoted as saying the album should never have been released, b
EXTD=ut I have no idea what he meant by that. I suspect that the chang
EXTD=e in musical fashion toward the Punk made this album seem old fas
EXTD=hioned. However, I have always despised Punk and am still mystifi
EXTD=ed why a foul mouthed psychotics bouncing around on the stage una
EXTD=ble to play their instruments while raging about a life that has 
EXTD=never cost them anything should be fashionable. Oh, right, their 
EXTD=audience is also incompetent and never accomplished a thing eithe
EXTD=r. Yeah, that's probably it. Daltrey was probably feeling a bit d
EXTD=ated and intimidated. Not every song on this record is a gem, but
EXTD= a few are quite solid. \n\nAthena still holds its own as a wonde
EXTD=rful pop/rock song of desire for the female - She's a Bomb! Howev
EXTD=er, it is really a mocking song against Margaret Thatcher as the 
EXTD=castrated leader and so forth. The title song, "It's Hard" is ok,
EXTD= but not one that I particularly love. Same goes for "Cook's Coun
EXTD=ty. For me, the best song on the album is "Eminence Front" with i
EXTD=ts ironic condemnation of social pretence and opulent self-delusi
EXTD=on: "people forget they're hiding" is still correct. I think it s
EXTD=tands up as something strong and relevant nearly 25 years after r
EXTD=elease. \n\nAt the time, the beginning of the Reagan administrati
EXTD=on when a certain ideology thought the world was on the brink of 
EXTD=nuclear destruction, "I've Known No War" seemed important. The op
EXTD=ening rage "I've known no war and if I ever do I won't know for s
EXTD=ure who'll be fighting whom" seems more true today than it could 
EXTD=have in 1982. It is true we baby boomers never knew anything like
EXTD= WWII (except for the Vietnam veterans) and that we were too ungr
EXTD=ateful to our parents and grandparents for the freedoms provided 
EXTD=to us: "the medals are lost, they belong to a lone broken sailor.
EXTD= His provinces now are the bars of the town, his songs and his po
EXTD=ems of failure. For his grandchildren can't see the glory and his
EXTD= own are bored with the story. But for him they'd have burned beh
EXTD=ind netting. From the brink they were grabbed." This is more true
EXTD= than any young person today understands. \n\nIf I never hear "On
EXTD=e Life's Enough" ever again, that will not be a loss and may be t
EXTD=he reason why Daltrey had reservations about the release of the a
EXTD=lbum. "Why Did I Fall For That" is another sad song about mid-lif
EXTD=e regret and that stage when you realize you let your opportuniti
EXTD=es slip by while waiting for something that will never come. "A M
EXTD=an is a Man" is about true manhood not being about the brash, the
EXTD= endless affairs, the athletic prowess, the braggadocio, but bein
EXTD=g about self-sacrifice and friendship and being there for those w
EXTD=ho depend on him despite all his very real flaws. Almost a fine s
EXTD=ong. \n\n"Cry If You Want" is a fitting end to this album of mid-
EXTD=life angst and regret. \n\nJohn Entwistle, may he rest in peace, 
EXTD=contributed three songs. They are all pretty good Entwistle songs
EXTD= with his interesting musical contrast to Pete Townsend. "It's Yo
EXTD=ur Turn" is an older guy talking to his young competition about h
EXTD=is own sense of his youth and that if the young one wants it, he 
EXTD=needs to step up and take it. "Dangerous" is about anxiety shaken
EXTD= with a couple drops of paranoia. "One at a Time" is another of h
EXTD=is songs about problems with women. This time it is him pushing a
EXTD=way a troublesome and unfaithful girl. \n\nIt was fun listening t
EXTD=o this record again after so many years. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER 
EXTD=REVIEW\nJust another Chrysler K-Car, October 12, 2005\nReviewer: 
EXTD=Durling Heath "Durling Heath" (Cohoes, NY)\nThe decade of the 198
EXTD=0's was a strange one for classic rockers. Gone were the age of d
EXTD=iscovery in the 1960's and the lawlessness of 1970's. For Clapton
EXTD=, the Yardbirds, Cream, and Derek were gone and 'Money and Cigare
EXTD=ttes' characterized a mediocre era for the guitar legend. For the
EXTD= Rolling Stones, 'Tattoo You was noteworthy, but was a far cry fr
EXTD=om 'Sticky Fingers,' 'Some Girls,' and 'Let It Bleed.' In the cas
EXTD=e of the surviving members of The Beatles, the 1980's represented
EXTD= a time to take stock and attempt reestablish their musical roots
EXTD= - a task in which many fans considered a miserable failure. Rock
EXTD= during the 1980's was not unlike the Chrysler K-Car, the automot
EXTD=ive industry's parallel to classic rock: it was boxy, canned, and
EXTD= mostly uninteresting. \n\nFor The Who, the 1980's output was als
EXTD=o a divergence from the days of 'Tommy' and 'Quadrophenia,' but T
EXTD=he Who's midlife crisis seemed to go more smoothly that that if t
EXTD=he band's contemporaries. 'Face Dances' was a somewhat impressive
EXTD= effort, (but may have actually been released BEFORE New Year's D
EXTD=ay, 1980), and although 'It's Hard' is less so. Still, there are 
EXTD=some gems among the rubble. \n\nWhile most of the music on 'It's 
EXTD=Hard' is in fact generally "boxy, canned, and mostly uninterestin
EXTD=g," cuts like "Athena" and "Eminence Front" demonstrate a recordi
EXTD=ng presence that only The Who could have produced. Roger Daltrey'
EXTD=s authoritative and soulful voice still commanded respect, and th
EXTD=is is no more apparent than with these two songs. The booming rhy
EXTD=thm in "Eminence Front," a treatise on the falseness and shallown
EXTD=ess of people during the Decade of Excess, is formidable. The tit
EXTD=le cut is a philosophical commentary on what it means to be a man
EXTD= adapted from Pete Townshend's "(I Just Want To Be) Popular" prov
EXTD=ides more attractive lyrics than it does a toe-tapping beat or me
EXTD=morable melody. \n\nAt the same time, the rest of the original so
EXTD=ngs on 'It's Hard,' written by Townshend or the late John Entwist
EXTD=le, are about as sharp as a spoon. It is as if Townshend and Entw
EXTD=istle wanted to say something, but were unable to succeed in anyt
EXTD=hing other than muttering unintelligibly something under their co
EXTD=llective, wasted breath. Even Townshend's famous lead guitar lick
EXTD=s, it seems, had been muted by the haze that clung to the music a
EXTD=t the time. Bonus live cuts have been added to the compact disc, 
EXTD=and those cuts, including live versions of "Athena," "Eminence Fr
EXTD=ont," and "It's Hard" really add little to the experience. \n\nWh
EXTD=ile The Who may have weathered the Eighties better than some comp
EXTD=arable acts, and while 'It's Hard' does have enough to keep a fan
EXTD= of The Who just a little interested, for one of the most talente
EXTD=d and prolific rock bands in the history of the genre, 'It's Hard
EXTD=' is just another K-Car, although it is a K-Car that has leather 
EXTD=seats and an AM/FM Cassette stereo. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIE
EXTD=W\nThey should have quit 10 years earlier, February 24, 2004\nRev
EXTD=iewer: Nuclear Snake (Arlington, VA)\nWith all due respect to the
EXTD= fans who've posted glowing reviews of this album, I have to say 
EXTD=that it's a rather pathetic finale lacking even one memorable cut
EXTD=. For all intents and purposes, it's a Pete Townshend solo album,
EXTD= only with Roger Daltrey oversinging everything as if he's auditi
EXTD=oning for Star Search. As if that wasn't enough, the lyrics are d
EXTD=ownright embarrassing ("you got me requisitioned blondie"?!), and
EXTD= the songs sound ridiculously overproduced. This might as well be
EXTD= by Phil Collins; it's that bad.\nThe problem, however, is not ne
EXTD=cessarily that Keith Moon is gone, because the Who were basically
EXTD= done after Who's Next, maybe before. Kenny Jones was actually a 
EXTD=great drummer in the Small Faces/Faces and a good fit, but NO ONE
EXTD= could make this mess sound good. If it didn't have the Who brand
EXTD= name, nobody would even care.\n\nWith the exception of Tommy, th
EXTD=e Who were a great band from 1964-1971. If you really want to kno
EXTD=w what they were about and what made them so revered and influent
EXTD=ial, check out their truly great albums: My Generation, A Quick O
EXTD=ne, Sell Out, Live At Leeds, and the posthumous BBC Sessions. The
EXTD=n, they were a vibrant young band full of piss and vinegar that s
EXTD=eemed to write and play great material at will -- and with rock a
EXTD=nd roll energy to spare. Rebellion and playing clubs like the Mar
EXTD=quee is rock and roll, NOT stadium tours sponsored by Budweiser.\n
EXTD=\nTheir '70s dinosaur stuff you hear on those worthless classic r
EXTD=ot stations has its moments, but It's Hard doesn't offer even tha
EXTD=t. And compared to a monumental work like Sell Out, and you don't
EXTD= even need to bother. FM radio is wrong again.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUST
EXTD=OMER REVIEW\nNot Pete's best, but it has it's moments, June 2, 20
EXTD=01\nReviewer: B. PERKINS (Denton, TX United States)\n\nI was a bi
EXTD=g Who fan when this album came out, but I have to admit I was dis
EXTD=appointed. It wasn't so much the playing of the band, which was a
EXTD=lways great, but the quality of the songs. Pete had a habit near 
EXTD=the end of The Who of writing some pointless lyrics. For example,
EXTD= take this quatrain from Athena, the album's first single: \n\nCo
EXTD=nsumed, there was a beautiful white horse I saw on a dream stage 
EXTD=\nHe had a snake the size of a sewer pipe living in his rib cage 
EXTD=\nI felt like a pickled priest who was being flambed \nYou got me
EXTD= requisitioned blondie \n\nSome of the lyrics suffer from being i
EXTD=ncomprehensible, but the album does have a couple of highlights. 
EXTD="Eminence Front" is one of them; I don't think the band ever soun
EXTD=ded as tight as they do on this track. And Entwistle's "Dangerous
EXTD=" is terrific. \n\nStill, the best track on the album is the last
EXTD= one, "Cry if You Want." While the band plays at a feverish inten
EXTD=sity, Daltrey reads Townshend's lyrics as though his life depende
EXTD=d on it: \n\nDon't you get embarrassed when you think about the w
EXTD=ay you were \nYesterday the day before when you were young with m
EXTD=uch to learn \nAren't you glad it's your last term \nNo more acti
EXTD=ng lowly worm \nYou can make the suckers squirm \nWhen you tell t
EXTD=hem how much you earn \nDon't you feel ashamed at all the bittern
EXTD=ess you keep inside \nDoes your ego save your face "I had a go - 
EXTD=I really tried" \nNow you know your leaders lied \nDoes it stop y
EXTD=ou acting snide \nOr are you still a boy that cried \nTears now s
EXTD=urely long since dried. \n\nAfter this, Townshend goes into a tre
EXTD=mendous power chord solo. I was disappointed that the band fell a
EXTD=part like it did after Keith Moon's death, but "Cry if You Want" 
EXTD=is one hell of a final note.
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