The Who Album: “It's Hard [1997 Remaster]”

This was the last Who studio album I purchased, a fact that may have influenced my love for it. I'd been waiting a long time for it, had to specially order it from one of the music stores in my college town after having waited in vain for ages for it to show up on its own, and ended up paying $17.84, which is a rather high price for a CD in one of the music stores in Amherst, MA! After waiting so long, it had better be good. Even after it was in my hands and I was back in my room, I had to spend what felt like fifteen or twenty minutes trying to pry the CD out of the jewel case; it was screwed in so tightly I was afraid it might break. In addition to this long wait, I had already heard all of the negative hype surrounding it and was expecting something at least mediocre, if not outright bad. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised when I fell in love with it upon the very first note. Probably a lot of older fans hated it because they were unfairly comparing it to their great masterpieces which had gone before, and the fact that they didn't like Kenney Jones's drumming. As a younger fan, I had more of a historical perspective on it. (This album was released a few months before I turned three, but I can't recall having heard any of these songs on the radio at the time; it may have been made in my lifetime, but I was a bit too young to remember it and thus was able to come to it in early adulthood with a blank slate.)

This album is a thousand times better than FD. The only song on IH I don't like is "Why Did I Fall for That?" The others are pulsating and alive with energetic music, upbeat, interesting, touching, sometimes political lyrics, top-notch vocals, all-around great quality. It's a great series of statements about some of the things going on in the early Eighties. A lot of fans hate "A Man Is a Man" and "One Life's Enough," but I love both of those songs (perhaps because I'm a female fan and most Who freaks are men); the latter song is incredibly lush, beautiful, and erotic. It might not be as well-known as the New Wave records that were so common in this era, but I think it's aged better, and besides, how many albums put out in 1982 are still remembered today?

The bonus tracks suffer from the same problem as the three bonus tracks on WBN--they're just live versions of songs we just heard earlier on the album (though WBN features one live song that wasn't on that album but a hit from several years ago), not unreleased material that, in the case of a number of their other albums, doubled the length when they were reissued. But the bonus tracks here are more exciting, with great onstage dialogue; the CD reissue even manages to end with the same song that the original LP did, only in a live version. "Cry If You Want" is such a powerful and emotional early Eighties classic, a perfect album closer either live or in a studio version, and most of all a fantastic swan song.

Sadly, the remix/remaster of this fine album is another example of historic revisionism. I thoroughly enjoyed this album, but the remix was a terrible idea. They changed the drum parts on "Cry If You Want"!!! This was one of Kenny Jones' finest drum parts on a Who album...terrible choice in changing it. If you loved this album back in '82, then buy a used copy of the original cd...much cheaper too. Buyer beware!

In my opinion, The Who went out with a bang. I'm tired of people comparing this album to the "Keith Moon era" - it wasn't the same band, how could it be? Standout cuts on this album (for me) include "Eminence Front," "Cook's County" & "Cry if You Want." Pete's guitar absolutely smokes on these tracks in particular! Very well written song structures & great production quality by long-time illustrious producer Glyn Johns. Entwistle contributed some fine tunes as well & the song "I've Known No War" has a nice, simple message to tell without being "preachy." It may not be an easy "first listen," but it will continuosly grow on you with repeated listenings.

It's Hard was the last original studio effort by one rock's all-time greatest acts. While it's not Tommy, Quadrophenia or Who's Next, it is a solid effort and a definite improvement over Face Dances. "Eminence Front" has a popping guitar riff and is as good as anything Pete Townshend has written in the past twenty years. Other strong songs include "Athena", "Cook County", "I've Known No War", "One Life's Enough" and the title track. The band went on a farewell tour that culminated in their "final" performance in Toronto. They have since reunited several times, but have not released any new studio work. It's Hard is a fine last effort.

While the style in this album is definately different than a lot of their previous albums, this is an excellent work. Some claim that the absense of Keith Moon has made a negative impact on The Who's work. While I will surely admit that Moon was a great artist, and while I'm sure he was sorely missed (by both the members of the group and the fans), I think The Who still managed to pull off an _excellent_ work with this album. This is one of my (several, admitedly) favorites from The Who.