The Who's final 1982 studio effort was a reluctant, polarized, and contentious creative chapter.
In short: Released under pressure from their record label, The Who's tenth studio album, It's Hard, arrived in 1982 amidst internal doubt. While some critics hailed it as a coherent return to form, others dismissed it as an undistinguished, pretentious slog. The band's own members later admitted they were barely committed to the project.
The creation of It's Hard was marked by significant friction. Roger Daltrey later claimed the record should never have been released, citing forced production demands from their label. Pete Townshend echoed this sentiment, noting that the band was deeply uncertain about their desire to record at the time. This lack of conviction resulted in a project that felt disjointed to some, with critics like Robert Christgau disparaging the album for its overly complex lyrical themes and operatic ambitions.
Despite the internal strife, the album achieved commercial success, reaching the top fifteen in the UK and the top ten in the US, where it earned gold certification within months of its release. The record served as the final studio collaboration for bassist John Entwistle and drummer Kenney Jones, and it would be the band's last full-length release for over two decades. The cover art, featuring a child playing an Atari arcade game, was intended as a nod to the band's earlier work on Tommy.
The legacy of the album is defined by its uneven live performance history. While most of the tracks were performed during the 1982 farewell tour, the band struggled with the material; they famously dropped the single Athena mid-tour due to dissatisfaction with their own execution. Only Eminence Front managed to transcend the era, becoming a consistent staple of the band's setlists for decades. Subsequent reissues, including a 1997 remaster that corrected original mix issues and a 2022 double-disc edition, have attempted to refine the presentation of this contentious final chapter.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: It's Hard
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