It's Hard [Original recording remastered]

Sure, there are some below-par tracks, "Cook's County" being one I was not too enamoured with. Concentrate on the album's high points, though, and there are some crackers. "A Man is a Man" and "One Life's Enough for Me" are tear-jerkers with messages, and Roger Daltrey proves he is as adept at putting feeling into softer, slower songs, as he is on the all-out rockers.

John Entwistle's three contributions would all slot into the latter category. They all have their merits. "It's Your Turn" unsentimentally hands the baton to younger rock stars, "Dangerous" sounds like it was written about the group, and particularly the insecure but brilliant Pete Townshend. "One At a Time" sees Entwistle on vocals, on a song which sound a lot like a faster version of "My Wife", his song on "Who's Next", no bad thing. Like the 1971 song, this one focuses on marital infidelity.

Finally, there is the anthemic "Cry if you Want To", which, in spite of its melancholy title, sees Roger Daltrey belting out a bittersweet review of The Who's career. The song proves you can bow out in style.

The extra live tracks added to my enjoyment, in particular the recording of the jazz-funk-inspired "Eminence Front", which sounds punchier than the studio version, and is sung with gusto by Pete Townshend. Watch out for Roger Daltrey's monologues, too.

All in all, I have heard the Who on better form, but this should not distract from the fact that "It's Hard" is a very good rock album, with changes of pace and musical intelligence aplenty.

"Face Dances", the previous album, had shown Townshend's writing in a state of flux - the songs were poppier, and reflected the influence of the electro / New Romantic era.

However, on first hearing, "It's Hard" just seemed an uninspired, sludgy mainstream rock album. It sounded dated - then.

Personally, I loathed it with a vengeance.

The remixed Cd re-issue (with bonus live tracks) has gradually changed my opinion - that, and the passage of time.

Many of the songs sound far, far better in this format - the Townshend guitar swings in and out, and the keyboards have a more subtle effect. To these ears anyway, John Entwistle's bass has a more rumbling, growling presence than is always necessary - this became more of a feature in live shows, not (I suspect) always to the delight of Townshend and Daltrey.

Jones does his job here - he keeps the beat, and makes his presence felt - it's just that, in (the inevitable) comparison with Keith Moon, his style seems too restrained - the difference between a good craftsman and an erractic but inspired freak of nature.

Daltrey gives his all - as ever, but somehow seems to lack conviction handling Townshend's more aspirational (but sadly unpolished) lyrics.

This is one of those albums that could have been so very much better - but which was perceived at the time as being far worse than it really is.

"I've Known No War" hasn't been mentioned by the other reviewers - and to me, anyway, it sums up the best and the worst of this album. It's an interesting topic - the way that the generation who grew up in the immediate aftermath of the second World War were both beautiful and damned: lucky to escape primal, pre-nuclear carnage, damned by failing to meet the challenge of an era of peace (on the global scale, anyway.)

Townshend's analysis of the situation seems fogged now - all-out nuclear war seems less likely in the post-Cold War era; we have our own nightmares to face now.

The song though - the song soars in a way that mid-period Who ("Who's Next", "Quadrophenia") managed to do - but it's let down by clumsy and ill-thought-out lyrics. It's a little over-produced too - the sound of thin(ner) material being stretched out to appear epic.

Yet despite the flaws - the album has a crooked charm - it does grow in its appeal, even if (for me) the Entwistle material tends to dominate the overall sound.

Perhaps there's a key there - several of Townshend's songs sound melodically not dissimilar to Entwistle's - and that's not usual. A couple of gentler, slower-paced Townshend efforts ("One Life's Enough For Me" being the prime example) reflect his growing interest in theatrical show-tunes - they don't work for me, but they have a stilted charm.

The live selection, though taken from the final gig of the band's 1982 North American tour (by which time they were flat, tired and fed-up with the whole thing) sound perversely strong: even below-par Who is pretty damn good.

Their last studio album? Townshend and Daltrey claim they're working on a new one. Just 24 years later then... Maybe I'll learn to appreciate that one in my nineties!