Driven by
Pete Townshend's arching musical ambitions,
It's Hard was an undistinguished final effort from
the Who. Featuring layers of synthesizers and long-winded, twisting song structures, the album featured few memorable melodies and little energy, with only the anthemic "Athena" and the terse "Eminence Front" making a lasting impression. [The compact disc reissue adds four bonus tracks to the original 12-song lineup, all of them live. These alternate versions of "Eminence Front," the title song, and "Cry If You Want," along with
John Entwistle's "Dangerous," all come from performances at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada. Although no specific recording dates are given in the booklet, these bonus tracks offer far more lively versions of these songs than their original studio counterparts.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Cub Koda