Hard (Gang of Four album)

Hard
Studio album by
Gang of Four
ReleasedSeptember 1983
StudioCriteria (Miami)
GenreDance-rock
Length36:33
LabelEMI
ProducerHoward Albert, Ron Albert, Jon King, Andrew Gill
Gang of Four chronology
Songs of the Free
(1982) 		Hard
(1983) 		A Brief History of the Twentieth Century
(1990)

Hard is the fourth studio album by the English post-punk group Gang of Four. It was originally released in 1983 on Warner Bros. Records and was the first album to not feature original member Hugo Burnham, while Dave Allen had already left before the previous album, Songs of the Free.

The album was reissued as part of a two-CD package along with the band's 1981 album Solid Gold.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB[3]
Pitchfork Media3.8/10[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide4/10[5]

The New York Times wrote that "Gang of Four have seriously compromised its hard-edged dance rock for a gauzy, overly arranged pop sound that's closer to traditional disco than to the aggressively stomping dance music that has won the group a serious following."[6]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Andy Gill and Jon King; except where indicated

  1. "Is It Love" (Gill) – 4:35
  2. "I Fled" – 3:54
  3. "Silver Lining" – 4:13
  4. "Woman Town" (Gill) – 5:12
  5. "A Man with a Good Car" – 3:45
  6. "It Don't Matter" – 3:54
  7. "Arabic" – 3:39
  8. "A Piece of My Heart" – 3:14
  9. "Independence" – 4:05

Personnel

Gang of Four

with:

  • Jon Astrop - bass on "Is It Love", "I Fled", "It Don't Matter" and "A Piece of My Heart"
  • Alfa Anderson, Brenda White King, Chuck Kirkpatrick, John Sambataro - backing vocals
  • Mike Lewis - conductor of strings and horns
Technical
  • John Rollo - recording
  • Scott Heiser - photography

References

  1. ^ "Hard - Gang of Four | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ "Gang of Four: Hard/Solid Gold". Pitchfork. 9 February 2003.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Hard". Robert Christgau.
  4. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 271.
  5. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 163.
  6. ^ Holden, Stephen (27 October 1983). "Rock". The New York Times. p. C21.