Hard at Play

1991 studio album by Huey Lewis and the News From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hard at Play is the sixth album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News. It was released in 1991 on EMI for most of the world and Chrysalis in the UK. Hard at Play peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200 pop albums chart and produced two top 40 singles, "Couple Days Off" and "It Hit Me Like a Hammer." Music videos were released for "It Hit Me like a Hammer," "Couple Days Off," and "He Don't Know."

Released7 May 1991
Recorded1990–1991
StudioSkywalker Sound and The Site (Marin County, California); Schnee Studios (North Hollywood, California); Studio D (Sausalito, California); Apt. 2 Recording (Novato, California); Sub-Par Recording (California).
GenreRock, pop rock
Quick facts Studio album by Huey Lewis and the News, Released ...
Hard at Play
Studio album by
Huey Lewis and the News
Released7 May 1991
Recorded1990–1991
StudioSkywalker Sound and The Site (Marin County, California); Schnee Studios (North Hollywood, California); Studio D (Sausalito, California); Apt. 2 Recording (Novato, California); Sub-Par Recording (California).
GenreRock, pop rock
Length46:09
LabelChrysalis (UK)[1]
EMI (Most of the world)
ProducerHuey Lewis and the News
Bill Schnee
Eric Thorngren
Huey Lewis and the News chronology
Small World
(1988)		 Hard at Play
(1991)		 Four Chords & Several Years Ago
(1994)
Singles from Hard at Play
  1. "Couple Days Off"
    Released: 1991
  2. "It Hit Me Like a Hammer"
    Released: 1991
  3. "He Don't Know"
    Released: 1991
Close

Critical reception

More information Review scores, Source ...
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar[2]
Close

In a review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine notes the "return to the straight-ahead blues-inflected pop/rock that made Huey Lewis and the News superstars in the early '80s" with Hard at Play.[2]

Track listing

More information No., Title ...
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Build Me Up"
4:28
2."It Hit Me Like a Hammer"
4:01
3."Attitude"Max Carl4:00
4."He Don't Know"
4:15
5."Couple Days Off"
  • Chris Hayes
  • Lewis
  • Geoffrey Palmer
4:56
6."That's Not Me"Michael Ruff4:15
7."We Should Be Making Love"
  • Andy Goldmark
  • Steve Kipner
  • Steve Lindsey
4:01
8."Best of Me"
  • Bonnie Hayes
  • Kevin Hayes
  • Annie Stocking
3:57
9."Do You Love Me, or What?"
3:46
10."Don't Look Back"
  • Lewis
  • Bill Gibson
  • David Fredericks
3:44
11."Time Ain't Money"
  • Colla
  • Lewis
4:46
Total length:46:24
Close

Personnel

Huey Lewis and the News

Additional personnel

  • The Gospel Hummingbirds – backing vocals (4)
  • David Fredericks – backing vocals (5, 10)
  • Mike Duke – backing vocals (6)
  • Michael Ruff – backing vocals (6)
  • John McFee – guitar (11)

Production

  • Huey Lewis and the News – producers
  • Bill Schnee – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Eric "ET" Thorngren – co-producer (1, 5), additional engineer
  • Bob Brown – executive producer
  • Bob Edwards – additional engineer, assistant engineer
  • Jeffrey "Nik" Norman – additional engineer
  • Ken Allardyce – assistant engineer, mix assistant
  • Tony Eckert – assistant engineer
  • Stephen Hart – assistant engineer
  • Tim Lauber – assistant engineer
  • Kevin Scott – assistant engineer
  • Jim "Watts" Vereecke – assistant engineer
  • Jack Joseph Puig – mixing
  • Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA).
  • Henry Marquez – art direction
  • Michael Diehl – design
  • Aaron Rapoport – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

More information Chart (1991), Peak position ...
Chart (1991) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[3] 61
Canadian Albums (RPM)[4] 20
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[5]67
European Top 100 Albums[6] 25
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] 9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8]14
Italian Albums (AFI)[9] 25
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10] 10
Japanese International Albums (Oricon)[11] 1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12]26
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13]25
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14]9
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 39
US Billboard 200[16] 27
Zimbabwean Albums (ZIMA)[17] 7
Close

Year-end charts

More information Chart (1991), Position ...
Chart (1991) Position
Canadian Albums Chart (RPM)[18] 85
Close

Singles

More information Year, Single ...
Year Single Chart Position
1991 "Couple Days Off" Album Rock Tracks 3
1991 The Billboard Hot 100 11
1991 "Build Me Up" Album Rock Tracks 27
1991 "It Hit Me Like a Hammer" The Billboard Hot 100 21
1991 Adult Contemporary 10
Close

Certifications

More information Region, Certification ...
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Gold 50,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[20] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Close

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI