Hard at Play
1991 studio album by Huey Lewis and the News
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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."
| Hard at Play | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 7, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | 1990–1991 | |||
| Studio | Skywalker 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). | |||
| Genre | Rock, pop rock | |||
| Length | 46:09 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis (UK)[1] EMI (Most of the world) | |||
| Producer | Huey Lewis and the News Bill Schnee Eric Thorngren | |||
| Huey Lewis and the News chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Hard at Play | ||||
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Recording and production
Following the experimental musical direction of Small World and a subsequent label transition from Chrysalis Records to EMI, the band underwent a three-year creative process to return to their core, upbeat pop-rock and blues-inflected sound.[2] Pre-production began with the band developing rough mix ideations to intentionally pivot away from the synth-heavy production styles that dominated their late-1980s catalog.
Principal recording sessions took place between 1990 and early 1991, primarily utilizing analog tape recording to achieve a warmer, more organic tone. Basic tracking was laid down at George Lucas's Skywalker Sound facility in Nicasio, California, with co-production and engineering handled by Bill Schnee. Additional layers, overdubs, and vocal tracking were captured across multiple California studios, including Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, Studio D Recording in Sausalito, The Site in Marin County, and Apt. 2 Recording in Novato.[2] Producers Eric "E.T." Thorngren also provided co-production work specifically targeting guitar tones on the tracks "Build Me Up" and the lead single "Couple Days Off".
The sessions emphasized a live-ensemble performance vibe and featured notable guest contributions. The Bay Area-based gospel group The Gospel Hummingbirds provided soulful background harmonies on the track "He Don't Know", while multi-instrumentalist John McFee contributed guitar work to the track "Time Ain't Money".[2]
Critical reception
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Build Me Up" | 4:28 | |
| 2. | "It Hit Me Like a Hammer" | 4:01 | |
| 3. | "Attitude" | Max Carl | 4:00 |
| 4. | "He Don't Know" | 4:15 | |
| 5. | "Couple Days Off" |
| 4:56 |
| 6. | "That's Not Me" | Michael Ruff | 4:15 |
| 7. | "We Should Be Making Love" |
| 4:01 |
| 8. | "Best of Me" |
| 3:57 |
| 9. | "Do You Love Me, or What?" |
| 3:46 |
| 10. | "Don't Look Back" |
| 3:44 |
| 11. | "Time Ain't Money" |
| 4:46 |
| Total length: | 46:24 | ||
Personnel
Huey Lewis and the News
- Huey Lewis – harmonica, vocals
- Mario Cipollina – bass
- Johnny Colla – guitar, saxophone, backing vocals
- Bill Gibson – percussion, drums, backing vocals
- Chris Hayes – guitar, backing vocals
- Sean Hopper – keyboards, backing vocals
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
| 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 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1991) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart (RPM)[18] | 85 |
Singles
| 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 | |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[19] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Japan (RIAJ)[20] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[21] | Gold | 500,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||