Hard at Play
1991 studio album by Huey Lewis and the News
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."
Critical reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [ 2]
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
Title Writer(s) 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 " Chris Hayes Lewis Geoffrey Palmer 4:56 6. "That's Not Me" Michael Ruff 4:15 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. "Don't You Love Me, or What?" 3:46 10. "Don't Look Back" Lewis Bill Gibson David Fredericks 3:44 11. "Time Ain't Money" 4:46 Total length: 46:24
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
Year-end charts
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
References
^ "Huey Lewis And The News – Hard At Play (1991, Vinyl)" . Discogs.com . Retrieved 24 December 2021 .
^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas . "Hard at Play – Huey Lewis & the News" . AllMusic . Retrieved April 25, 2020 .
^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 165.
^ "RPM: Huey Lewis and the News (albums)" . RPM Magazine. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2017 .
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (12 October 1991). "Billboard" . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 24 December 2021 – via Google Books.
^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5 .
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved September 2, 2024.
^ "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1991: Altri" . Hit Parade Italia.
^ "Oricon Archive - Huey Lewis and the News" . Oricon. Retrieved April 8, 2017 .
^ "Oricon Archive - Huey Lewis and the News" . Oricon. Retrieved April 8, 2017 .
^ "Charts.nz – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play" . Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play" . Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play" . Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 2, 2024 .
^ "Huey Lewis and the News Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard . Retrieved March 19, 2020 .
^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book . Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
^ "The RPM Top 100 Albums of 1991" . RPM. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2012 .
^ "Canadian album certifications – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play" . Music Canada . Retrieved July 25, 2012 .
^ "Japanese album certifications – ヒューイ・ルイス・アンド・ザ・ニュース – ハード・アット・プレイ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan . Retrieved July 25, 2012 . Select 1992年5月 on the drop-down menu
^ "American album certifications – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play" . Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved July 25, 2012 .
Huey Lewis
Johnny Colla
Bill Gibson
Sean Hopper
John Pierce
Stef Burns
James Harrah
Marvin McFadden
Rob Sudduth
Johnnie Bamont
Mario Cipollina
Chris Hayes
Ron Stallings
Studio albums Live albums Compilations Singles Related articles