The Hard Way (Clint Black album)

The Hard Way
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 14, 1992
Recorded1991–1992
StudioStudio Sound (Burbank, California); Moonee Ponds (Los Angeles); Eleven Eleven, Mesa (Nashville)
GenreNeotraditional country
Length34:09
LabelRCA Nashville
ProducerJames Stroud, Clint Black
Clint Black chronology
Put Yourself in My Shoes
(1990)
The Hard Way
(1992)
No Time to Kill
(1993)
Singles from The Hard Way
  1. "We Tell Ourselves"
    Released: June 22, 1992
  2. "Burn One Down"
    Released: October 1992
  3. "When My Ship Comes In"
    Released: January 11, 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
Chicago Tribune [2]
Entertainment WeeklyB− [3]
Los Angeles Times [4]
Q [5]
Robert ChristgauC [6]

The Hard Way is the third studio album by American country music singer Clint Black. It includes the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks top-ten hits "We Tell Ourselves"[#2], "Burn One Down"[#4], and the number-one hit "When My Ship Comes In". Released on July 14, 1992, it was co-produced by Black and James Stroud. While not as commercially successful as his first two albums, The Hard Way was certified platinum by the RIAA.

Musical style and composition

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The Hard Way has been described as a neotraditional country album with elements of pop compared to 1970s singer-songwriters such as Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor, and Dan Fogelberg.[3]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Clint Black and Hayden Nicholas except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."We Tell Ourselves" 4:39
2."The Hard Way" 3:22
3."Something to Cry About" 3:55
4."Buying Time" 3:36
5."When My Ship Comes In" 3:33
6."A Woman Has Her Way"Black, David Bellamy, Jerry Lynn Williams2:51
7."There Never Was a Train" (omitted from cassette version) 2:42
8."The Good Old Days" 2:29
9."Burn One Down"Black, Nicholas, Frankie Miller3:51
10."Wake Up Yesterday" 3:43

Personnel

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Band

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Production

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Chart performance

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Album

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Chart (1992) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 2
U.S. Billboard 200 8
Canadian RPM Country Albums 3
Canadian RPM Top Albums 47

Singles

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Year Single Peak positions
US Country CAN Country
1992 "We Tell Ourselves" 2 1
"Burn One Down" 4 2
1993 "When My Ship Comes In" 1 1

References

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  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ "Clint BlackThe Hard Way (RCA/BMG) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)1/2Black says..." Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Entertainment Weekly review
  4. ^ "POP MUSIC : A Country Study in Black and Blue : *** CLINT BLACK, "The Hard Way". RCA". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1992. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
  5. ^ Album reviews at CD Universe
  6. ^ Robert Christgau Consumer Guide