It was also the second and final Who studio album with drummer Kenney Jones, as well as the last to be released on Warner Bros. Records in the US.

The album cover, designed and photographed by Graham Hughes,[4] depicts a young boy playing an Atari Space Duel arcade game.

[citation needed] This is intended as a contemporary update to the song "Pinball Wizard", from the album Tommy.

[5] In a 1985 interview, Townshend said, "Face Dances and It’s Hard were made by a band who were very unsure about whether or not they wanted to be making a record, and I think that’s a terrible doubt.

"[13] Robert Christgau, on the other hand, icily disparaged the "prolix" nature and "operatic pretensions" of Townshend's musical ideas, as well as his "book-club poetry".

[14] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic considered the album to be an "undistinguished final effort" with "few memorable melodies and little energy".

"It's Hard" was played throughout the entire 1982 tour and regularly featured a short full-band jam at its conclusion.

"Eminence Front" was one of two songs (the other being "Cry If You Want") from this album to last until after the 1982 tour, and the only one to become a staple of the band's concerts.

Later, the band would start incorporating it into their jams of "My Generation", albeit in a shorter and jazzier form, where it lasted until 2009.

The 1997 digitally remastered reissue of It's Hard added four live tracks recorded on the last show of the Who's 1982 tour, on 17 December in Toronto.