Hard at Play explained

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

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.

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)[2]	61
Canadian Albums (RPM)[3]	20
European Top 100 Albums[4]	25
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[5]	9
Italian Albums (AFI)[6]	25
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7]	10
Japanese International Albums (Oricon)[8]	1
UK Albums (OCC)[9]	39
US Billboard 200[10]	27
Zimbabwean Albums (ZIMA)[11]	7

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Huey Lewis And The News – Hard At Play (1991, Vinyl). 24 December 2021. Discogs.com.
2. 165.
3. Web site: RPM: Huey Lewis and the News (albums) . RPM Magazine . April 8, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171014084220/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=h6banu1fsvdt9pof8c4m7dun24&q1=village+people&q2=Top+Albums%2FCDs&interval=50 . October 14, 2017 . dead .
4. Web site: Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Inc. 12 October 1991. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 24 December 2021. Google Books.
5. Book: Pennanen, Timo . 2006 . Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 . 1st . Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava . Helsinki. 978-951-1-21053-5 . 263 . Finnish .
6. Web site: Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1991: Altri. Hit Parade Italia.
7. Web site: Oricon Archive - Huey Lewis and the News. Oricon. April 8, 2017.
8. Web site: Oricon Archive - Huey Lewis and the News. Oricon. April 8, 2017.
9. Web site: Official Albums Chart Top 100. Official Charts Company. September 2, 2024.
10. Huey Lewis and the News Chart History (Billboard 200) . Billboard. March 19, 2020.
11. • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
12. Web site: The RPM Top 100 Albums of 1991. RPM. February 4, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20140408213817/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.1702&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062. April 8, 2014. dead.