Two the Hard Way | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 1977 | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Studio | Record Plant, Los Angeles; Sunset Sound, Hollywood; Record Plant, New York City | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 38:35 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer |
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Cher chronology | ||||
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Gregg Allman chronology | ||||
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Singles from Two the Hard Way | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
MusicHound Rock:The Essential Album Guide | [3] |
Two the Hard Way is the collaborative studio album by American singer and actress Cher (credited as "Woman") and American singer and keyboardist Gregg Allman. It was released in November 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. The album,billed to "Allman and Woman",was a critical and commercial failure.
The product of the two musicians' unlikely and turbulent relationship and marriage,it attempted an even more unlikely musical melding of Allman's Southern rock with Cher's idiosyncratic,personality-driven pop. The uncharacteristically airbrushed cover notwithstanding,Allman's musical ideas and singing generally took the lead.
In conjunction with the release of the album Cher and Allman did a 21-show tour called the "Two the Hard Way Tour",consisting of seven shows in Japan and 14 in Europe. The tour ended abruptly when Cher parted ways with Allman and returned to the United States.
The album was panned by critics;the 1979 Rolling Stone Record Guide said "It's hard to imagine a more inappropriate combination ... It's the bottom of the barrel after a long fall for Gregg,and more of the same for Cher," and rated the album "Worthless". Two the Hard Way was also sold poorly;by the time the 1983 edition of the same guide was published,the album was out of print.
The album was never officially re-issued on CD or 8-track,although it has been bootlegged. In 2008, Billboard correspondent Keith Caulfield stated that Cher owned the rights to the master tapes of this album (as well as three solo albums she made in the mid-1970s) and hence she would have to approve any reissues. [4] The song "Can You Fool" was included in the 1989 Allman Brothers compilation album Dreams ,which is still in print.
For many years "Can You Fool" was the only Allman and Woman song to have been officially made available online. However,on October 8,2021,Cher released all 11 tracks,"restored and remastered",on her YouTube channel. A few days later,she also released several live videos produced in November 1977 for the BBC TV series The Old Grey Whistle Test .
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Move Me" |
| 2:58 |
2. | "I Found You Love" | Alan Gordon | 3:58 |
3. | "Can You Fool" | Michael Smotherman | 3:21 |
4. | "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" | Smokey Robinson | 3:18 |
5. | "We're Gonna Make It" |
| 3:15 |
6. | "Do What You Gotta Do" | Jimmy Webb | 3:26 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "In For the Night" | 3:34 | |
2. | "Shadow Dream Song" (lead vocals by Gregg Allman) | Jackson Browne | 3:43 |
3. | "Island" (lead vocals by Cher) | Ilene Rappaport | 4:25 |
4. | "I Love Makin' Love to You" |
| 3:49 |
5. | "Love Me" | 2:48 |
Technical
Gregory LeNoir Allman was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Brothers Band fused it with rock music, jazz, and country at times. He wrote several of the band's most popular songs, including "Whipping Post", "Melissa", and "Midnight Rider". Allman also had a successful solo career, releasing seven studio albums. He was born and spent much of his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, before relocating to Daytona Beach, Florida and then Macon, Georgia.
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