Released April 14, 1979 Length 37:30 Release date 14 April 1979 | Recorded 1978 Label Rdeg | |
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Studio Agency Recording, Cleveland, Ohio Love's So Tough(1979) Have a Good Time but Get Out Alive!(1980) Similar Iron City Houserockers albums, Rock music albums | ||
Love's So Tough is a studio album by the Iron City Houserockers. Released in 1979, the Iron City Houserocker's first album attempts to capture the presence of what was essentially a Pittsburgh bar band playing to a blue collar crowd every night. While Joe Grushecky's songwriting skills are clearly still developing, his potential is visible in cuts such as "Dance with Me" and "Heros Are Hard to Find". The general sound of the album is reminiscent of a slightly "harder" Bruce Springsteen, and the heavy use of harmonica would be a distinguishing factor of the Houserockers for several albums to come. The Chuck Berry song "School Days (Ring! Ring! Goes the Bell)" was recorded for the album but was cut from the final release. The track was then released on Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers. The album was reissued in CD format in 1999.
Contents
Background
In the spring of 1977 Joe Grushecky's brother Jon sent him a full page ad from Billboard magazine about the release of a Ronnie Spector record on Cleveland International Records. The band was known at that time as the Brick Alley Band, and they sent a demo tape to Steve Popovich at Cleveland International Records. After a personal phone call from Steve Popovich, Joe Grushecky and his band drove out to Cleveland and under the guidance of Steve Popovich and Marty Mooney, made a series of recordings that landed a deal with MCA Records.
Side one
- "I Can't Take It" (Joe Grushecky) – 3:54
- "Hideaway" (Fred Goodman) – 4:31
- "Turn It Up" (Grushecky) – 4:54
- "Dance with Me" (Grushecky, Art Nardini) – 4:46
Side two
- "Love So Tough" (Grushecky, Gil Snyder) – 3:42
- "Veronica" (Grushecky) – 3:38
- "Heroes Are Hard to Find" (Grushecky, Nardini, Gary Scalese) – 2:55
- "Stay with Me Tonight" (Grushecky) – 4:43
- "I'm Lucky" (Grushecky, Nardini) – 4:27
"Turn It Up" was recorded at Asterick Recording, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Personnel
Songs
1I Can't Take It3:53
2Hideaway4:29
3Turn It Up4:52