The Hard Way (Clint Black album)

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.

The Hard Way
Studio album by Clint Black
Released	July 14, 1992
Recorded	1991–1992
Studio	Studio Sound (Burbank, California); Moonee Ponds (Los Angeles); Eleven Eleven, Mesa (Nashville)
Genre	Neotraditional country
Length	34:09
Label	RCA Nashville
Producer	James 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
"We Tell Ourselves" Released: June 22, 1992 "Burn One Down" Released: October 1992 "When My Ship Comes In" Released: January 11, 1993

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Chicago Tribune
Entertainment Weekly	B−
Los Angeles Times
Q
Robert Christgau	C

Musical style and composition

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.

Track listing

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

No.	Title	Writer(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 Williams	2:51
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 Miller	3:51
10.	"Wake Up Yesterday"		3:43

Personnel

Band

• Eddie Bayers — drums
• Clint Black — harmonica, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
• Larry Byrom — acoustic guitar
• Lenny Castro — percussion
• Eric Darken — percussion
• Jerry Douglas — Dobro
• Sonny Garrish — steel guitar
• Dick Gay — drums
• Rob Hajacos — fiddle
• Dann Huff — electric guitar
• Jeff Huskins — fiddle
• Jana King — background vocals
• Liana Manis — background vocals
• Hayden Nicholas — electric guitar, electric sitar
• Mark O'Connor — fiddle
• Jeff Peterson — steel guitar
• Don Potter — acoustic guitar
• Matt Rollings — piano
• Leland Sklar — bass guitar
• Jake Willemain — bass guitar
• Dennis Wilson — background vocals
• Curtis Young — background vocals
• Martin Young — acoustic guitar
• Reggie Young — electric guitar

Production

• Clint Black — producer
• James Stroud — producer
• Lynn Peterzell — engineer

Chart performance

Album

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

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

• The Hard Way [CD liner notes]. 1992. RCA Records.
• Artist Chart History (Singles). Billboard. Retrieved on January 1, 2007.
• Artist Chart History (Albums). Billboard. Retrieved on January 1, 2007.