Life's Hard and Then You Die

Life's Hard and Then You Die is the debut album by the British band It's Immaterial, released in September 1986. The album was released several months after the single "Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune)" reached the top twenty on the UK Singles Chart, and spent three weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 62.[1]

Life's Hard and Then You Die
Studio album by
It's Immaterial
ReleasedSeptember 1986 (1986-09)
LabelSiren
ProducerDave Bascombe
It's Immaterial chronology
Life's Hard and Then You Die
(1986)		 Song
(1990)

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Classic Pop[3]
Smash Hits9/10[4]

Simon Braithwaite of Smash Hits wrote that Life's Hard and Then You Die shows that It's Immaterial "write jolly good pop songs. In fact everything else here is just as inspired and original as their recent hit."[4] In a retrospective review, Michael Sutton of AllMusic wrote, "Musically, the LP is all over the place – new wave, country, blues, folk, and synth pop. Somehow the smorgasbord of styles works, because the band members aren't being eclectic just for the sake of it; they simply have a wide canvas, keeping the album fresh from beginning to end."[2] Reviewing the 30th anniversary edition for Classic Pop, Paul Lester stated that "its mordant title and lyrics were at odds with its eclectic music, ranging from chanson-style pop and Pogues-style Irish knees-ups to flamenco and mariachi. By turns thoughtful and danceable, Life's Hard... is something of a lost treasure."[3] C60 Low Noise wrote, "This is an intelligent and extremely well-realised album that belies its simplistic origins. For those of you who are genuinely moved by soaring harmonised vocals (courtesy of The Christians), ironic folk rendition, rolling Spanish guitars and tongue-in-cheek meanderings, I would seriously recommend this to you."[5] Dave Schulps at Trouserpress.com wrote, "A fascinating musical hybrid that touches variously on synth-pop, atmospheric art-rock, recitation and a unique brand of English country music. It may remind you of early OMD".[6]

Track listing

All tracks written by John Campbell and Jarvis Whitehead, except where noted.

  1. "Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune)" – 4:12
  2. "Happy Talk" – 5:29
  3. "Rope" – 3:37
  4. "The Better Idea" – 5:42
  5. "Space" – 3:59
  6. "The Sweet Life" – 4:38
  7. "Festival Time" (Campbell, Whitehead, trad.) – 3:52
  8. "Ed's Funky Diner" – 3:05
  9. "Hang On Sleepy Town" – 4:20
  10. "Lullaby" – 6:21

References
  1. It's Immaterial Official charts
  2. Sutton, Michael. "Life's Hard and Then You Die – It's Immaterial". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  3. Lester, Paul (August–September 2016). "It's Immaterial – Life's Hard and Then You Die". Classic Pop. No. 24. p. 99.
  4. Braithwaite, Simon (24 September 1986). "It's Immaterial – Life's Hard and Then You Die". Smash Hits. p. 50.
  5. Immaterial Review in ‘C60 Low Noise’
  6. Review by Dave Schulps of Trouserpress.com
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