''Two the Hard Way'' is the collaborative studio album by American singer and actress

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

(credited as "Woman") and American singer and keyboardist

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) 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 B ...

. It was released in November 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. The album, billed to Allman and Woman, was a critical and commercial failure.

History

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 Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

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 never officially re-issued on CD or 8-track, although it has been bootlegged. In 2008, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' 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. The song "Can You Fool" was included in the 1989 Allman Brothers compilation album ''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

'', 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 ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...

''.

Critical reception

The album was panned by critics. '' The Rolling Stone Record Guide'' wrote: "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." The guide gave the album zero stars, rating it "Worthless".

Track listing

Personnel

*Cher – lead vocals, harmony vocals *Gregg Allman – lead vocals, harmony vocals, organ, producer *Ricky Hirsch, John Leslie Hug, Fred Tackett, Scott Boyer – guitar *

Willie Weeks Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also ga ...

– bass * Neil Larsen – piano, electric piano, clavinet, organ * Randall Bramblett, Harvey Thompson, Ronnie Eades – saxophone *Harrison Calloway, Jim Horn – horn * Ben Cauley – trumpet, flugelhorn *Dennis Good – trombone * Mickey Raphael – harmonica *

Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for ...

– percussion *Bill Stewart – drums *

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

, Doug Hayward, Pat Henderson, Russell Morris, Sherlie Matthews, Tim Schmit – backing vocals *

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He achieved success at an early age, winning the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the age of 21. During his career, he established himself as one of Am ...

– string and horn arrangements on "We're Gonna Make It" and "Do What You Gotta Do" *Ed Freeman – string arrangements *Sid Sharp – concertmaster Technical *Johnny Sandlin – producer * John Haeny – producer on "You Really Got a Hold On Me" and "Do What You Gotta Do" *Tom Flye – engineer *David Pinkston – engineer *John Cabalka – art direction *Brad Kanawyer – design *Bob Jacobs – artwork, photo hand tinting *Harry Langdon – photography

References

External links

Official Cher siteOfficial Gregg Allman siteWarner official site
{{Authority control 1977 albums Cher albums Gregg Allman albums Vocal duet albums Albums arranged by Jimmy Webb Warner Records albums