Long Hard Climb

Long Hard Climb is the fourth studio album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy, released in the summer of 1973 by Capitol Records and, aside from its primary focus on Top 40-friendly material, had her trying out New Orleans jazz ("Lovin' You") and the English-language version of a recent Charles Aznavour standard ("The Old Fashioned Way"). It debuted on Billboard's Top LP's & Tapes chart in the issue dated August 11, 1973, and reached number eight during its 43 weeks there,[3] and in Canada's RPM magazine it peaked at number 14.[4] On September 19 of that year, the Recording Industry Association of America awarded the album with Gold certification for sales of 500,000 copies in the United States.[5] On July 22, 2003, it was released for the first time on compact disc as one of two albums on one CD, the other album being her 1972 release I Am Woman.[6]

Long Hard Climb
Studio album by
Helen Reddy
Released1973
Recorded1973
GenreVocal
Pop/Rock[1]
Length29:28
LabelCapitol
ProducerTom Catalano
Helen Reddy chronology
I Am Woman
(1972)		 Long Hard Climb
(1973)		 Love Song for Jeffrey
(1974)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideC[2]

Singles

"Delta Dawn" was released as the first single from the album on June 11, 1973,[7] debuted on Billboard's Hot 100 later that month, in the issue of the magazine dated June 23, and enjoyed 20 weeks there, one of which was at number one.[8] That same issue also marked its first appearance on the magazine's Easy Listening chart, where it lasted for 16 weeks, with two of those being in the top spot.[9] On August 30 of that year the song earned Gold certification from the RIAA for sales of the one million copies that was the requirement for singles at that time.[5] It also had three weeks at number one on RPM's singles chart in Canada.[10]

"Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" was released as a single on October 29 of that year[7] and had 16 weeks on the pop chart that began in the November 3 issue and eventually included two weeks at number three.[8] It also spent 16 weeks on the Easy Listening chart that started in the November 10 issue and included four weeks at number one.[9] On January 8, 1974, it received Gold certification,[5] and it peaked at number five in Canada in the issue of RPM dated January 12.[11]

Track listing

Side 1

  1. "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" (Linda Laurie) – 3:26
  2. "Lovin' You" (John Sebastian) – 2:49
  3. "A Bit O.K." (Peter Allen, Carole Bayer Sager) – 2:07
  4. "Don't Mess with a Woman" (Michael Curtis, Richard Curtis, Patty Moan) – 3:04
  5. "Delta Dawn" (Larry Collins, Alex Harvey) – 3:08

Side 2

  1. "The West Wind Circus" (Adam Miller) – 4:25
  2. "If We Could Still Be Friends" (Paul Williams) – 2:17
  3. "Long Hard Climb" (Ron Davies) – 2:59
  4. "Until It's Time for You to Go" (Buffy Sainte-Marie) – 2:17
  5. "The Old Fashioned Way" (Georges Garvarentz, Joel Hirschhorn, Al Kasha) – 2:56
Alternate version of "Don't Mess with a Woman"

In 2009 EMI Music Special Markets released Rarities from the Capitol Vaults, a 12-track CD of mostly what were previously unreleased Reddy recordings, which included an alternate version of "Don't Mess with a Woman".[12]

Personnel
  • Helen Reddy – vocals
  • Tom Catalano – producer (except as noted)
  • Al Capps – arranger and conductor ("Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)", "Delta Dawn", "Long Hard Climb")
  • Lee Holdridge – arranger and conductor ("The West Wind Circus", "If We Could Still Be Friends", "The Old Fashioned Way")
  • Armin Steiner – engineer
  • Jay Senter – producer ("Don't Mess with a Woman")
  • Jim Horn – horn arrangements ("Don't Mess with a Woman")
  • Doug Sax – cutting engineer
  • Jeff Wald – management
  • Norman Seeff – photography
  • John Hoernle – art direction

Notes
  1. "Long Hard Climb - Helen Reddy". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: R". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Whitburn 2010, p. 646.
  4. "RPM 100 Albums". RPM. 1973-10-20. p. 10.
  5. RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for titles by Helen Reddy Archived 2015-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "I Am Woman/Long Hard Climb". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  7. (2006) The Woman I Am: The Definitive Collection by Helen Reddy [CD booklet]. Los Angeles: Capitol Records 09463-57613-2-0.
  8. Whitburn 2009, p. 805.
  9. Whitburn 2007, p. 226.
  10. "RPM 100 Singles". RPM. 1973-09-29. p. 27.
  11. "RPM 100 Singles". RPM. 1974-01-12. p. 12.
  12. (2009) Rarities from the Capitol Vaults by Helen Reddy [CD booklet]. Hollywood: EMI Music Special Markets 509996-98493-2-9
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References
  • Whitburn, Joel (2007), Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top Adult Songs, 1961-2006, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-169-1
  • Whitburn, Joel (2009), Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955-2008, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-180-2
  • Whitburn, Joel (2010), Joel Whitburn Presents Top Pop Albums, Seventh Edition, Record Research Inc., ISBN 0-89820-183-7
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