music.wikisort.org - Composition

Long Hard Climb is the fourth studio album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy, released on July 23, 1973, by Capitol Records[3] 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,[4] and in Canada's RPM magazine it peaked at number 14.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

Long Hard Climb
Studio album by Helen Reddy
Released	July 23, 1973
Recorded	1973
Genre	Vocal, pop rock[1]
Length	29:28
Label	Capitol
Producer	Tom Catalano
Helen Reddy chronology
I Am Woman (1972) Long Hard Climb (1973) Love Song for Jeffrey (1974)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	C[2]

Singles

"Delta Dawn" was released as the first single from the album on June 11, 1973,[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[6] It also had three weeks at number one on RPM's singles chart in Canada.[11] The sing was certified Gold in Australia in March 1974.[12]

"Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" was released as a single on October 29 of that year[8] and had 16 weeks on the pop chart that began in the November 3 issue and eventually included two weeks at number three.[9] It also spent 16 weeks on the Easy Listening chart that started in the November 10 issue and included four weeks at number one.[10] On January 8, 1974, it received Gold certification,[6] and it peaked at number five in Canada in the issue of RPM dated January 12.[13]

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".[14]

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

Charts

Chart (1973)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[15]	16
Canada Albums (RPM)[16]	14
US Billboard 200[17]	8

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[12]	Gold	20,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[18]	Gold	7,500^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

References

---