Hard to Hold is the eighth studio album by Rick Springfield released on July 23, 1984 by RCA Records as the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album includes three U.S. Top 40 hits, "Don't Walk Away", "Bop 'Til You Drop", and the top five hit "Love Somebody", with the duet with Randy Crawford, "Taxi Dancing" as a minor hit. The album was later remastered by Steve Hoffman for the Razor and Tie reissue label. In addition to Springfield appearing on the soundtrack, there are two tracks that were exclusive to the CD, "When the Lights Go Down" by Graham Parker (which eventually ended up on the Parker rarities CD "The Art Van DeLay Collection") and Nona Hendryx's "Heart of a Woman". Peter Gabriel also appears on the CD performing "I Go Swimming" featured on his live album "Plays Live" from 1983.
From contemporary reviews, Ken Tucker of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the album three out of five star rating, noting that "Love Somebody" was Springfrield's "best pop-rocker since "Jesse's Girl" and the filler songs on the album include good songs by Graham Parker and Peter Gabriel.[2] Tucker concluded that the album was "one of the few soundtrack albums that doesn't cheat its listeners."[2]
