Life's Hard and Then You Die

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Classic Pop	[4]
Smash Hits	9/10[5]

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."[5] 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."[3] 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."[4] 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."[6] 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".[7] The Guardian described the album as being "awash with influences from new wave to music hall."[8]

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

LP release - SIREN LP4

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

CD release - CD SIREN 4

three bonus tracks:

11. "Washing The Air" - 5:29

12. "Ed's Funky Diner (The Keinholz Caper)" - 5:53

13. "Driving Away From Home (I Mean After All It's Only 'Dead Man's Curve')" - 6:30

It's Immaterial

• John Campbell
• Jarvis Whitehead

with:

• Brenda Kenny
• Gillian Miller
• Henry Priestman
• Merran Laginestra
• Roddy Lorimer
• Steve Wickham
• Tarrant Bailey Jr.
• The Christians

The album was reissued as a 2-CD set in 2016 on the Caroline label. The gatefold cardboard sleeve contains a 15-page booklet with a track-by-track commentary written by John Campbell, Jarvis Whitehead, producer Dave Bascombe and A&R man Ross Stapleton.