Mean Business
| Mean Business | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by The Firm | ||||
| Released | 3 February 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 39:20 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers and Julian Mendelsohn | |||
| The Firm chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (unfavorable)[2] |
Mean Business is the second and final studio album by The Firm, released by Atlantic Records on 3 February 1986. Repeating the same bluesy formula as on the first album, The Firm (1985), Mean Business did not achieve the same commercial success.
One of the album's tracks, "Live in Peace", was first recorded on Paul Rodgers' first solo album in 1983, Cut Loose. The versions differ in that Chris Slade played the drums slower than on the original version, apart from the ending, and Jimmy Page added a bluesy guitar solo at the end of the song.
The album's title was intended to have a double meaning: that the music business is a hard one, and that the band was serious about its music ("The Firm mean business"). However, perhaps due to the lukewarm-at-best critical and financial success which the band met, Page and Rodgers decided to disband The Firm within months of this album's release.
The album peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. and at #46 on the UK Albums Chart. The single "All the King's Horses" spent four weeks at the top of Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
"Fortune Hunter" was originally co-written by Page and Chris Squire for the aborted XYZ project in 1981. Squire was not credited on The Firm's version and later said he would have sued for royalties if the album had been a hit, but since it failed he dropped the idea because he saw it as inappropriate at a time when he was receiving six-figure yearly income from the sales of 90125.
Track listing
| 1986 vinyl edition & 1986 Compact disc edition Side one |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Fortune Hunter" | Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers | 5:00 |
| 2. | "Cadillac" | Page, Rodgers | 5:57 |
| 3. | "All the King's Horses" | Rodgers | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Live in Peace" | Rodgers | 5:05 |
| Side two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Tear Down the Walls" | Page, Rodgers | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Dreaming" | Tony Franklin | 6:00 |
| 3. | "Free to Live" | Page, Rodgers | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Spirit of Love" | Rodgers | 5:06 |
Chart positions
Album
| Chart (1986) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard The 200 Albums Chart[3] | 22 |
| Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[4] | 37 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[5] | 43 |
| UK Albums Chart[6] | 46 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "All the King's Horses" | US Billboard Album Rock Tracks[7] | 1 |
| 1986 | "All the King's Horses" | US Billboard Hot 100[8] | 61 |
| 1986 | "All the King's Horses" | US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[9] | 67 |
| 1986 | "Live in Peace" | US Billboard Album Rock Tracks[10] | 21 |
Personnel
Band
- Paul Rodgers – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano, producer
- Jimmy Page – acoustic and electric guitars, producer
- Tony Franklin – bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizer
- Chris Slade – drums and percussion, backing vocals
Other
- Julian Mendelsohn – producer
- Aubrey Powell Productions – cover design
- Barry Diament – mastering
Additional notes
Recorded and mixed at The Sol Studios, Cookham, Berkshire, England.
Mastered at Atlantic Studios, New York City, United States.
Catalogue: Atlantic 781628-1
References
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Rolling Stone review
- ↑ "The Billboard 200 - 15 March 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
- ↑ "RPM Albums Chart - 29 March 1986". RPM. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
- ↑ "Top 60 Albums - 2 April 1986". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
- ↑ "Top 100 Albums - 5 April 1986". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ "Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks - 22 February 1986". billboard.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ "Hot 100 Chart - 22 March 1986". billboard.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ "Top 100 Singles - 22 March 1986". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ↑ "Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks - 5 April 1986". billboard.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2009.