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
The Firm (1985) Mean Business (1986)

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 at half tempo compared to the original version, apart from the ending. Paul Rodgers has recently played a new version on his new compilation album Live in Peace.

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"). Following the album's release and a brief supporting tour, Page and Rodgers disbanded the Firm, believing that it had served its purpose. ^[3]

The album peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. ^[4] 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.^{[ citation needed ]}

"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.

Track listing

1986 vinyl edition & 1986 Compact disc edition
Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fortune Hunter"	Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers, Chris Squire (uncredited)	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

Personnel

Band

• Paul Rodgers – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano, producer
• Jimmy Page – acoustic and electric guitars, producer
• Tony Franklin – fretless bass, keyboards, synthesizer, rhythm guitar on "Dreaming", vocals
• Chris Slade – drums and percussion

Other

• Julian Mendelsohn – producer
• Aubrey Powell Productions – cover design
• Barry Diament – mastering

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [5]	37
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [6]	43
UK Albums (OCC) [7]	46
US Billboard 200 [8]	22

References

1. "Mean Business - The Firm | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 16 May 2021.
2. "The Firm: Mean Business : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". 9 February 2009. Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
3. Wall, Mick (11 February 2020). "The story of The Firm: the band that saved Jimmy Page". Louder. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
4. "The Billboard 200 - 15 March 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
5. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0651". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
6. "Mean Business". Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved 20 September 2024.
7. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
8. "Kenny Rogers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2024.