Third Stage | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 24, 1986 | |||
Recorded | 1980–1986 | |||
Studio | Tom Scholz's Hideaway Studio | |||
Genre | Hard rock | |||
Length | 36:27 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Producer | Tom Scholz | |||
Boston chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Third Stage | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C [3] |
Kerrang! | [4] |
Third Stage is the third studio album by the American rock band Boston, released on September 24, 1986, on MCA Records, as the band's first album on the label. [5] It was recorded at Boston co-founder Tom Scholz's Hideaway Studio over a long, strained, six-year period "between floods and power failures". [6] Scholz and vocalist Brad Delp were the only original members. The lyrics invoke themes of aging and working through stages in life. The first track and lead single, "Amanda", became a number one hit and one of the group's best known songs. [2] The album itself was eventually certified 4× platinum by the RIAA. [7]
After winning a legal battle with Epic Records, Scholz switched Boston to the MCA record label. [8] The album's first track, "Amanda", had been written in 1980 (when Boston began work on the album) [8] and became the band's only #1 single. It reached #1 for two weeks in November 1986. The second Top 10 single, "We're Ready", reached #9. The singles "Cool the Engines" and "Can'tcha Say (You Believe in Me)/Still in Love" also got substantial airplay, with the former reaching #4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and the latter peaking at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. "Can'tcha Say" remains Boston's last Top 40 hit.
After only three weeks on the chart, Third Stage reached #1 on the Billboard 200 for four weeks. [9] It is the first CD-formatted album to have been certified gold (500,000 copies) by the RIAA. It was also certified gold in the LP format, believed to be the first album certified in both of these formats. In all, the album was certified 4× platinum.
It is the first Boston LP with electronic drum samples, the first to include songs not written by either Scholz or Brad Delp, the first Boston LP without original members Barry Goudreau, Sib Hashian and Fran Sheehan (though Hashian played drums on four tracks and Sheehan was included in the early recording session and received a writing credit). Jim Masdea plays drums on most of the album. It is the first Boston recording to use the Rockman guitar processor, invented by Scholz. No orchestral sounds or synthesizers are on the album. Critics have noted that the album has a darker, more somber tone than Boston's previous work.
All tracks are written by Tom Scholz, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Amanda" | 4:16 | |
2. | "We're Ready" | 3:58 | |
3. | "The Launch" a) "Countdown" b) "Ignition" c) "Third Stage Separation" | 2:55 | |
4. | "Cool the Engines" | 4:24 | |
5. | "My Destination" | 2:19 | |
Total length: | 17:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "A New World" (instrumental) | Jim Masdea | 0:37 |
7. | "To Be a Man" | 3:30 | |
8. | "I Think I Like It" |
| 4:06 |
9. | "Can'tcha Say (You Believe in Me)/Still in Love" (Track length misprinted as 7:14 on CD releases) |
| 5:13 |
10. | "Hollyann" | 5:09 | |
Total length: | 18:35 |
Adapted from Third Stage liner notes. [6]
Chart (1986-1987) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [10] | 35 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [11] | 1 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [12] | 15 |
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) [13] | 30 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [14] | 25 |
Italian Albums ( Musica e Dischi ) [15] | 24 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [16] | 8 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [17] | 23 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [18] | 13 |
UK Albums (OCC) [19] | 37 |
US Billboard 200 [20] | 1 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [21] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [22] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Boston is an American rock band formed in 1975 by Tom Scholz in Boston, Massachusetts, that experienced significant commercial success during the 1970s and 1980s. The band's core members include multi-instrumentalist, founder and leader Scholz, who played the majority of instruments on the band's 1976 self-titled debut album, and former lead vocalist Brad Delp, among a number of other musicians who varied from album to album.
Boston is the debut studio album by American rock band Boston, released on August 25, 1976, by Epic Records. It was produced by band guitarist Tom Scholz and John Boylan. A multi-instrumentalist and engineer who had been involved in the Boston music scene since the late 1960s, Scholz started to write and record demos in his apartment basement with singer Brad Delp, but received numerous rejections from major record labels. The demo tape fell into the hands of CBS-owned Epic, who signed the band in 1975.
Don't Look Back is the second studio album by American rock band Boston, released in 1978 by Epic Records, as the band's last album on the label. The album reached No. 1 in both the US and Canada, and No. 9 in the UK. The title track helped with the album's success, reaching No. 4 in 1978 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and remains one of the band's biggest hits. The album sold over one million copies in the ten days following its release and was certified 7× platinum by the RIAA in the US on April 11, 1996.
Walk On is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Boston, released on June 7, 1994, by MCA Records. It is the band’s only album to date not to feature vocalist Brad Delp, though he did assist as a songwriter. Vocal duties were handled by Fran Cosmo, making this his first appearance on a Boston album. Delp and Cosmo shared leads during the album's supporting tour and the album’s follow-up Corporate America. It is Boston's final album to be released by MCA.
Corporate America is the fifth studio album by American hard rock band Boston, released in 2002. It is the first album to feature band members Anton Cosmo and Kimberley Dahme, the last album released in vocalist Brad Delp's lifetime, the second and final album with vocalist Fran Cosmo, and the only album released by Artemis Records.
"More Than a Feeling" is a song by the American rock band Boston, released as the lead single and the opening track from the band's 1976 debut album by Epic Records in September 1976, with "Smokin'" as the B-side. Tom Scholz wrote the entire song. The single entered the US Billboard Hot 100 on September 18 and peaked at number five. The track is now a staple of classic rock radio, and in 2008, it was named the 39th-best hard rock song of all time by VH1. It was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll" and is ranked number 212 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", updated from its previous position of number 500 on the 2004 version.
Bradley Edward Delp was an American-Canadian musician who was the original lead singer and frontman of the rock band Boston. He joined the band in 1970 and appeared on every album except Walk On (1994) and also participated in every tour prior to his death in 2007. Delp was known for his "unique and soulful singing and the vocal range of his 'golden' voice". ILoveClassicRock.com described Delp's tenor voice as "flawless" and "effortless", and ranked Delp third on its list of the top 10 male classic rock vocalists.
Greatest Hits is the only compilation album by American rock band Boston. Released on June 3, 1997, the album features songs originally released on both the Epic and MCA record labels, as well as three previously unreleased recordings. Tom Scholz, the band's leader, felt that the album's audio quality was not up to his standards, so a remastered version of the album was released in 2009 with a slightly different track listing. Boston embarked on a tour for this album both times it was released.
"Peace of Mind" is a song by American rock band Boston, written by Tom Scholz. It was on their 1976 self-titled debut, and was released the next year as the third and final single from the album. It peaked at number 38 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1977, as well as number 33 on the Cash Box Top 100. It received substantial radio airplay, both upon the initial release of the Boston album and subsequently, and has been described as a "rock-radio staple".
"Foreplay/Long Time" is a song by American rock band Boston, written by Tom Scholz. It appears on their 1976 self-titled debut album and is their second single for Epic Records. The song combines an instrumental introduction, "Foreplay", with the main song "Long Time", generally played as one on the radio and listed as one track on the album. "Long Time" peaked at No. 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 the week ending March 5, 1977. It reached the Top 10 in Canada, peaking at No. 9. The standalone "Foreplay" was released as the B-side of Boston's next single "Peace of Mind", which was released in April.
"Don't Look Back" is a song by American rock band Boston, written by main songwriter, guitarist and bandleader Tom Scholz. It was released as the title track and first single from their second studio album, Don't Look Back (1978). It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the band's biggest hits.
Barry Goudreau is an American musician. He was one of two original guitarists for the rock band Boston alongside founder Tom Scholz; both Scholz and Goudreau shared lead and rhythm guitar parts.
Donald Thomas Scholz is an American musician. He is the founder, main songwriter, primary guitarist, keyboardist and only remaining original member of the rock band Boston. He has appeared on every Boston release. Scholz, a multi-instrumentalist, plays guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums.
Street Machine is the fourth studio album by American rock vocalist Sammy Hagar, released in 1979 by Capitol Records. The album peaked at number 71 on the Billboard 200 album charts on October 20, 1979.
John Thomas "Sib" Hashian was an American musician, best known as a drummer for the rock band Boston.
"A Man I'll Never Be" is a song written by Tom Scholz, released in 1978 on Boston's second album Don't Look Back. It was also released as a single and reached No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending five weeks on the chart. It also reached No. 27 in Canada.
"We're Ready" is a song by American rock band Boston written by founder, lead guitarist and primary songwriter Tom Scholz. It was first released on the band's third studio album Third Stage (1986).
"Cool the Engines" is a song written by Tom Scholz, Brad Delp and Fran Sheehan that was originally released on Boston's 1986 album Third Stage. In the US it was also released as a 12" promotional single backed with another song from Third Stage, "The Launch," and as the B-side to the third commercially released single from the album, "Can'tcha Say /Still in Love." It reached #4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Billboard also rated it as the #25 Top Rock Track of 1987. It was also included on Boston's 1997 compilation album Greatest Hits.
Life, Love & Hope is the sixth studio album by American rock band Boston, released on December 3, 2013, by Frontiers Records, making it their first studio album in eleven years. It is the first album released following the death of Brad Delp in 2007, whose vocals are posthumously featured on the songs "Didn't Mean to Fall in Love", "Sail Away", "Someone", and "Te Quiero Mia", the last of which being a rearrangement of "I Had a Good Time", from Corporate America.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)