- Mean Business
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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]Mean Business is a studio album by The Firm, released by Atlantic Records on 3 February 1986. Repeating the same bluesy formula as the debut album, 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, 1983's Cut Loose. The differences between the two versions was that Chris Slade played the drums slower than the Cut Loose version except for 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 with which the band met, Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers decided to disband The Firm within months of this album's release.
The album peaked at #22 on the Billboard's Billboard 200 album chart and #46 on the UK Album Chart, and 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 stated 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 he was receiving six-figure yearly income from the sales of 90125.
Contents
Track listing
1986 vinyl edition
Side oneNo. 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 1986 Compact disc edition
Same track listing and order as the vinyl release.Chart positions
Album
Chart (1986) Peak Position US Billboard The 200 Albums Chart[2] 22 Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[3] 37 Swedish Albums Chart[4] 43 UK Albums Chart[5] 46 Singles
Year Single Chart Position 1986 "All the King's Horses" US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart[6] 1 1986 "All the King's Horses" US Billboard The Billboard Hot 100 Chart[7] 61 1986 "All the King's Horses" US Cash Box Top 100 Singles Chart[8] 67 1986 "Live in Peace" US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart[9] 21 Personnel
Band
- Paul Rodgers - Vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, 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, United States.
Catalogue: Atlantic 781628-1
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ "The Billboard 200 - 15 March 1986". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=305&cfgn=Albums&cfn=The+Billboard+200&ci=3004916&cdi=6225985&cid=03%2F15%2F1986. Retrieved 2009-01-17.[dead link]
- ^ "RPM Albums Chart - 29 March 1986". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0651&volume=44&issue=1&issue_dt=March%2029%201986&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=hrg50o22lgammqcogv27ve6d95. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ^ "Top 60 Albums - 2 April 1986". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Firm&titel=Mean+Business&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ^ "Top 100 Albums - 5 April 1986". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=2510. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ "Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks - 22 February 1986". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=376&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Mainstream+Rock+Tracks&ci=3004851&cdi=6221701&cid=02%2F22%2F1986. Retrieved 2009-01-19.[dead link]
- ^ "Hot 100 Chart - 22 March 1986". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=379&cfgn=Singles&cfn=The+Billboard+Hot+100&ci=3004908&cdi=6225347&cid=03%2F22%2F1986. Retrieved 2009-01-19.[dead link]
- ^ "Top 100 Singles - 22 March 1986". cashboxmagazine.com. http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19860322.html. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ "Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks - 5 April 1986". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=376&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Mainstream+Rock+Tracks&ci=3004970&cdi=6229183&cid=04%2F05%2F1986. Retrieved 2009-01-15.[dead link]
Studio albums The Firm · Mean BusinessFilms and DVDs The Firm Live at Hammersmith 1984 · Five from The FirmSingles "Radioactive" · "Satisfaction Guaranteed" · "All the King's Horses" · "Live in Peace"Categories:- The Firm albums
- 1986 albums
- Albums produced by Jimmy Page
- Atlantic Records albums
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