Third Stage

{{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |Template:Short description|noreplace}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other Template:Category handler Template:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Don't Look Back1978Walk On1994studioThird StageBoston - Third Stage.jpgBostonSeptember 24, 19861980–1986Tom Scholz's Hideaway StudioTemplate:Hlist36:27MCA Tom Scholzx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}

Template:Album ratings

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was recorded at Boston co-founder Tom Scholz's Hideaway Studio over a long, strained, six-year period "between floods and power failures".<ref name="Third Stage">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> 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.<ref name=All/> The album itself was eventually certified 4× platinum by the RIAA.<ref name=Buchanan>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

DevelopmentEdit

After winning a legal battle with Epic Records, Scholz switched Boston to the MCA record label.<ref name=nytimes>Template:Cite news</ref> The album's first track, "Amanda", had been written in 1980 (when Boston began work on the album)<ref name=nytimes/> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 and Fran Sheehan (Sib Hashian played drums on three tracks and Sheehan was included in the early recording session and received a writing credit). Jim Masdea plays drums on most of the album. According to Masdea, "the first side, half of it or a little bit more, is all Sib. Then 'The Launch,' 'My Destination' – I played with Tom. And then the second side, that's pretty much all me." 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.

Track listingEdit

Template:Tracklist Template:Tracklist

PersonnelEdit

Adapted from Third Stage liner notes.<ref name="Third Stage"/>

Brad Delp – vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion
Tom Scholz – guitar, bass, grand piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, theater organ, drum editing, "guitar 'violin', rocket ignition, thunderstorms, unidentified flying objects"
Gary Pihl – co-lead guitar (8)
Jim Masdea – drums (3, 5–10)
Sib Hashian – drums (1, 2, 4)

ProductionEdit

Tom Scholz – producer, arrangements, engineer, liner notes
Gragg Lumsford – piano track engineer (9) at Blue Jay Studios (Carlisle, Massachusetts)
Augustine Antoine – technical support
Mike Blackmere – technical support
Bill Clack – technical support
Del Eilers – technical support
Neil Miller – technical support
Gary Pihl – technical support
Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York, NY)
John Salozzo – cover artwork
Chris Serra – cover concept sleeve drawing
Richard Ocean – photography
Ron Pownall – photography

ChartsEdit

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2

Weekly chartsEdit

Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart

Chart (1986–1987)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref name=aus>Template:Cite book</ref>	35
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)<ref name=FINI>Template:Cite book</ref>	30
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }} Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Boston".</ref>	24
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref name="JPN">Template:Cite book</ref>	8