Third Stage is the third studio album by Americanhard rock band Boston, released on September 23, 1986 on MCA Records. It was recorded at musician Tom Scholz's Hideaway Studio over a long, strained six-year period "between floods and power failures". Scholz and Brad Delp, the group's vocalist, were the only individuals that remained in the group from its original line-up. In terms of lyrics, the release invokes the themes of aging and working through differing 'stages' in one's life. Lead single "Amanda", the album's first track, became a number one hit and is one of the group's best known songs. The album itself was eventually certified 4x platinum by the RIAA.
Background and album creation
After winning a legal battle with Epic Records, Scholz switched his band's recording label to MCA. The album's first track, "Amanda", was actually written in 1980 and became the band's only #1 single. It reached and stayed at #1 for two weeks in November 1986. It was followed by the second Top 10 single from the album, "We're Ready", which reached #9. The singles "Cool the Engines" and "Can'tcha Say /Still in Love" also got substantial airplay, with the former reaching #4 on the BillboardMainstream Rock chart, and the latter peaking at #20 on the BillboardHot 100 in 1987. "Can'tcha Say" remains Boston's last Top 40 hit to date. After only three weeks on the chart, Third Stage went to #1 on the Billboard 200, where it stayed for four weeks. It was the first CD-formatted album to be certified gold by the RIAA. It was also certified gold in the LP format, making it what is believed to be the first album certified in both of these formats. In all, the album was certified 4x platinum. The album is the first Boston LP to feature electronic drum samples, the first to feature songs not written by either Scholz or Brad Delp, the first Boston LP without original members Barry Goudreau, Sib Hashian and Fran Sheehan. Drummer Jim Masdea plays drums on most of the album. This LP was also the first Boston recording to use the Scholz-invented Rockmanguitar processor. No orchestral sounds or synthesizers were used on the album. Critics have noted that the album has a much darker, more somber tone than Boston's previous work.
