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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.
| Mean Business | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio albumby | ||||
| Released | 3 February 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 39:20 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers and Julian Mendelsohn | |||
| The Firm chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (unfavorable)[2] |
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"). However, perhaps due to the lukewarm-at-best critical and financial success which the band met, Page and Rodgers decided to disband The Firm within months of this album's release.[citation needed]
The album peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.[3] and at #46 on the UK Albums Chart. The single "All the King's Horses" spent four weeks at the top of Billboard'sMainstream 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.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Chart (1986) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard The 200 Albums Chart[3] | 22 |
| Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[4] | 37 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[5] | 43 |
| UK Albums Chart[6] | 46 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "All the King's Horses" | USBillboard Album Rock Tracks[7] | 1 |
| 1986 | "All the King's Horses" | USBillboard Hot 100[8] | 61 |
| 1986 | "All the King's Horses" | USCash Box Top 100 Singles[9] | 67 |
| 1986 | "Live in Peace" | USBillboard Album Rock Tracks[10] | 21 |