Released September 26, 1986
Recorded 1986 Tom Scholz' Hideaway Studio
Length 36:40
Label MCA
Catalog MCAD-6188
Producer Tom Scholz
RIAA Certified 4 Million Copies

Third Stage is the third album by hard rock band Boston released September 26, 1986 on MCA Records. The album was recorded at Tom Scholz' Hideaway Studio over a three-year period "between floods and power failures".

After winning a legal battle with Epic Records, Scholz switched their recording label to MCA. The first track on this album, "Amanda", actually written in 1980, became the band's only #1 single. The track reached and stayed at #1 for two weeks in November 1986.

The album was a first, in many respects: the first Boston LP to feature electronic drum samples, the first to feature songs not written by either Scholz or Delp and the first Boston LP without the three original members Barry Goudreau, Sib Hashian and Fran Sheehan. This LP was also the first Boston recording to use the Scholz-invented Rockman guitar processor.

Personnel

Brad Delp - vocals, harmony vocals
Tom Scholz - guitars, organs, drums
Jim Masdea - drums, percussion
Gary Phil - guitar

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

1987 Billboard Top 200 #3

No orchestral sounds or synthesizers were used in the album.