Boston Reaches New Heights With ‘Third Stage’

Third Stage arrived at a point that could have been the end of Boston. Instead, this third studio effort became an entirely new beginning.

Rushed into releasing a follow-up to their breakout self-titled 1976 debut, band leader Tom Scholz was determined not to repeat the mistakes of 1978’s Don’t Look Back. When Third Stage ended up taking eight long years, however, Boston’s lineup began to fracture – and their frustrated label decided to sue.

“If I were a more ambitious person, I probably would have been upset about it,” the late Brad Delp later told Knight Ridder Newspapers. “As it turned out, my daughter was born in 1980, and that was a little while after we got off the Don’t Look Back tour. So, I got to spend a lot of time watching her grow up.”

Listen to Boston’s ‘We’re Ready’

Why Boston Struggled to Complete ‘Third Stage’

Third Stage eventually arrived on Sept. 23, 1986, but not before Boston’s long-time second guitarist Barry Goudreau, bassist Fran Sheehan and drummer Sib Hashian split. That left Scholz and frontman Delp to lead a reworked lineup, even while Scholz continued to fight the lawsuit filed by Epic Records’ parent company, CBS.

“Part of the whole trauma of going through that period is that I had to beat an injunction to release the album,” Scholz told Goldmine. “They tried to block the release of Third Stage. I had to beat the lawsuit to even see anything from it. I had run up incredible legal fees.”

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, Third Stage is shot through with darker, more adult themes not previously heard from Scholz, who once again handled almost all of the instrumentation and composing while serving as producer for the sessions. “It is about a lot more than adulthood,” Scholz said. “Adulthood is about being old enough to drink, have sex and get married. It is a different thing.

“I considered the next step when you are supposed to get a better car and buy a house, which isn’t really what’s important in life,” Scholz added. “The intent with the Third Stage message is when you cross over that point and really realize what is going on around you and that the rest of the inhabitants of the earth are what is important.”

Boston’s classic-era lineup had begun to splinter by the time ‘Third Stage’ arrived. (Watal Asanuma / Shinko Music, Getty Images)

‘Third Stage’ Breaks New Ground for Boston

“Amanda,” a track that Scholz had been working on as early as 1980, emerged as Boston’s first and only chart-topping single. “We’re Ready” (No. 9) and “Can’tcha Say (You Believe in Me)/Still in Love” (No. 20) also reached the Billboard Top 40. Third Stage then became Boston’s second (and final) No. 1 album, going four-times platinum along the way.

Boston suddenly had plenty of momentum for a supporting tour, which then set the stage for their next era. Scholz returned to the road with bassist David Sikes, drummer Doug Huffman and second guitarist Gary Phil, forming a backing lineup that remained solidly in place well into the ’90s.

“We turned a corner for performing at that point,” Scholz told Goldmine. “It was the start of being technically really good live, as opposed to being really good in the studio. I don’t want to take anything away from the guys who played in the ’70s – they are all very good musicians – but it was a different time. You basically plugged in your amp and wailed away.”

Listen to Boston’s ‘Amanda’

How Boston Moved Forward After ‘Third Stage’

Pihl joined after a lengthy stint with Sammy Hagar that included opening for Boston. When Hagar got the call to join Van Halen, Scholz immediately reached out to Pihl.

“Hey, I heard you’re out of a gig,” Pihl remembered Scholz saying in a subsequent interview with the Chicago Tribune. “Why don’t you come back here and help me finish the Third Stage album?”

READ MORE: Remembering Original Boston Frontman Brad Delp

There was only one song left to complete: “I Think I Like It,” now featuring Pihl. “Our last show with Sammy was Farm Aid 1 down in Champaign,” Pihl added. “I flew directly from Champaign back to Boston to start working with Tom. So, I wasn’t out of work for a day. How lucky can a guy get?”

Scholz continued with Pihl even past the departure and subsequent death of classic-era frontman Brad Delp in 2007. Boston’s most recent studio album remains 2013’s Life Love and Hope. Delp’s successor Tommy DeCarlo died in 2026.