The Firm were a British rock supergroup comprising former Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, ex-Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann's Earth Band drummer Chris Slade and bass player Tony Franklin. Page and Rodgers originally wanted former Yes drummer Bill Bruford and fretless bassist Pino Palladino in the group; however, Bruford was contracted to another label and Palladino had tour commitments with singer Paul Young.
Both Page and Rodgers refused to play any material from their former bands and instead opted for a selection of Firm songs plus tracks from both their solo albums. The new songs were heavily infused with a soulful and more commercially-accessible sound, courtesy of Franklin's fretless bass guitar underpinning an understated song structure.
Despite refusing to play old material, the last track from The Firm, "Midnight Moonlight", was originally an unreleased Led Zeppelin song entitled "The Swan Song". This caused some critics to believe that Page had begun to run out of ideas. In subsequent press interviews, Page had indicated that the band were never meant to last more than two albums. After the band split, Page and Rodgers returned to solo work while Chris Slade joined AC/DC and Franklin teamed up with guitarist John Sykes in Blue Murder.
Repeating the same bluesy formula as the debut album, Mean Business did not achieve the same commercial success. One of the album's tracks "Live in Peace" was first recorded on Paul Rodgers' first solo album, 1983's Cut Loose. The differences between the two versions was that Chris Slade played the drums slower than the Cut Loose version except for the ending and Jimmy Page added a bluesy guitar solo at the end of the song.
The Firm (1985)
The Firm peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 chart, and reached #15 on the UK Album Chart. The song "Radioactive" topped Billboard's Top Rock Tracks chart for one week.
Tracklist:
01. Closer (Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers) - 2:52
02. Make Or Break (Rodgers) - 4:21
03. Someone To Love (Page, Rodgers) - 4:55
04. Together (Page, Rodgers) - 3:54
05. Radioactive (Rodgers) - 2:49
06. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling (Barry Mann, Phil Spector, Cynthia Weil) - 4:33
07. Money Can't Buy (Rodgers) - 3:35
08. Satisfaction Guaranteed (Page, Rodgers) - 4:07
09. Midnight Moonlight (Page, Rodgers) - 9:13
Mean Business (1986)
Mean Business peaked at #22 on the Billboard's Billboard 200 album chart and #46 on the UK Album Chart, and the single "All The King's Horses" spent four weeks at the top of Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Tracklist:
01. Fortune Hunter (Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers) - 5:00
02. Cadillac (Page, Rodgers) - 5:57
03. All The King's Horses (Rodgers) - 3:16
04. Live In Peace (Rodgers) - 5:05
05. Tear Down The Walls (Page, Rodgers) - 4:43
06. Dreaming (Tony Franklin) - 6:00
07. Free To Live (Page, Rodgers) - 4:13
08. Spirit Of Love (Rodgers) - 5:06
The Firm Personnel:
• Paul Rodgers - Vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, producer
• Jimmy Page - Acoustic and electric guitars, producer
• Tony Franklin - Bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals
• Chris Slade - Drums and percussion
