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Real Things (2 Unlimited album)

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Real Things
Studio album by
Released6 June 1994
Recorded1994
Genre
Length57:20
LabelByte Records (Sony / PWL) BYTE 103-9
ProducerJean-Paul de Coster (exec. prod.), Phil Wilde, et al.
2 Unlimited chronology
No Limits!
(1993)
Real Things
(1994)
Hits Unlimited
(1995)
Alternative cover
UK cover
Singles from Real Things
  1. "The Real Thing"
    Released: May 9, 1994 (UK)
  2. "No One"
    Released: September 19, 1994 (UK)
  3. "Here I Go"
    Released: March 13, 1995 (UK)
  4. "Nothing Like the Rain"
    Released: June 10, 1995 (No UK release)

Real Things is the third album by Belgian/Dutch Eurodance act 2 Unlimited, released in 1994.[1] It was the band's second number one album in the UK and despite spending just nine weeks in the UK Albums Chart Top 75, it was certified gold there[2] and platinum in The Netherlands.[3] "The Real Thing", "Here I Go", "No One" and "Nothing Like the Rain" were released as singles. Unlike their previous album, Ray Slijngaard's raps on the verses were not cut for the UK release.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
NME8/10[5]
Pop Rescue(favorable)[6]
Select[7]
Smash Hits[8]

Generally, the music press were kinder to this album than previous album No Limits!. Beau Quantick from NME gave it eight out of ten.[5] Tim Marsh from Select noted that "The Real Thing" "has a funky key riff", while "Sensuality" and "Something Wild" "explore darker sounds."[7] Smash Hits' Mark Sutherland stated that "every song is a potential top 10 record" and that "for techno [...] mayhem, you can't beat Real Things".[9]

Track listing

[edit]
  1. "The Real Thing" – 3:40
  2. "Do What I Like" – 4:07
  3. "Here I Go" – 5:10
  4. "Burning Like Fire" – 4:54
  5. "Info Superhighway" – 4:35
  6. "Hypnotised" – 4:22
  7. "Tuning Into Something Wild" – 4:05
  8. "Escape In Music" – 3:52
  9. "Sensuality" – 4:27
  10. "No One" – 3:25
  11. "Face To Face" – 4:03
  12. "What's Mine Is Mine" – 4:57
  13. "Nothing Like the Rain" – 4:39

Personnel

[edit]

Adapted from AllMusic.[10]

  • 2 Unlimited – primary artist
  • Peter Bauwens – arranger, producer, vocal arrangement
  • Peter Bulkens – mixing
  • Jean-Paul DeCoster – arranger, executive producer, producer
  • Andy Janssens – remixing
  • Phil Wilde – arranger, composer, engineer, producer

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Real Things
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 18
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 19
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 1

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil 50,000[20]
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[21] Gold 36,700[21]
France (SNEP)[22] 2× Gold 200,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[23] Gold 100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[24] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[25] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Gold 100,000^
Summaries
Worldwide 1,700,000[27]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "AllMusic: 2 Unlimited (Biography)". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
  2. ^ BPI.co.uk Certification Real Things Accessed November 4, 2006
  3. ^ NVPI.nl Dutch certification database Accessed November 4, 2006
  4. ^ AllMusic review
  5. ^ a b Quantick, Beau (11 June 1994). "Long Play". NME. p. 33. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Review: "Real Things" by 2 Unlimited (CD, 1994)". Pop Rescue. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  7. ^ a b Marsh, Tim (1 August 1994). "New Albums: Soundbites". Select. p. 89. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  8. ^ The review in Smash Hits in 1994.
  9. ^ The Smash Hits review in 1994
  10. ^ "Real Things - 2 Unlimited - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  11. ^ "Australiancharts.com – 2 Unlimited – Real Things". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – 2 Unlimited – Real Things" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – 2 Unlimited – Real Things" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – 2 Unlimited – Real Things" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Charts.nz – 2 Unlimited – Real Things". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – 2 Unlimited – Real Things". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – 2 Unlimited – Real Things". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – 2 Unlimited – Real Things". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  20. ^ "The Search For Skank". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 10 December 1994. p. 64. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  21. ^ a b "2 Unlimited" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  22. ^ "French album certifications – 2 Unlimited – Real Thing" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 16 February 2021. Select 2 UNLIMITED and click OK. 
  23. ^ "Japanese album certifications – 2 Unlimited – Real Thing" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 16 February 2021. Select 1993年12月 on the drop-down menu
  24. ^ "Dutch album certifications – 2 Unlimited – Real thing" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 February 2021. Enter Real thing in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1994 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  25. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Real Thing')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  26. ^ "British album certifications – 2 Unlimited – Real Thing". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Hits Unlimited". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 10. 13 March 1996. p. 29. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 16 February 2021 – via Google Books.