Real Things | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 6 June 1994 | |||
Recorded | 1994 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 57:20 | |||
Label | Byte Records (Sony / PWL) BYTE 103-9 | |||
Producer | Jean-Paul de Coster (exec. prod.), Phil Wilde, et al. | |||
2 Unlimited chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from Real Things | ||||
|
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.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
NME | 8/10 [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]
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 |
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. |
"The Real Slim Shady" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his third album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000). It was released as the lead single a month before the album's release.
Smash is the third studio album by American rock band the Offspring,released on April 8,1994,through Epitaph Records. After touring in support of their previous album Ignition (1992),the band recorded their next album for nearly two months at Track Record in North Hollywood,California. Smash was the band's final studio album to be produced by Thom Wilson,who had worked with them since their 1989 debut album The Offspring. Smash was put together on the spot in the studio and there was no systematic work behind the recording of the album.
Ixnay on the Hombre is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Offspring,released on February 4,1997,by Columbia Records,as the band's first album on the label. After the massive commercial success of their previous album,Smash (1994),the band entered the studio in the middle of 1996 to record a new album. The title combines Pig Latin and Spanish to convey the message "fuck The Man",as in "fuck authority".
No Need to Argue is the second studio album by Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries,released on 3 October 1994 through Island Records. It is the band's best-selling album,and has sold 17 million copies worldwide as of 2014. It contains one of the band's most well-known songs,"Zombie". The album's mood is considered to be darker and harsher than that on the band's debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It,So Why Can't We?,released a year prior.
2 Unlimited are a Belgian-Dutch dance music act,founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp,Belgium. From 1991 to 1996,Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the act. During these five years,2 Unlimited enjoyed worldwide mainstream success. They scored a total of sixteen international chart hits,including "Get Ready for This","Twilight Zone","No Limit",and "Tribal Dance". The act has sold eighteen million records worldwide. Although they enjoyed less mainstream recognition in the United States than in Europe,several of their tracks became popular themes in American sporting series,mainly in the NBA and NHL.
Unplugged is a 1992 live album by Eric Clapton,recorded at Bray Studios,England in front of an audience for the MTV Unplugged television series. It includes a version of the successful 1992 single "Tears in Heaven" and an acoustic version of "Layla". The album itself won three Grammy awards at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in 1993 and became the bestselling live album of all time,and Clapton's bestselling album,selling 26 million copies worldwide.
Greatest Hits II is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen,released on 28 October 1991. The album consisted of Queen's biggest hits between 1981 and 1991,from the UK chart-topper "Under Pressure" to "The Show Must Go On".
The Very Best of the Bee Gees is a greatest hits album by British/Australian pop group the Bee Gees. It was originally released in November 1990 by Polydor Records,around the time as the Tales from the Brothers Gibb box set. The album was primarily aimed at the European market,as shown by the exclusion of the US hits "Holiday","I Started a Joke","Lonely Days","How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" and "Fanny ".
Love Sensuality Devotion:The Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by the German musical project Enigma,released on 8 October 2001 by Virgin Records. The album,along with Love Sensuality Devotion:The Remix Collection brings a close to Michael Cretu's first chapter of Enigma.
So Far So Good is a compilation album by Canadian rock musician Bryan Adams,released by A&M Records in November 1993. The album reached number six on the Billboard 200 in 1994 and was a number one hit in the United Kingdom and many other countries.
The Ultimate Collection,aka Gold and,later,Icon 2,is a retrospective 2-disc set of Barry White's career that was released in 2000. In 2008,it was substantially re-released as part of Universal Music's Gold series with the addition of the song "Baby,We Better Try To Get It Together" and the removal of the song "Love Makin' Music".
The Ultimate Experience is a 1992 compilation album of songs by American musician Jimi Hendrix. It includes 20 tracks spanning his career. The album was among the last to be supervised by interim producer Alan Douglas,before the Hendrix family regained control of his recording legacy. It has gone out-of-print and,in 1997,was replaced by the 20 track compilation Experience Hendrix:The Best of Jimi Hendrix.
No Limits,sometimes No Limits!,is the second studio album by Belgian/Dutch Eurodance band 2 Unlimited,released in May 1993. The album yielded five singles,including "No Limit",which reached number one in many European charts. The album went platinum in several countries. It was fronted by Ray Slijngaard performing the main rap and Anita Dels providing the chorus.
"The Real Thing" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch Eurodance band 2 Unlimited,released in May 1994 by Byte,Zyx and PWL as the first single from their third album,Real Things (1994). The song is co-written by band members Ray Slijngaard and Anita Dels,and scored chart success in many European countries. It topped the charts in Finland,Lithuania and the Netherlands,while peaking at number two in Denmark,Sweden,Belgium and Switzerland. The song also was a top-10 hit in Austria,France,Germany,Norway,Scotland,Spain and the UK. It entered the Eurochart Hot 100 on 28 May at 30 and peaked at number-one three weeks later. Outside Europe,it peaked at number two in Israel and number 39 in Australia. The music video was directed by Nigel Simpkiss,and received heavy rotation on music television channels,such as MTV Europe and VIVA.
"Nothing Like the Rain" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch Eurodance band 2 Unlimited. It was released on 10 June 1995 by Byte,Zyx and Radikal Records as the fourth and final single from their third album,Real Things (1994). The song was written by co-producers Phil Wilde and Peter Bauwens with Michael Leahy. In the US,it was released as a double a-side single with the European hit single "Here I Go". It peaked within the top 20 in at least four countries,and was also the first single by 2 Unlimited that was a pop-ballad. The single was not released in the UK. Its music video was directed by Nigel Simpkiss,who had previously directed several videos for the band.
Hits Unlimited is the fourth album from Dutch/Belgian band 2 Unlimited and the last to feature Ray Slijngaard and Anita Doth. It was a greatest hits package featuring 16 songs:13 previous singles and 3 new ones. The album,released by PWL,was certified gold in the Netherlands. Ray Slijngaard's raps on the verses were not cut on any of the songs on the UK release of this album.
This is the discography of the German musical project Enigma.
Everything Changes is the second studio album by English boy band Take That. It reached number one in the UK Albums Chart,and was nominated for the 1994 Mercury Prize. It was also the third best-selling album of 1993 in the UK.
Up is the debut album by English pop group Right Said Fred,released in 1992 on Charisma Records and Tug Recordings. The album contains the group's only United States Top 40 hit,"I'm Too Sexy",which was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in February 1992,and their only UK number-one hit "Deeply Dippy",which stayed in that position for three weeks from April to May 1992.
This is the discography of 2 Unlimited,a Eurodance project founded in 1991 by Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde and fronted by Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth. With global sales of over 18 million units,2 Unlimited is one of the biggest selling groups from the Netherlands and Belgium.