The Real Thing (Lisa Stansfield song)


"The Real Thing" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1997 eponymous album. It was released as the first proper single from Lisa Stansfield in Europe, Australia and Japan on 10 March 1997, after "People Hold On".
The song is written by Stansfield and Ian Devaney, and produced by Devaney and Peter Mokran. An accompanying music video, directed by Michael Geoghegan, was also released. The CD single included remixes created by prominent US and UK producers: Mark Picchiotti, K-Klass and the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. "The Real Thing" reached number ten in Italy and number nine on the UK Singles Chart. In August 1997, it was featured on the Money Talks soundtrack. Later, it was included on The Remix Album and .
In 2014, remixes of "The Real Thing" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Lisa Stansfield. Additional remixes were featured on People Hold On... The Remix Anthology. The previously unreleased remix, Silk's Real House Thang was also included. All was included on The Collection 1989–2003.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from most music critics. Aftonbladet wrote that it is "a real hit". Irish Independent noted it as one of the "moments" of the Lisa Stansfield album, calling it as a "superb" single. People stated that Stansfield is "singing circles around the wah-wah-spiked melodies of "Never Gonna Fall" and "The Real Thing" without resorting to gut-busting theatrics." Press of Atlantic City said in their review, that she "shines" on "the horn-spiced" song. Natasha Stovall from Rolling Stone wrote that "the heat comes from Stansfield, who belts her heart out in a voice that's smooth and pliant when she's falling in love again."

Track listings

European CD single
  1. "The Real Thing" – 4:01
  2. "The Real Thing" – 3:56
Australian/European/Japanese/UK CD maxi-single
  1. "The Real Thing" – 4:01
  2. "The Real Thing" – 5:36
  3. "The Real Thing" – 7:10
  4. "People Hold On" – 8:08
Australian/UK CD maxi-single #2
  1. "The Real Thing" – 4:01
  2. "The Real Thing" – 3:56
  3. "The Real Thing" – 11:25
  4. "The Real Thing" – 9:48
  5. "The Real Thing" – 8:39
European/UK 12" single
  1. "The Real Thing" – 11:25
  2. "The Real Thing" – 8:39
  3. "The Real Thing" – 7:38
Japanese promotional CD single
  1. "The Real Thing" – 4:32
  2. "The Real Thing" – 4:48
  3. "The Real Thing" – 4:53
  4. "The Real Thing" – 4:01
UK promotional 12" single
  1. "The Real Thing"
  2. "The Real Thing"
  3. "The Real Thing"
UK promotional 12" single
  1. "The Real Thing" – 5:36
  2. "The Real Thing" – 6:27
Other remixes
  1. "The Real Thing" – 4:44
  2. "The Real Thing" – 9:45

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts