The Real Love Explained

The Real Love
Cover:	The Real Love Bob Seger cover.png
Type:	single
Artist:	Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Album:	The Fire Inside
B-Side:	"Roll Me Away" "The Mountain"
Length:	4:38 (album version) 3:43 (7-inch edit)
Label:	Captiol
Producer:	Don Was
Prev Title:	Take a Chance
Prev Year:	1991
Next Title:	The Fire Inside
Next Year:	1991

"The Real Love" is a song by American rock band Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. Frontman Bob Seger wrote the track for the band's sixth studio album, The Fire Inside (1991), and it was produced by Don Was. In Europe, "The Real Love" was released as the album's second single, while in the United States, where "Take a Chance" did not receive a commercial release, it served as the album's lead single.^[1] According to Seger, the song is about a man who searches for true love, with "simple" lyrics.^[2]

Released as a single in the United States in mid-1991, "The Real Love" gave Seger his 19th top-40 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 24 that October. In Canada, the song became a number-one hit the same month, topping the RPM 100 Hit Tracks ranking, and it also charted in Australia, Germany, and Switzerland. A music video was made to promote the song; it was filmed in Colorado and Utah and features 40 cast members, including previous Silver Bullet Band members.^{[2] [3]}

Reception

Upon the song's release, Dave Sholin of American trade publication Gavin Report gave "The Real Love" a positive review, calling it "real music" and stating that Bob Seger's music "never fails to touch the soul".^[4] Commercially, the song became Seger's 19th and final top-40 hit in the United States, peaking at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1991. It became a top-10 hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary and Album Rock Tracks charts, peaking at number four on both listings. In Canada, the single topped the RPM 100 Hit Tracks and 40AC (Adult Contemporary) rankings, ending the year as Canada's 23rd-most-successful single overall. In Europe, "The Real Love" charted in Germany, reaching number 51 for two nonconsecutive weeks in 1991, and in Switzerland, where it peaked at number 27 in January 1992; it is Seger's only charting song in the latter nation. The song also reached the top 100 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart, peaking at number 92 in late 1991.

Track listings

US 7-inch single^[5]

A. "The Real Love" – 4:38

B. "Roll Me Away" – 4:39

US and Canadian cassette single^[6]

1. "The Real Love" (edit)
2. "The Mountain" (LP version)

European CD single^[7]

1. "The Real Love" (LP version)
2. "Which Way"
3. "The Mountain"
4. "Hollywood Nights"

European and UK 7-inch single^{[8] [9]}

A. "The Real Love" (edit) – 3:43

B. "Which Way" – 3:57European and UK 12-inch single^{[10] [11]}

A1. "The Real Love" (LP version) – 4:38

B1. "Which Way" – 3:57

B2. "The Mountain" – 4:23

UK CD1 and cassette single^{[12] [13]}

1. "The Real Love" (edit)
2. "Which Way"
3. "The Mountain"
4. "Hollywood Nights"

UK CD2^[14]

1. "The Real Love"
2. "Even Now"
3. "We've Got Tonite"
4. "Nutbush City Limits"

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from The Fire Inside album booklet.^[15]

Studios

• Mixed at Conway Recording Studios (Hollywood, California)
• Engineered at Ocean Way Studios (Hollywood, California)
• Mastered at Capitol Recording Studios (Hollywood, California)

Personnel

• Bob Seger – writing, vocals, electric piano
• Mike Campbell – lead electric guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, Danelectro bass guitar
• Waddy Wachtel – acoustic rhythm guitar
• James "Hutch" Hutchinson – bass
• Craig Frost – organ
• Jamie Muhoberac – additional synthesizers
• Kenny Aronoff – drums
• James Newton Howard – Synclavier strings
• Don Was – production, mixing
• Don Smith – mixing
• Ed Cherney – engineering
• Marnie Riley – engineering assistance
• Dan Bosworth – engineering assistance
• Wally Traugott – mastering

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (1991)	Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[17]	23
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)^[18]	29
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[19]	49

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)
United States	1991		Capital
United Kingdom	September 23, 1991			^[20]
	October 7, 1991	CD2		^[21]

Notes and References

1. Cole Holds at No. 1, but Metallica's in Wings; Something Old, New in Albums List's Top 5. Grein. Paul. Billboard. 103. 34. 6. August 24, 1991.
2. Like a Rock'N'Roll Mainstay, Seger's Back, At Last. Graff. Gary. Gary Graff. Billboard. 103. 34. 26, 28. August 24, 1991.
3. Hear and There. Rene. Sheila. Gavin Report. 1869. 27. August 16, 1991.
4. Personal Picks: Singles. Sholin. Dave. Gavin Report. 1868. 52. August 9, 1991.
5. The Real Love. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. US 7-inch single vinyl disc. Capitol Records. NR-44761.
6. The Real Love. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. US & Canadian cassette single sleeve. Capitol Records. 4KM-44743.
7. The Real Love. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. European CD single liner notes. Capitol Records. CDP 560, 20 4435 2.
8. The Real Love. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. European 7-inch single vinyl disc. Capitol Records. 006-20 4435 7.
9. The Real Love. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. UK 7-inch single vinyl disc. Capitol Records. CL 628.
10. The Real Love. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. European 12-inch single vinyl disc. Capitol Records. 060-20 4435 6.
11. The Real Love. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. UK 12-inch single vinyl disc. Capitol Records. 12CL 628.
12. The Real Love. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. UK CD1 liner notes. Capitol Records. CDCL 628, 20 4435 2.
13. The Real Love. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. UK cassette single sleeve. Capitol Records. TCCL 628.
14. The Real Love. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. UK CD2 liner notes. Capitol Records. CDCLS 635.
15. The Fire Inside. The Fire Inside (Bob Seger album). Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. 1991. US CD album booklet. Capitol Records. CDP 7 91134 2.
16. Book: Ryan, Gavin. Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. 2011. Moonlight Publishing. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia.
17. RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. September 26, 2023.
18. RPM 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1991. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. September 26, 2023.
19. The Year in Music 1991: Top Adult Contemporary Singles. Billboard. 103. 51. YE-36. December 21, 1991.
20. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 21. September 21, 1991.
21. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 25. October 5, 1991.