Real Thing Shakes

Real Thing Shakes
Single by B'z
Released	May 15, 1996
Promotions	#1 ("Oretachi ni Ki wo Tsukero" TV Drama Theme)
Length	4:12
Label	Vermillion Records
Producer	Andy Johns
B'z singles chronology
"Mienai Chikara ~INVISIBLE ONE~/MOVE" (1996) "Real Thing Shakes" (1996) "FIREBALL" (1997)

Real Thing Shakes is the twentieth single by B'z, released on May 15, 1996. The single is notable for many reasons, the chief of which being that it remains the only English single B'z has released and is also the band's only one-track single. Upon release, the single was a massive success for the band with sales in excess of 600,000 copies in its first week on shelves. Additionally, the release also set a record for being the first English single by a Japanese artist to sell one million copies and, in doing so, secured the record for thirteen consecutive one-million selling releases. As of 2012, the record remains unbroken.

The release offered other firsts for B'z, with the cover being the first in which the band members were not pictured and also became the only B'z song to date not produced by Tak Matsumoto himself. Production duties instead went to famed Led Zeppelin producer Andy Johns. This served as only one of many occasions in which B'z has collaborated with Western engineers and musicians.

"Real Thing Shakes" has only been collected on a Japanese-released B'z album on one occasion: 1998's fan-selected compilation, B'z The Best "Treasure", where it finished in 10th place. In 2008, the song narrowly missed being included on the band's 20th anniversary collection B'z The Best "ULTRA Treasure" when it finished 36th in the voting. In 2002, in order to promote the B'z and Aerosmith appearance at the 2002 FIFA World Cup International Day hosted jointly by Japan and South Korea, B'z released a mini-album exclusively in Korea titled DEVIL that contained "Real Thing Shakes" as well as four other English tracks.

The song was again given an international release when it was released in the United States on a compilation chosen by Japanese Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka entitled Music from the Mound.

At the time of recording, English renditions of "FUSHIDARA 100%" and "WILD ROAD" were also produced, but were scrapped by the band for not being up to their expected standard.

Track listing

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B'z performing "Real Thing Shakes" from B'z Live in Namba in 2006, ten years after the single's original release. The song proved especially popular at live events and has served as a hard rock staple in a number of LIVE-GYM setlists over the years.

1. Real Thing Shakes

   Voted to 10th place by fans. Originally released as a single in 1996, the song is the only B'z single in their catalogue to be entirely in English and is also their only one-track single after Tak deemed one song as enough due to the power of the track. This marked the first and last time that the song would be included on a Japanese-released B'z album. The song was first performed live as the opening to B'z LIVE-GYM '96 "Spirit LOOSE", with a performance from the tour having been released on B'z LIVE-GYM Hidden Pleasure ~Typhoon No.20~. The English song proved extremely popular with fans—enough so to be included in a number of live setlists to follow, in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2006.

Personnel

B'z

• Tak Matsumoto: Guitar, Music Composition, Arrangement
• Koshi Inaba: Vocals, Lyric Composition, Arrangement

Drums

• Gregg Bissonette

Bass

• Tony Franklin

Keyboards

• Joseph Michael Szeibert