music.wikisort.org - Composition

"That's the Way Love Is" is a 1989 song by Chicago-based dance trio Ten City, released as a single from their debut album, Foundation (1989). It reached number eight in the UK and number eighteen in West Germany, and was also the group's highest charting single on both the Billboard R&B and dance charts in the US. "That's the Way Love Is" reached number twelve on the Hot R&B Singles chart,[1] and number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.[2] The single featured two main versions - on most releases, an acid house mix by Steve "Silk" Hurley (variously titled either "Deep House Mix" or "Acieeed Mix") was the A-side, while a string-led mix by Timmy Regisford, named the "Underground Mix", appeared on the B-side. Both mixes also had corresponding radio edits and dub versions

"That's the Way Love Is"
Single by Ten City
from the album Foundation
Released	1989
Genre	Dance house
Label	Atlantic
Lyricist(s)	Byron Burke Byron Stingily Herb Lawson
Producer(s)	Marshall Jefferson Ten City
Ten City singles chronology
"Funny Love" (1989) "That's the Way Love Is" (1989) "Devotion" (1989)
Music video
"That's the Way Love Is" on YouTube

Critical reception

Tim Jeffery from Record Mirror wrote, "The time has come. Ten City's 'That's The Way Love Is' is not just the latest club record to hit the charts, but a significant event that, along with their forthcoming album, 'Foundation', could turn out to be one of the major turning-points of dance music when the history books are written in years to come."[3] Another editor, Betty Page commented, "Deeeeeep house, we now discover, is really just soul music in disguise — but with that insistently brilliant house beat, of course. Ten City encapsulate this form of dance-with-feeling, and seem destined on this showing to be a Big Act rather than just a faceless name on a dance record. I particularly liked the gospel-meets-acid bits."[4]

Impact and legacy

Alex Henderson from AllMusic said it "aren't simply about the beat and the track, but also the rich vocals that would have sounded great even if Ten City had gone a cappella." He noted that "these guys enthusiastically recall the great soul/disco of the mid- to late 1970s and make no secret of their love of that era."[5]

In 1995, British DJ Graham Gold picked it as one of his favourite songs, saying, "I used to play this at Gullivers. The first time you ever hear Byron's voice you're sold – hook, line and sinker."[6]

In 1999, the Chicago alt rock-soul group Poi Dog Pondering covered the song on their album Natural Thing. The group proceeded to remix the song several more times on their That's the Way Love Is (Re-Mix EP), which featured remixes by Maurice Josusah, Mike Dunn, Lego, Jesse De La Pena and Bunky.[7]

In 2018, British magazine Mixmag included the song in their ranking of Vocal House: The 30 All-Time Biggest Anthems.[8] Tillie Wood wrote,

"The kind of track that grabs you and can instantly send your mood shooting to the stratosphere. Hearing this one dropped while walking into a club has had us wanting to backflip before we’ve even reached the dancefloor. The 1989 single from Chicago-based trio Ten City reached number 1 in the US Dance Music Play Chart. Featuring Marshall Jefferson on production, it's full of all the elements any vocal house anthem needs to make you feel alive on the dancefloor."

In 2022, American magazine Rolling Stone placed "That’s the Way Love Is" at number 165 in their list of 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time.[9]

Track listing

• 7" single, US (1989)

1. "That's the Way Love Is" (Acieed Mix/Edited Version) – 4:10
2. "That's the Way Love Is" (Underground Mix/Edited Version) – 4:12

• 12", US (1989)

1. "That's the Way Love Is" (Deep House Mix/Extended Version) – 6:44
2. "That's the Way Love Is" (Underground Mix/Extended Version) – 8:08

• 12", Europe (1989)

1. "That's the Way Love Is" (Acieed Mix/Extended Version) – 6:44
2. "That's the Way Love Is" (Underground Mix/Extended Version) – 8:08
3. "Devotion" (Radio Mix) – 4:00

Charts

Byron Stingily version

"That's the Way Love Is"
Single by Byron Stingily
Released	1999
Genre	House
Length	4:30
Label	Nervous Records

Ten years later, former Ten City lead singer Byron Stingily returned to the top of the dance chart with his own recording of the song.[20]

References

---