''Branigan 2'' is the second studio album by American singer

Laura Branigan Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single " Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for ...

, released in March 1983 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. The album reached number 29 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) on September 18, 1985, denoting shipments in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States. In a retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Bryan Buss wrote that Branigan's "full, expressive voice shows serious growth" on "a much more cohesive collection" than her debut album, '' Branigan'', adding that "this album doesn't waste a single track". Three singles were released from the album. The lead single, "

Solitaire Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...

", is a cover version of a 1981 French-language song of the same name by French singer

Martine Clémenceau Martine Clémenceau (born 18 March 1949) is a French singer. She won the Yamaha Music Festival in 1971 with the song ''A jour l’amour''. Then, she represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 with '' Sans toi'', taking the 15th p ...

, with English lyrics written by

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

. The single was a commercial success, peaking at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The second single, "

How Am I Supposed to Live Without You "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is a song written in 1982 by Doug James and Michael Bolton. The ballad has been recorded by many artists around the world, in several languages, most notably Bolton himself, becoming something of a modern p ...

", was co-written by

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

. It reached number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart for three weeks. AllMusic viewed Branigan's version as "far superior" to Bolton's own commercially successful cover from 1989, stating it is "simpler, prettier, and shows shades of emotion at which Bolton could only hint". ''Branigan 2'' also includes a cover of

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's " Squeeze Box" (1975), as well as " Deep in the Dark", a newly written song to the music of Falco's " Der Kommissar" (1981). "Deep in the Dark" was released in the United Kingdom as the album's third and final single. The song "Find Me" was used as the love theme of the 1983

Robert Hays Robert Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor, known for a variety of television and film roles since the 1970s. He came to prominence around 1980, co-starring in the two-season domestic sitcom '' Angie'', and playing the central role of ...

film '' Touched''.

Track listing

Notes

* signifies original lyrics * signifies English lyrics * signifies original music

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Branigan 2''.

Musicians

– all vocals * Robbie Buchanan – arrangements, synthesizers, keyboards *

Carlos Vega Carlos Vega (December 7, 1956 – April 7, 1998) was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to ...

– drums *

Doane Perry Doane Ethredge Perry (born June 16, 1954) is an American musician, composer and author. From 1984 to 2011 he was drummer and percussionist with the band Jethro Tull and has also appeared on hundreds of recordings spanning multiple genres on re ...

– drums *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

– guitars *

Marty Walsh Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021. A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, ...

– additional guitar on "Deep in the Dark" * Dennis Belfield – bass *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthesi ...

– synthesizers *

Lenny Castro Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * ''L ...

– percussion * Jon Joyce – background vocals *

Jim Haas James Edwin Haas was an American singer who performed vocals for many artists including Andy Williams, Neil Diamond, Jackson Browne, David Cassidy, Leif Garrett, Pink Floyd, and Barry Manilow. Leif Garrett, after Haas' death, explained that in ...

– background vocals *

Joe Pizzulo Joe Pizzulo is an American vocalist best known as one of the lead singers on 1980s hit singles credited to Sérgio Mendes, including " Never Gonna Let You Go" (from Mendes' self-titled 1983 album) and "Alibis" (from the 1984 album ''Confetti''). ...

– background vocals * Eddie Hawkins – additional background vocals on "Deep in the Dark" and "Lucky" *

Joe Esposito Joe Esposito may refer to: *Joe Esposito (author) (1938–2016), American author and publisher *Joe Esposito (singer) (born 1948), member of the Brooklyn Dreams *Joe Esposito (politician) (1872–1928), American corrupt politician *Joe Esposito (ba ...

– additional background vocals on "Deep in the Dark" * Gene Morford – additional background vocals on "Squeeze Box"

Technical

* Jürgen Koppers – engineering, mixing * John Kovorek – engineering assistance * Jon Van Nest – engineering assistance *

David Shire David Lee Shire (born July 3, 1937) is an American songwriter and composer of stage Musical theater, musicals, film and television film score, scores. The soundtracks to the 1976 film ''The Big Bus'', ''The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974 f ...

– rhythm track production on "Find Me" * Carol Connors – rhythm track production on "Find Me" *

Brian Gardner Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and dance- ...

– mastering * Robbie Buchanan – associate production *

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

– production

Artwork

* Barry Levine – photography * Bob Defrin – art direction

Charts

Certifications

Notes

References

{{Authority control 1983 albums Albums produced by Jack White (music producer) Atlantic Records albums Laura Branigan albums