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DJ Supply

Title - 'Self Control: Expanded Edition' [2CD]
Artist - Laura Branigan

For those not in the know, Laura Branigan (July 3rd, 1952 – August 26th, 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 a female artist, peaking at #2 (it also reached #1 in Australia and Canada).

In 1984, she reached #1 in Canada and Germany with the U.S. #4 hit 'Self Control' and she also had further success in the United Kingdom with both 'Gloria' and 'Self Control' making the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart.

Seeing her greatest level of success in the 1980s, Branigan's other singles included the Top 10 hit 'Solitaire' (1983), the U.S. AC chart #1 'How Am I Supposed to Live Without You' (1983), the Australian #2 hit 'Ti amo' (1984), and 'The Power of Love' (1987).

She also contributed songs to motion picture and television soundtracks, including the Grammy and Academy Award-winning Flashdance soundtrack (1983), and the Ghostbusters soundtrack (1984).

In 1985, she won the Tokyo Music Festival with the song 'The Lucky One', but her chart success began to wane as the decade closed and after her last two albums -- Laura Branigan (1990) and Over My Heart (1993) -- garnered little attention, she generally retired from public life for the rest of the 1990s.

She began returning to performing in the early 2000s, most notably appearing as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical Love, Janis, but sadly, and as she was recording new music and preparing a comeback to the music industry, she died at her home in August 2004 from a previously undiagnosed cerebral aneurysm.

Indeed, with her most successful album being 1984's platinum-selling Self Control, Cherry Pop UK have just released a quite wondrous new 2CD Expanded Edition of her third studio album.

Self Control was released, I kid you not, on April 1st, 1984, by Atlantic Records. The album peaked at #23 on the US Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Internationally, it charted within the top five in several continental European countries.

Disc One:
1. 'The Lucky One'
2. 'Self Control'
3. 'Ti Amo'
4. 'Heart'
5. 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow'
6. 'Satisfaction'
7. 'Silent Partners'
8. 'Breaking Out'
9. 'Take Me'
10. 'With Every Beat of My Heart'

Disc One features the original Self Control album that was released in April 1984. Recorded in Los Angeles and Munich with production by Jack White and Robbie Buchanan it also features renowned musicians such as Harold Faltermeyer (synthesizers), John Robinson (drums), Paul Jackson Jr. (guitar), Nathan East (bass) and Michael Landau (guitar).

This album, and one that I've always had a soft spot for growing up in the UK, opens with the fun, mid-'80s Steinman-esque pop bounce of 'The Lucky One' (and where the video showed off Branigan's horse riding abilities) and that's backed by the lush, gentle pop hipsway of Branigan's cover version of Raf's 'Self Control'.

Next up is her cover of Umberto Tozzi's mid-tempo ballad 'Ti Amo' which is itself followed by the synth and drum-led bass line of 'Heart,' the yearning magnificence of the Gerry Goffin and Carole King beauty 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' and then the synth-laden 'Satisfaction.'

The piano and percussion-orchestrated ballad (complete with wailing guitar break) 'Silent Partners' is then backed by the frenetic workout duo of both 'Breaking Out' and 'Take Me,' with the original album rounding out with Branigan showcasing her husky vocal tones to pure perfection on the euphoric 'With Every Beat of My Heart.'

Disc 2:
1. 'Self Control' (Extended Version)
2. 'Self Control' (Edit)
3. 'Self Control' (Classic Summer Mix 1992)
4. 'Self Control' (117 BPM Club 1992)
5. 'The Lucky One' (Single Version)
6. 'The Lucky One' (Jack White Mix)
7. 'The Lucky One' (John Robie Mix)
8. 'Satisfaction' (Single Version)
9. 'Satisfaction' (Special Dance Mix)
10. 'When' (Single Version)
11. 'Hot Night' (From "Ghostbusters" Original Soundtrack)

Disc Two features all the related bonus material of Laura Branigan from this period. There are four (4) versions of her international hit, ‘Self Control’ (inclusive of two remixes of the track dating back to a German re-release of the track in 1992), with her follow up single 'The Lucky One' being featured three (3) times.

There are also two (2) versions of ‘Satisfaction’, with the track before last, the Branigan-written 'When' (Single Version) being a magnificent, if not at times haunting mid-tempo ballad that aches and yearns for her rhetorical question to be answered.

Culminating with the synth pop delight 'Hot Night' from the Ghostbusters soundtrack, Disc Two packs in a lot of various mixes of only three songs which, sure, for fans they are all rather lovely to hear even today, but in some cases, a little overkill at the same time.

This 2CD expanded edition features the original album artwork, extensive sleeve notes and a comprehensive UK Discography and is the most comprehensive collection of this period of her career.

Laura Branigan released seven studio albums for Atlantic Records spanning 1982-1993 enjoying considerable domestic and international success.

Official 2CD Purchase Link

www.CherryRed.co.uk





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