| The Best of Branigan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | June 6, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1982–1995 | |||
| Genre | Pop, rock | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Laura Branigan chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Best of Branigan | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[2] |
| Knoxville News Sentinel | [3] |
| Q | [4] |
| Spin | (favorable)[5] |
The Best of Branigan is a greatest hits compilation by singer Laura Branigan to be released in the United States. The 1995 anthology collection also marked the end of Branigan's relationship with her record label, Atlantic Records. Of the thirteen tracks, eight had charted, including her major hit singles "Gloria", "Solitaire", "Self Control", "Power of Love", and "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You".
The album features two new recordings: "Show Me Heaven" and a cover of Donna Summer's "Dim All the Lights", the latter which was released as a single in late spring 1995 and became a Billboard Top 40 Dance hit. Remaining tracks were taken from her 1993 album Over My Heart, which had been largely overlooked by audiences.
In terms of her global music releases, Best of Branigan had already been preceded by other greatest hits anthologies outside the United States, all with very similar titles, beginning in 1988, and again in 1992, for listeners in much of the rest of the world.
Prior to its April 2007 re-release on Rhino Records, the compilation had sold 147,000 copies in the U.S.[6]
Critical reception
The compilation album was well received by many music critics. Chuck Eddy from Entertainment Weekly gave it an A, writing, "Laura Branigan’s voice was as titanic as any ’80s pop star’s. There was animal in her howl and opera in her high notes. Her biggest hits, collected on The Best of Branigan, told about women heading for mental breakdowns. ”Spanish Eddie”, a disco-flamenco about a night when a friend’s death leads to insanity, wasn’t a hit; it should’ve been."[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Solitaire" | Martine Clemenceau, Diane Warren | 4:07 |
| 2. | "Show Me Heaven" | Jay Rifkin, Eric Rackin, Maria McKee | 4:11 |
| 3. | "Ti Amo" | Umberto Tozzi, Giancarlo Bigazzi, Warren | 4:16 |
| 4. | "Spanish Eddie" | Dave Palmer, Chuck Cochran | 4:15 |
| 5. | "Power of Love" | Candy DeRouge, Gunther Mende, Jennifer Rush, Mary Susan Applegate | 5:22 |
| 6. | "Is There Anybody Here But Me" | Kevin Wells, Andre Pessis | 4:52 |
| 7. | "Dim All the Lights" | Donna Summer | 4:44 |
| 8. | "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" | Michael Bolton, Doug James | 4:30 |
| 9. | "Over You" | Laura Branigan, Billy Branigan | 5:21 |
| 10. | "The Lucky One" | Bruce Roberts | 4:10 |
| 11. | "How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye" | Karen Taylor-Good, Burton Collins | 4:30 |
| 12. | "Self Control" | Bigazzi, Raffaele Riefoli, Steve Piccolo | 4:07 |
| 13. | "Gloria" | Tozzi, Bigazzi, Trevor Veitch | 4:49 |
References
- ↑ The Best of Branigan at AllMusic
- 1 2 Eddy, Chuck (23 June 1995). "The Best of Branigan". Entertainment Weekly.
- ↑ Campbell, Chuck (30 June 1995). "'Power Rangers' Soundtrack Aims To Please Some Adults". Knoxville News Sentinel.
- ↑ Q magazine review
- ↑ Bernstein, Jonathan (September 1995). "Heavy Rotation". Spin. p. 44. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ↑ Ask Billboard by Keith Caulfield: May 04, 2007