Songs of Love & Loss 2 is the ninth studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Tina Arena, released on 15 November 2008 by EMI in Australia.[2] Her second cover album, it follows on from Songs of Love & Loss, released in 2007, and includes covers of songs by Blondie, Lulu, Alice Cooper and Split Enz among others.[3] The first single, "Oh Me Oh My", was released to Australian radio on 22 October 2008 and made available for download on 8 November. The album was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association for sales in excess of thirty-five thousand just three days after its release and debuted at No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[4] A limited edition was released featuring a bonus DVD with a 10-minute documentary on the making of the album. The documentary was also available as a video download with pre-orders of the album from the iTunes Store. The digital release also contained a bonus track, a cover of Petula Clark's 1964 hit "Downtown".
History
Arena has stated she chose songs which she loved and held meaning for her. It was her manager Bruce Pawsey's idea for her to record Blondie's "Call Me" and she covered "Every Breath You Take" on the suggestion of her partner Vincent. Considered too 'safe' by Arena, "Your Song" was almost not included and an attempt at U2's "With or Without You" was completely scrapped.[5][6] Producer Greg Fitzgerald had the idea of reworking Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't It Be Good" and the sole original composition "Living a Lifetime Together" was written in 2003 by Arena, Paul Manners, Francesco De Benedittis and Emanuelle Vidal De Fonseca.[7] Changes in staff at label EMI Australia left Arena unsure of her future and she revealed this stress contributed to two miscarriages she suffered during 2008 prior to the album sessions.[8][9]
