The Spirit Room

The Spirit Room
Studio album by
Michelle Branch
ReleasedAugust 14, 2001
Recorded2000–2001
Genre
Length42:26
Label
Producer
Michelle Branch chronology
Broken Bracelet
(2000) 		The Spirit Room
(2001) 		Hotel Paper
(2003)
Reissue and international cover
Singles from The Spirit Room
  1. "Everywhere"
    Released: July 10, 2001[1]
  2. "All You Wanted"
    Released: January 7, 2002[2]
  3. "Goodbye to You"
    Released: July 8, 2002[3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB[5]
The Guardian[6]
Q[7]
Rolling Stoneno rating[8]
The Village VoiceC[9]

The Spirit Room is the major-label debut studio album and second album overall by American singer-songwriter Michelle Branch, released by the Maverick Recording Company and Warner Bros. Records in the United States on August 14, 2001.[10] The album was recorded at Sunset Sound, Henson Recording Studios and Ananda Studios in Hollywood, California and mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Marcussen Mastering in Los Angeles, California.

Background

The album's title comes from the name of a bar in Jerome, Arizona, near Branch's hometown of Sedona.[11]

Artwork

The album cover was shot in an industrial area across from an electrical substation in Los Angeles, California alongside the Los Angeles River facing north-west at the skyline during sunset.[12]

20th anniversary edition

Branch decided to celebrate its anniversary by re-recording the album and pressing it on vinyl for the first time.[13] On September 10, 2021, Branch performed the album in its entirety during a special virtual concert. An afterparty and Q&A session followed.[14] It was released on October 15, 2021.

Commercial performance

The Spirit Room debuted at number 28 on the US Billboard 200, selling 68,000 copies in its first week.[15] Although, it had commercial success in the US, the album spent a total of 86 weeks on the US Billboard 200 chart, making it Branch's longest charting album in the US.[16] As of July 2003, the album has sold 1.8 million copies in the US.[17] On August 19, 2011, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over two million copies in the United States.[18]The Spirit Room has sold 3 million copies worldwide, making it Branch's best selling album to date.[19]

In Canada, although the album did not appear on the chart the album was certified gold, selling 50,000 copies in October 2003.[20] In Australia, it was also certified gold with shipments of 35,000.[21]

Legacy

In 2021, Branch revealed that Taylor Swift had told her The Spirit Room had been a major influence on her own music.[22][23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michelle Branch, with additional co-writers as noted; except for "Life on Mars", which was written by David Bowie.

The Spirit Room track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everywhere"
3:36
2."You Get Me"
3:53
3."All You Wanted" 3:38
4."You Set Me Free"
  • Shanks
3:11
5."Something to Sleep To"
  • Jennifer Hagio
  • Shanks
4:15
6."Here with Me"
  • Shanks
3:26
7."Sweet Misery" 3:43
8."If Only She Knew" 4:19
9."I'd Rather Be in Love" 3:55
10."Goodbye to You" 4:12
11."Drop in the Ocean"
  • Hagio
  • Will Golden
  • Bernie Reilly
4:19
Total length:42:26
North American digital deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Life on Mars" 3:42
13."All You Wanted" (unplugged) 3:34
14."Everywhere" (acoustic)
  • Shanks
3:34
iTunes Store deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Life on Mars" 3:42
13."Goodbye to You" (unplugged) 4:10
14."All You Wanted" (unplugged) 3:34
15."Everywhere" (acoustic)
  • Shanks
3:34
16."Goodbye to You" (music video) 3:56
17."All You Wanted" (music video) 3:40
18."Everywhere" (music video) 3:33
20th anniversary re-recorded release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Paper Pieces" 3:38
13."Everywhere" (alternate version)
  • Shanks
4:26

Singles

  • "Everywhere" – July 17, 2001
  • "All You Wanted" – October 28, 2001[24]
  • "Goodbye to You" – September 9, 2002[25]

Personnel

Musicians

Production

  • Producers: John Shanks, Jeremy Welt
  • Engineers: Marc DeSisto, Lars Fox
  • Assistant engineers: Steve Kaplan, Tom Nellen, Chris Reynolds, Jason Schweitzer
  • Mixing: Marc DeSisto, Chris Lord-Alge, Dave Way
  • Mastering: Stephen Marcussen
  • Pro-Tools: Lars Fox
  • Programming: Lars Fox, John Shanks
  • Production coordination: Shari Sutcliffe
  • Art direction: Kim Biggs, David Harlan
  • Photography: Matthew Welch

Use in media

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for The Spirit Room
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[39] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[40] Gold 50,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[41] Platinum 200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[42] Silver 60,000‡
United States (RIAA)[18] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "CHR/Pop: Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1409. July 6, 2001. p. 36. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  2. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1433. December 21, 2001. p. 28. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  3. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1460. July 5, 2002. p. 29. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Jonas, Liana. "Michelle Branch: The Spirit Room". AllMusic.
  5. ^ Morgan, Laura (March 17, 2020). "The Spirit Room (Michelle Branch)". Entertainment Weekly.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (April 11, 2002). "A carnival of romance". The Guardian.
  7. ^ "CD Reviews at CD Universe".
  8. ^ D. Luerssen, John (August 12, 2001). "Michelle Branch: The Spirit Room". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007.
  9. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Michelle Branch: The Spirit Room". The Village Voice – via robertchristgau.com.
  10. ^ Michelle Branch: The Spirit Room. Maverick/Warner Bros. Records. August 2001.
  11. ^ "Michelle Branch: "She's Everywhere"". MTV. 2001. Archived from the original on October 6, 2001. Retrieved May 23, 2010. in front of this bar called the Spirit Room.
  12. ^ "Google Earth".
  13. ^ Irvin, Jack (August 13, 2021). "Michelle Branch is back in The Spirit Room, 20 Years Later". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  14. ^ Bogedon, Kara (August 26, 2021). "Michelle Branch celebrates 20th anniversary of 'The Spirit Room' with re-recording of album". Bandwagon. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  15. ^ Martens, Todd (2003-07-02). "Beyonce, Branch Albums Storm The Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  16. ^ "Michelle Branch". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  17. ^ "Ashanti Returns To No. 1 With 'Chapter II'". Billboard. July 9, 2003. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  18. ^ a b "American album certifications – Michelle Branch – The Spirit Room". Recording Industry Association of America.
  19. ^ "Michelle Branch - The Trouble with Fever Tour (Postponed) at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville". Do615.
  20. ^ Two French language artists hit Gold Archived 2010-11-22 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "The ARIA Report: Issue 672" (PDF). webarchive.nla.gov.au. 2006-08-23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-01-06. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  22. ^ White, Adam (14 August 2021). "Michelle Branch on The Spirit Room at 20: 'It was allowed to remain authentically teenage'". The Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Michelle Branch On Influencing Taylor Swift & Re-Recording 'The Spirit Room'". Nylon. September 8, 2021.
  24. ^ "World Jazz Top 20 Singles (2001-08-30)".
  25. ^ "Michelle Branch :: Goodbye to You [RADIO202_09B-09]".
  26. ^ "All 26 songs from the What a Girl Wants (2003) Soundtrack".
  27. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Michelle Branch – The Spirit Room". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  28. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Michelle Branch – The Spirit Room" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  29. ^ "Lescharts.com – Michelle Branch – The Spirit Room". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Michelle Branch – The Spirit Room" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  31. ^ "ザ・スピリット・ル-ムミシェル・ブランチ" (in Japanese). Oricon news. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  32. ^ "Charts.nz – Michelle Branch – The Spirit Room". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  33. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Michelle Branch – The Spirit Room". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  34. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  35. ^ "Michelle Branch Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  36. ^ "Top 200 Albums of 2002 (based on sales)". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  37. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  38. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  39. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  40. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Michelle Branch – The Spirit Room". Music Canada.
  41. ^ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2002年5月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. May 2002 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 512. Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan: 12. July 10, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  42. ^ "British album certifications – Michelle Branch – The Spirit Room". British Phonographic Industry.