The Spirit Room
studio
ArtistMichelle Branch
CoverThe_Spirit_Room_01.jpg
ReleasedAugust 14, 2001
Recorded2000–2001
StudioAnanda, Sunset Sound, Henson (Hollywood, California)
Genre
Length42:26
Label
Producer
Prev year2000
Next year2003

The Spirit Room is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Michelle Branch. It was released by the Maverick Recording Company and Warner Bros. Records in the United States on August 14, 2001.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3]

20th anniversary edition

Branch decided to celebrate its anniversary by re-recording the album and pressing it on vinyl for the first time.[4] On September 10, 2021, Branch performed the album in its entirety during a special virtual concert. An afterparty and Q&A session followed.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] As of July 2003, the album has sold 1.8 million copies in the US.[8] 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.[9]The Spirit Room has sold 3 million copies worldwide, making it Branch's best selling album to date.[10]

In Canada, although the album did not appear on the chart the album was certified gold, selling 50,000 copies in October 2003.[11] In Australia, it was also certified gold with shipments of 35,000.[12]

Legacy

In 2021, Branch revealed that Taylor Swift had told her The Spirit Room had been a major influence on her own music.[13][14]

Singles

  • "Everywhere" – July 17, 2001
  • "All You Wanted" – October 28, 2001[15]
  • "Goodbye to You" – September 9, 2002[16]

Personnel

Musicians

Production

  • Danny Strick – A&R
  • John Shanks – producer
  • Marc DeSisto – engineer, mixing (6, 8–11)
  • Lars Fox – engineer, Pro Tools editing
  • Steve Kaplan – assistant engineer
  • Monique Mizrahi – assistant engineer
  • Tom Nellen – assistant engineer
  • Jason Rankins – assistant engineer
  • Chris Reynolds – assistant engineer
  • Jason Schweitzer – assistant engineer
  • Jamie Sickora – assistant engineer
  • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing (1, 3, 4)
  • Dave Way – mixing (2, 5, 7)
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Marcussen Mastering (Hollywood, California)
  • Robert Cappadona – production coordination
  • Shari Sutcliffe – production coordination
  • Kim Biggs – art direction
  • David Harlan – art direction
  • Shoshannah Day Strauss – design
  • Matthew Welch – photography

Enhanced CD credits

  • Holly Adams – producer
  • Nick Spanos – producer
  • Jeremy Welt – producer
  • Mike Donk – creation

Use in media

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for The Spirit Room
Chart (2001–2002)Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[18]12

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for The Spirit Room
Chart (2002)Position
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[19]185
US Billboard 200[20]52
Chart (2003)Position
US Billboard 200[21]184

References

  1. ^ Michelle Branch: The Spirit Room. Maverick/Warner Bros. Records. August 2001.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Google Earth"
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Bogedon, Kara (August 26, 2021). "Michelle Branch celebrates 20th anniversary of 'The Spirit Room' with re-recording of album". Bandwagon. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Martens, Todd (2003-07-02). "Beyonce, Branch Albums Storm The Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  7. ^ "Michelle Branch". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  8. ^ "Ashanti Returns To No. 1 With 'Chapter II'". Billboard. July 9, 2003. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  9. ^ RIAA
  10. ^ "Michelle Branch - The Trouble with Fever Tour (Postponed) at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville". Do615
  11. ^ Two French language artists hit Gold Archived 2010-11-22 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "The ARIA Report: Issue 672". webarchive.nla.gov.au. 2006-08-23. Archived from the original on 2003-01-06. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Michelle Branch On Influencing Taylor Swift & Re-Recording 'The Spirit Room'". Nylon. September 8, 2021.
  15. ^ "World Jazz Top 20 Singles (2001-08-30)"
  16. ^ "Michelle Branch :: Goodbye to You [RADIO202_09B-09]"
  17. ^ "All 26 songs from the What a Girl Wants (2003) Soundtrack"
  18. ^ "ザ・スピリット・ル-ムミシェル・ブランチ" (in Japanese). Oricon news. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  19. ^ "Top 200 Albums of 2002 (based on sales)". Jam!. Archived September 6, 2004 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  20. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  21. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.