The Spirit Room

The Spirit Room is the second 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.<ref name=Album>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name="MTV Interview 2001">Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

20th anniversary edition

Branch decided to celebrate its anniversary by re-recording the album and pressing it on vinyl for the first time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On September 10, 2021, Branch performed the album in its entirety during a special virtual concert. An afterparty and Q&A session followed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of July 2003, the album has sold 1.8 million copies in the US.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="RIAA"/>The Spirit Room has sold 3 million copies worldwide, making it Branch's best selling album to date.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In Canada, although the album did not appear on the chart the album was certified gold, selling 50,000 copies in October 2003.<ref name="CRIA">Two French language artists hit Gold Template:Webarchive</ref> In Australia, it was also certified gold with shipments of 35,000.<ref name="ARIA">Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Legacy

In 2021, Branch revealed that Taylor Swift had told her The Spirit Room had been a major influence on her own music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Singles

• "Everywhere" – July 17, 2001
• "All You Wanted" – October 28, 2001<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "Goodbye to You" – September 9, 2002<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personnel

Musicians

• Michelle Branch – all vocals, keyboards, guitars
• John Shanks – keyboards, programming, guitars, bass
• Patrick Warren – keyboards
• Lars Fox – programming
• Kenny Aronoff – drums
• Vinnie Colaiuta – drums

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

• "Goodbye to You" was performed live by Michelle Branch on the season 6 episode "Tabula Rasa" of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• "Goodbye to You" was also performed live on the season 5 episode "Centennial Charmed" of Charmed.
• "You Get Me" became the theme song for the MTV reality series Sorority Life.
• "You Get Me" is featured in the films What a Girl Wants, The Hot Chick, and Van Wilder.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "You Set Me Free" was featured in the following films:
  • The trailer for the 2004 film Against the Ropes.
  • The trailer of DreamWorks Animation's Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.
  • Towards the closing credits of the 2003 film Just Married.
  • In the 2005 film Ice Princess, and it is featured on the movie's soundtrack.
• "Everywhere" is featured in the 2001 film American Pie 2 and is on the film's soundtrack.
• "Everywhere" is featured on the season 2 episode "T3STDRV" of Twisted Metal.

Charts

Weekly charts

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Weekly chart performance for The Spirit Room

Chart (2001–2002)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	12

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for The Spirit Room

Chart (2002)	Position
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	185
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	52
Chart (2003)	Position
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	184