From A Room: Volume 1

From A Room: Volume 1
Studio album by Chris Stapleton
Released May 5, 2017 (2017-05-05)
Recorded 2016–17[1]
Studio RCA Studio A in Nashville
Genre
Length 32:49
Label Mercury Nashville
Producer
Chris Stapleton chronology
Traveller
(2015)Traveller2015		 From A Room: Volume 1
(2017)
Singles from From A Room: Volume 1
  1. "Either Way"
    Released: May 8, 2017
  2. "Broken Halos"
    Released: July 18, 2017

From A Room: Volume 1 is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton. The album was released on May 5, 2017 through Mercury Nashville.[2] Primarily a country, blues, and roots rock record, it was produced by Dave Cobb and Stapleton. Upon its release, the album received critical acclaim. Commercially, it debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart and number two on the US Billboard 200; in the latter Stapleton scored his best sales week so far. The song "Either Way" was released as the album's first single,[3] followed by "Broken Halos".[4]

Background and release

From A Room: Volume 1 is Stapleton's second studio album, following his solo debut with Traveller, which earned him several accolades at the Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association, and Grammy Awards, and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Music publications have reported Stapleton is set to release two albums during 2017.[5]

The album takes its name from Nashville's RCA Studio A, where it was recorded during the winter of 2016–17. Volume 1 marks the second collaboration between Stapleton and producer Dave Cobb. Prior to the album announcement, Stapleton had premiered several tracks during lives performances.[6] He premiered the album track "Second One to Know" at the 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 2, 2017.[1]

The album tracks "Broken Halos", "Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning" and "Second One to Know" were released as promotional singles ahead of the album release.[7][8][9] In May 2017, he embarked on his "All-American Road Show Tour".[10] The album was released on May 5, 2017 to music stores and streaming services.[11] "Either Way" was serviced to country radio stations on May 8, 2017 as the first single off the album.[3][12] Stapleton performed the track "I Was Wrong" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[13]

Music and themes

From A Room: Volume 1 focuses on country, blues and roots rock.[14][15] The lead track "Broken Halos", written by Stapleton and Mike Henderson, was defined by critics as a multi-genre song, including mid-tempo country rock and folk rock.[14] Lyrically, Stapleton meditates on the wounds people suffer and the road toward healing that they travel.[16]

The album features eight songs co-written by Stapleton and collaborators, as well as a rendition of "Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning", written by Gary P. Nunn and Donna Sioux Farar and original recorded by Willie Nelson.[12] Stapleton recorded the song as an outlaw country guitar ballad,[17] punctuated by harmonies from his wife Morgane in the background, and accompanied by Mickey Raphael playing the harmonica.[14]

The third album track "Second One to Know" is a country and blues rock song with rock and roll influences,[9][18] featuring electric guitar riffs.[17] In "Up to No Good Livin'," which features pedal steel guitar, the narrator, known as "the Picasso of painting the town", worries that he may never be able to convince his lady that he has left his "wild days" behind.[19]

"Either Way", written by Stapleton, Tim James and Kendall Marvel, is as a solo acoustic ballad about the end of a relationship,[1] telling the painful tale of a marriage nearing its end.[20] A CMT editor opined the country blues track "Them Stems" is an answer to Traveller's "Might as Well Get Stoned" as is about "a stoner with a dire need to restock his marijuana stash."[1]

"I Was Wrong" is rooted in electric blues and Southern soul, featuring a guitar solo by Stapleton. "Without Your Love" finds the singer unable to erase the memory of an ex partner, musically it "recalls a brooding alt-rock ballad" according to a Paste editor.[19] Lyrically, "Death Row" contains themes of a prisoner's final thoughts, featuring cyclical guitar patterns, sparse percussion and repetitive bass – that "hints at the monotony of a life spent behind bars," according to a Rolling Stone reviewer.[14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[21]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[22]
Paste8.1[19]
Rolling Stone[23]
Consequence of SoundB[24]

From A Room: Volume 1 received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81 out of 100, which indicates "universal acclaim" based on nine reviews.[21]

Writing for Rolling Stone, Will Hermes started his album review commenting "Stapleton is a soul singer, with a preternaturally creaky voice that can turn wizened or brawny, full of pained howls and distended vowels the record"; the record "is strikingly focused, sonically and thematically. Its characters are flawed; there's much bad behavior, with heartbreak to pay." Hermes noted its music influences, "It conjures Otis Redding as much as Waylon Jennings... Stapleton is a convincing bluesman. You could imagine B.B. King singing "Death Row" or Freddie King slashing through "I Was Wrong" with his jagged Texas guitar, which Stapleton impressively echoes."[23] Also from the magazine, reviewer Robert Crawford wrote it "further cements Stapleton as country's reigning outlaw."[14] In Paste, Ben Salmon opined, "Each [track] is charming and sturdy and well put together, evidence of an artist who is at the very top of his game and ready to reach even higher."[19] Rolling Stone staff considered it the 9th best album of the first half of the year.[25]

In an article for The New York Times, Jon Caramanica described the album as "earthen, rich with tradition, has a tactile intensity and is carefully measured. It's full of songs about romantic disappointment and people letting each other down, often with the Stapletons singing in devastating harmony, like on "Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning" and "Up to No Good Livin'.""[26] Joe Lynch from Billboard opined Stapleton's "earthy growl" from Traveller remains intact, and found the lyrics "sharper than before. There's plenty about boozin' and heartache, but he also tackles a prisoner's final day on earth on "Death Row" and hilariously bemoans getting to the end of his stash on "Them Stems.""[27] Also from the publication, Kevin Rutherford, in their list of best album of the first semester of 2017, stated the album "shows Stapleton would much rather bend country radio to his will, not vice versa. "Either Way" contains one of the quintessential powerhouse vocal performances in recent memory, while "Second One to Know" is a raucous, guitar-led jaunt that isn’t just a barnburner – it nukes the thing from orbit."[28] In his review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as a collection "of good tunes, delivered simply and soulfully," while there is not a "grand concept," the album "holds together."[29] Glenn Gamboa from Newsday felt the album "isn’t quite the bold, all-encompassing statement" like its predecessor, however, Stapleton's "unpolished, heart-on-his-sleeve approach is bold enough to keep him at the front of the country pack."[30]

Commercial performance

From A Room: Volume 1 debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 219,000 units, of which 202,000 were pure album sales, Stapleton's highest first week sales. It also debuted at number one on the Top Album Sales chart. It had the largest sales week for a country album in more than a year-and-a-half; the last country artist to sell more in a week was Luke Bryan with Kill the Lights.[31] As of August 2017 the album has sold 474,300 copies in the US,[32] leading country albums sales at the year's midpoint, with Traveller being second.[33] In Canada, it debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart.[34]

Track listing

Track listing adapted from the iTunes Store.[11]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Broken Halos"
3:00
2."Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning"
4:15
3."Second One to Know"
  • Stapleton
  • Henderson
2:56
4."Up to No Good Livin'"
4:05
5."Either Way"
4:08
6."I Was Wrong"
3:11
7."Without Your Love"
  • Stapleton
  • Henderson
3:51
8."Them Stems"
3:00
9."Death Row"
  • Stapleton
  • Henderson
4:03
Total length:32:49

Personnel

Credits for From a Room: Volume 1 adapted from AllMusic.[35]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[36] 20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[37] 189
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[38] 79
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[34] 1
Irish Albums (IRMA)[39] 37
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[40] 32
Scottish Albums (OCC)[41] 10
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 29
UK Albums (OCC)[43] 22
US Billboard 200[31] 2
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[44] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[45] Gold 500,000double-dagger

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, edition, formats, label, and reference
Region Date Edition(s) Format(s) Label Ref.
Various May 5, 2017 Standard Mercury Nashville [46]
United Kingdom June 16, 2017 Vinyl Decca (UMO) [47]
United States May 5, 2017 Mercury Nashville [48]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Tingle, Lauren (April 6, 2017). "Chris Stapleton Previews From a Room: Volume 1 in Nashville". CMT. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  2. ↑ Breihan, Tom (April 6, 2017). "Chris Stapleton Will Release Two Albums This Year". Billboard. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Country > Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Country > Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Chris Stapleton reveals 2 new albums in 2017". The Tennessean. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Hear Chris Stapleton Detail a Failed Romance in Brutal 'Either Way'". Rolling Stone. February 9, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  7. ↑ Gage, Jeff (April 21, 2017). "Hear Chris Stapleton's Stirring Willie Nelson Cover Off New Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Hear Chris Stapleton's Redemptive 'Broken Halos' Off Upcoming New Album". Rolling Stone. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Crawford, Robert (April 28, 2017). "Hear Chris Stapleton's Searing New Song 'Second One to Know'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  10. ↑ Hudak, Joseph (April 4, 2017). "See Chris Stapleton Debut New 'Second One to Know' at ACM Awards". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  11. 1 2 "From A Room: Volume 1". iTunes (US). 2017.
  12. 1 2 "Chris Stapleton Announces New Album, 'From A Room: Volume 1,' and Track List". Nash Country Daily. April 6, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Chris Stapleton Plays 'I Was Wrong' on 'Tonight Show,' Joins Kevin Bacon for 'First Drafts' ZZ Top Skit". Billboard. May 9, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Crawford, Robert (May 4, 2017). "Chris Stapleton's 'From A Room: Volume 1': Track-by-Track Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  15. ↑ cmt.com staff (May 5, 2017). "Chris Stapleton Follows the Muse on From a Room: Volume 1". CMT. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  16. ↑ Lewis, Randy (April 13, 2017). "Chris Stapleton premieres 'Broken Halos,' first track from 'From a Room: Volume 1'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  17. 1 2 "Chris Stapleton From A Room: Volume 1". Slant. May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Chris Stapleton Wasted No Time Debuting His New Song At The ACM Awards". Uproxx. April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Salmon, Ben (May 4, 2017). "Chris Stapleton: From A Room, Vol. 1 Review". Paste. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  20. ↑ Ham, Robert (May 4, 2017). "Chris Stapleton – From a Room Vol. 1". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  21. 1 2 "Reviews and Tracks from From A Room: Volume 1 by Chris Stapleton". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  22. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "From A Room: Volume 1 - Chris Stapleton — Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  23. 1 2 Hermes, Will (May 4, 2017). "Review: Chris Stapleton's Second Album Is Equal Parts Otis and Waylon". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  24. ↑ "From A Room: Volume 1 - Chris Stapleton". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  25. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far". Rolling Stone. June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  26. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (May 1, 2017). "For Chris Stapleton, a Fellow Traveler: His Wife, Morgane". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  27. ↑ Lynch, Joe (May 5, 2017). "The Week's Best New Music: Chris Stapleton, Blondie, Logic & More". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  28. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far: Staff List". Billboard. June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  29. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (May 11, 2017). "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  30. ↑ Gamboa, Glenn (May 3, 2017). "‘From a Room: Volume 1’ review: Chris Stapleton gets more personal". Newday. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  31. 1 2 Caulfield, Keith (May 15, 2017). "Logic's 'Everybody' Album Hits No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  32. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (August 7, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: August 7, 2017". Roughstock. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Chris Stapleton Claims Two Biggest Country Albums of 2017 So Far". Rolling Stone. July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  34. 1 2 "Chris Stapleton – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Chris Stapleton. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  35. ↑ "From A Room: Volume 1 - Chris Stapleton — Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  37. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Irish Albums Chart: 12 May 2017". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  40. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  41. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  42. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  43. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  44. ↑ "Billboard Country Update" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  45. ↑ "American album certifications – Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  46. ↑ "From A Room: Volume 1". Amazon. 2017.
  47. ↑ "From A Room: Volume 1 [VINYL]". Amazon. 2017.
  48. ↑ "From A Room: Volume 1 [LP]". Amazon. 2017.
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