From A Room: Volume 1

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). The release was confirmed to be followed by Volume 2 later that year.{{Cite news |url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/04/05/chris-stapleton-reveals-2-new-albums-2017/100106930/ |title=Chris Stapleton reveals 2 new albums in 2017 |date=April 5, 2017 |work=The Tennessean |access-date=April 13, 2017}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/7752344/chris-stapleton-two-albums-this-year |title=Chris Stapleton Will Release Two Albums This Year |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=April 6, 2017 |work=Billboard |access-date=April 6, 2017}}

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.{{Cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-chris-stapleton-sing-old-new-song-either-way-20160209 |title=Hear Chris Stapleton Detail a Failed Romance in Brutal 'Either Way' |date=February 9, 2016 |work=Rolling Stone |access-date=May 5, 2017}} He premiered the album track "Second One to Know" at the 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 2, 2017.{{Cite news |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1779667/chris-stapleton-previews-from-a-room-volume-1-in-nashville/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406223140/http://www.cmt.com/news/1779667/chris-stapleton-previews-from-a-room-volume-1-in-nashville/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 6, 2017 |title=Chris Stapleton Previews From a Room: Volume 1 in Nashville |last=Tingle |first=Lauren |date=April 6, 2017 |work=CMT |access-date=April 11, 2017}}

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.{{Cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/hear-chris-stapleton-cover-willie-nelson-on-new-album-w478023 |title=Hear Chris Stapleton's Stirring Willie Nelson Cover Off New Album |last=Gage |first=Jeff |date=April 21, 2017 |work=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 21, 2017}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/hear-chris-stapletons-new-song-broken-halos-w476728 |title=Hear Chris Stapleton's Redemptive 'Broken Halos' Off Upcoming New Album |date=April 13, 2017 |work=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 14, 2017}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/hear-chris-stapletons-searing-new-song-second-one-to-know-w479186 |title=Hear Chris Stapleton's Searing New Song 'Second One to Know' |last=Crawford |first=Robert |date=April 28, 2017 |work=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 28, 2017}} Subsequently, the album was released on May 5, 2017, to music stores and streaming services. "Either Way" was serviced to country radio stations on May 8, 2017, as the first single off the album.{{Cite news |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170504001607/https://www.allaccess.com/country/future-releases|url=https://www.allaccess.com/country/future-releases |title=Country > Future Releases |work=All Access |access-date=May 5, 2017 |archive-date=May 4, 2017}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.nashcountrydaily.com/2017/04/06/chris-stapleton-announces-new-album-from-a-room-volume-1-and-track-list/ |title=Chris Stapleton Announces New Album, 'From A Room: Volume 1,' and Track List |date=April 6, 2017 |work=Nash Country Daily}} Stapleton performed the track "I Was Wrong" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.{{Cite news |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/7791782/chris-stapleton-i-was-wrong-tonight-show-performance-video |title=Chris Stapleton Plays 'I Was Wrong' on 'Tonight Show,' Joins Kevin Bacon for 'First Drafts' ZZ Top Skit |date=May 9, 2017 |work=Billboard |access-date=May 9, 2017}} The same month, he embarked on his All-American Road Show Tour.{{Cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/see-chris-stapletons-new-second-one-to-know-at-acm-awards-w474608 |title=See Chris Stapleton Debut New 'Second One to Know' at ACM Awards |last=Hudak |first=Joseph |date=April 4, 2017 |work=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 3, 2017 |archive-date=November 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122020113/http://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/see-chris-stapletons-new-second-one-to-know-at-acm-awards-w474608 |url-status=dead }}

From A Room: Volume 1 focuses on country, blues and roots rock.{{Cite news |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1780950/chris-stapleton-follows-the-muse-on-from-a-room-volume-1/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505233922/http://www.cmt.com/news/1780950/chris-stapleton-follows-the-muse-on-from-a-room-volume-1/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 5, 2017 |title=Chris Stapleton Follows the Muse on From a Room: Volume 1 |author=cmt.com staff |date=May 5, 2017 |work=CMT |access-date=May 6, 2017}} The songs on the project were written years before his first studio album. The opening track "Broken Halos", written by Stapleton and Mike Henderson, was defined by music publications as a multi-genre song, including mid-tempo country rock, folk rock and Southern gospel.{{Cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/chris-stapletons-from-a-room-track-by-track-guide-w480132 |title=Chris Stapleton's 'From A Room: Volume 1': Track-by-Track Guide |last=Crawford |first=Robert |date=May 4, 2017 |work=Rolling Stone |access-date=May 5, 2017}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2017/04/14/523805933/hear-chris-stapletons-first-single-from-his-forthcoming-album |title=Hear Chris Stapleton's First Single From His Forthcoming Album |last=Powers |first=Ann |date=April 14, 2017 |work=NPR |access-date=April 25, 2017}} Lyrically, on the song Stapleton meditates on the wounds people suffer and the road toward healing that they travel.{{Cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-chris-stapleton-broken-halos-premiere-20170413-story.html |title=Chris Stapleton premieres 'Broken Halos,' first track from 'From a Room: Volume 1' |last=Lewis |first=Randy |date=April 13, 2017 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=April 15, 2017}}

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. Stapleton recorded the song as an outlaw country guitar ballad,{{Cite news |url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/chris-stapleton-from-a-room-volume-1 |title=Chris Stapleton From A Room: Volume 1 |date=May 4, 2017 |work=Slant |access-date=May 5, 2017}} punctuated by harmonies from his wife Morgane in the background, and accompanied by Mickey Raphael playing the harmonica.

The third album track "Second One to Know" is a country and blues rock song with rock and roll influences,{{Cite news |url=http://uproxx.com/music/chris-stapleton-acm-awards-second-one-to-know/ |title=Chris Stapleton Wasted No Time Debuting His New Song At The ACM Awards |date=April 3, 2017 |work=Uproxx |access-date=April 28, 2017}} featuring electric guitar riffs. In "Up to No Good Livin'", which features pedal steel guitar, the narrator, known as "the Picasso of painting the town" because of his lifestyle, worries that he may never be able to convince his lady that he has left his "wild days" behind. "Either Way", written by Stapleton, Tim James and Kendall Marvel, is as a solo acoustic ballad about the end of a relationship, telling the painful tale of a marriage nearing its end.{{Cite news |url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/05/album-review-chris-stapleton-from-a-room-vol-1/ |title=Chris Stapleton – From a Room Vol. 1 |last=Ham |first=Robert |date=May 4, 2017 |work=Consequence of Sound |access-date=May 5, 2017}} 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." "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. 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.

{{Album ratings

| MC = 81/100{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/from-a-room-vol-1/chris-stapleton|title=Reviews and Tracks from From A Room: Volume 1 by Chris Stapleton|access-date=June 7, 2017|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=Metacritic}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/from-a-room-vol-1-mw0003033148|title=From A Room: Volume 1 - Chris Stapleton — Songs, Reviews, Credits|access-date=May 5, 2017|author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|publisher=All Media Network|work=AllMusic}}

| rev2 = Consequence of Sound

| rev2score = B{{cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/05/album-review-chris-stapleton-from-a-room-vol-1/|title=From A Room: Volume 1 - Chris Stapleton|access-date=May 8, 2017|work=Consequence of Sound}}

| rev3 = The Independent

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-reviews-paul-weller-a-kind-revolution-afghan-whigs-in-spades-vieux-farka-toure-samba-a7728751.html|title=Album reviews: Paul Weller – A Kind Revolution, Afghan Whigs – In Spades, Vieux Farka Toure – Samba, and more|access-date=December 1, 2017|work=The Independent}}

| rev4 = The Irish Times

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/album-reviews/chris-stapleton-impresses-with-his-hillbilly-blues-1.3066834|title=Chris Stapleton impresses with his 'hillbilly blues'|access-date=December 1, 2017|work=The Irish Times}}

| rev5 = Paste

| rev5score = 8.1/10

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6score = 7.6/10{{Cite news |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/chris-stapleton-from-a-room-volume-1-volume-2/ |title=Chris Stapleton From A Room: Volume 1 |last=Deusner |first=Stephen M. |date=December 10, 2017 |work=Pitchfork |access-date=December 11, 2017}}

| rev7 = PopMatters

| rev7score = 8/10{{cite web|author=Paul, John|title=Chris Stapleton - From a Room: Volume 1|work=PopMatters|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/chris-stapleton-from-a-room-volume-1/|date=June 14, 2017|access-date=October 12, 2017}}

| rev8 = Rolling Stone

| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev9 = Spectrum Culture

| rev9score = {{Rating|4.5|5|score=4.25/5 stars}}{{cite web|author=John, Paul|title=Chris Stapleton: From a Room, Vol. 1|work=Spectrum Culture|url=http://spectrumculture.com/2017/05/24/chris-stapleton-room-vol-1/|date=May 24, 2017|access-date=December 1, 2017}}

| rev10 = Uncut

| rev10score = 8/10{{cite web|author=Hughes, Rob|title=Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume One|work=PopMatters|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/chris-stapleton-room-volume-one|date=July 11, 2017|access-date=December 1, 2017|archive-date=May 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508121423/http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/chris-stapleton-room-volume-one|url-status=dead}}

}}

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.

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", and continued describing the record as "strikingly focused, sonically and thematically. Its characters are flawed; there's much bad behavior, with heartbreak to pay." Hermes also noted its music influences, commenting, "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."{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/review-chris-stapletons-from-a-room-volume-1-w480399|title=Review: Chris Stapleton's Second Album Is Equal Parts Otis and Waylon|author=Hermes, Will|author-link=Will Hermes|date=May 4, 2017|work=Rolling Stone|access-date=May 5, 2017}} Also from the magazine, reviewer Robert Crawford stated it "further cements Stapleton as country's reigning outlaw." 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."{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/05/chris-stapleton-from-a-room-vol-1-review.html|title=Chris Stapleton: From A Room, Vol. 1 Review|last=Salmon|first=Ben|date=May 4, 2017|work=Paste|access-date=May 5, 2017}} Rob Hughes in Uncut felt that the album "manages to pull off that rare trick of sounding both fresh and familiar, as dauntless as it is consoling."

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," and noted the songs' themes are "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'.""{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/arts/music/chris-stapleton-morgane-find-a-room-interview.html?_r=0 |title=For Chris Stapleton, a Fellow Traveler: His Wife, Morgane |last=Caramanica |first=Jon |date=May 1, 2017 |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 5, 2017}} 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.""{{Cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7784797/best-new-music-chris-stapleton-blondie-logic|title=The Week's Best New Music: Chris Stapleton, Blondie, Logic & More|last=Lynch|first=Joe|date=May 5, 2017|work=Billboard|access-date=May 5, 2017}} Also from the publication, Kevin Rutherford, 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."{{Cite news |url=http://www.billboard.com/photos/7817366/best-albums-2017-top-50-so-far |title=The 50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far: Staff List |date=June 5, 2017 |work=Billboard |access-date=June 7, 2017}} 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."{{Cite news |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/from-a-room-vol-1-mw0003033148 |title=AllMusic Review |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |date=May 11, 2017 |work=AllMusic |access-date=July 9, 2017}} 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."{{Cite news |url=http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/from-a-room-volume-1-review-chris-stapleton-gets-more-personal-1.13561381 |title='From a Room: Volume 1' review: Chris Stapleton gets more personal |last=Gamboa |first=Glenn |date=May 3, 2017 |work=Newday |access-date=July 9, 2017}}

*Along with From A Room: Volume 2

From A Room: Volume 1 debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 219,000 album-equivalent units, of which 202,000 were pure album sales, Stapleton's highest first week sales. The album 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 (2015). With 658,000 copies sold in the US throughout 2017 (800,000 album-equivalent units), From A Room: Volume 1 was the country's sixth highest-selling album of the year, and the best-selling country album.{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8085932/ed-sheeran-divide-nielsen-music-top-album-2017 |first=Keith|last=Caulfield |title=Ed Sheeran's 'Divide' Is Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2017 in U.S. |magazine=Billboard |date=January 3, 2018|access-date=January 4, 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2018/01/04/country-musics-most-listened-artists-chris-stapleton-luke-bryan-thomas-rhett-2017/1003648001/ |title=Revealed: Country music's most listened to artists in 2017 |first=Nate|last= Rau |work=Tennessean |publisher=USA Today |date= January 4, 2018 }} It has sold 942,600 copies in the US as of October 2019.{{cite web |url=http://roughstock.com/news/2019/10/43989-top-country-catalog-album-sales-october-9-2019|title=Top Country Catalog Album Sales: October 9, 2019|work=RoughStock|first=Matt |last=Bjorke |date= October 9, 2019 |access-date=October 13, 2019 }}

In Canada, it debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart. It was certified double platinum in the US and platinum in Canada. Volume 1 is the best-selling country album of 2017.{{Cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/chris-stapletons-from-a-room-volume-2-album-guide-w512923 |title=Chris Stapleton's 'From A Room: Volume 2': Track-by-Track Guide |last=Crawford |first=Robert |date=November 30, 2017 |work=Rolling Stone |access-date=November 30, 2017}}

All tracks are produced by Dave Cobb and Chris Stapleton.

{{Track listing

| headline = From A Room: Volume 1 track listing

| title1 = Broken Halos

| writer1 = {{flatlist|

• Chris Stapleton
• Mike Henderson

}}

| length1 = 3:01

| title2 = Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning

| writer2 = {{flatlist|

• Gary P. Nunn
• Donna Sioux Farar

}}

| length2 = 4:15

| title3 = Second One to Know

| writer3 = {{flatlist|

• Stapleton
• Henderson

}}

| length3 = 2:56

| title4 = Up to No Good Livin'

| writer4 = {{flatlist|

• Stapleton
• Casey Beathard

}}

| length4 = 4:06

| title5 = Either Way

| writer5 = {{flatlist|

• Stapleton
• Tim James
• Kendell Marvel

}}

| length5 = 4:08

| title6 = I Was Wrong

| writer6 = {{flatlist|

• Stapleton
• Craig Wiseman

}}

| length6 = 3:11

| title7 = Without Your Love

| writer7 = {{flatlist|

• Stapleton
• Henderson

}}

| length7 = 3:51

| title8 = Them Stems

| writer8 = {{flatlist|

• Stapleton
• Jimmy Alan Stewart
• Shawn Camp

}}

| length8 = 3:01

| title9 = Death Row

| writer9 = {{flatlist|

• Stapleton
• Henderson

}}

| length9 = 4:03

| total_length = 32:32

}}

Credits for From A Room: Volume 1 adapted from AllMusic.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/from-a-room-vol-1-mw0003033148/credits|title=From A Room: Volume 1 - Chris Stapleton — Songs, Reviews, Credits|access-date=May 5, 2017|work=AllMusic}}

{{col-start}}

{{col-2}}

Musicians

• Dave Cobb – acoustic guitar, percussion
• J.T. Cure – bass guitar, upright bass
• Derek Mixon – drums, percussion
• Mickey Raphael – harmonica
• Chris Stapleton – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
• Morgane Stapleton – background vocals, tambourine
• Robby Turner – pedal steel guitar
• Michael Webb – B-3 organ, piano, Wurlitzer

{{col-2}}

Technical personnel

• Dave Cobb – producer
• Mary Hooper – design
• Gena Johnson – assistant
• Pete Lyman – mastering
• Vance Powell – engineer, mixing
• Chris Stapleton – producer
• Rachel Urquhart – illustrations

{{col-end}}

{{col-start}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for From A Room: Volume 1}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|title=From A Room: Volume 1|artist=Chris Stapleton|award=Platinum|relyear=2017|certyear=2023|access-date=March 9, 2025|refname="music canada"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=album|title=From A Room: Volume 1|artist=Chris Stapleton|award=Gold|relyear=2017|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=January 8, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Chris Stapleton|title=From A Room: Volume 1|award=Platinum|relyear=2017|number=2|certyear=2023|access-date=June 2, 2023|refname="riaa"}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

• List of Billboard number-one Americana/folk albums
• List of Billboard number-one country albums of 2017
• List of number-one albums of 2017 (Canada)

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Chris Stapleton}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for From A Room: Volume 1

|titlestyle = background: lightblue

|list =

{{CMA Album of the Year}}

{{Grammy Award for Best Country Album}}

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Category:Chris Stapleton albums

Category:2017 albums

Category:Mercury Nashville albums

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Category:Albums produced by Dave Cobb

Category:Roots rock albums

Category:Grammy Award for Best Country Album