The Big Room
Encyclopedia
The Big Room is the second and final studio album by Norwegian
pop music duo M2M
.
The album, despite a positive response from music critics and huge success in Asia, did not perform as well as their previous album Shades of Purple
and failed to chart in the United States. However, it did manage to reach #16 on the Norwegian charts and become certified 5x Platinum in the Philippines
.
The album was recorded at the Bearsville Studios
in New York City
. The album takes its title from the main space at the renowned recording facility. The goal of the album was to create a natural guitar-based pop sound reminiscent of personal M2M's inspirations like Joni Mitchell, Sheryl Crow and Jewel. Throughout the album, M2M's songs attempt to capture the many feelings of teenage romance, from infatuation to jealousy.
James Hunter of The Village Voice reviewed the album, saying, "This is a pop masterpiece." Hunter adds, "Given how much ornery old teenpop has long eaten into the happiness of rock fans and commentators, it's understandable that 'The Big Room' seeks to reposition M2M toward the real."
Lead singer Marion Raven
has stated on the album: "The songs are always about things we experience and think about," Marion says. "This album is mostly about love, but there's also songs about jealousy, about how we see the world." She also spoke about how they approached the album as opposed to their first, further saying, "One the first album we were all about finding who we were. Everything was new to us, songwriting, traveling, and the producers. Everything! On this album we knew exactly what we wanted. We wanted to make a 'real' album. With a live band in the studio, with our songs and a producer we knew would listen to our ideas. It's a lot different then the first record. You change a lot from 14 to 17."
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
pop music duo M2M
M2M (band)
M2M was a pop music duo formed by two Norwegians, Marion Elise Raven and Marit Elisabeth Larsen. They released three albums under Atlantic Records and Warner Music: Shades of Purple, The Big Room, and The Day You Went Away: The Best of M2M, a greatest hits album released by their record label after...
.
The album, despite a positive response from music critics and huge success in Asia, did not perform as well as their previous album Shades of Purple
Shades of Purple
-Singles:# "Don't Say You Love Me" # "Mirror Mirror" # "The Day You Went Away"# "Pretty Boy"# "Girl in Your Dreams"# "Everything You Do"...
and failed to chart in the United States. However, it did manage to reach #16 on the Norwegian charts and become certified 5x Platinum in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
Musical style and critical response
The Big Room took a different musical direction compared to their first album Shades of Purple. M2M dubbed their style "organic pop", as opposed to the computerized music which was then (and now) utilized by other artists. Self-penned songs like "Miss Popular" and "Everything" had hook-laden pop melodies, smart-and-sassy-themed lyrics and featured the group's trademark harmony vocals.The album was recorded at the Bearsville Studios
Bearsville Studios
Bearsville Studios was a recording studio at Bearsville, New York just west of Woodstock, New York.The studio was opened in 1969 by Albert Grossman, manager of Bob Dylan, The Band, Janis Joplin and Todd Rundgren....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The album takes its title from the main space at the renowned recording facility. The goal of the album was to create a natural guitar-based pop sound reminiscent of personal M2M's inspirations like Joni Mitchell, Sheryl Crow and Jewel. Throughout the album, M2M's songs attempt to capture the many feelings of teenage romance, from infatuation to jealousy.
James Hunter of The Village Voice reviewed the album, saying, "This is a pop masterpiece." Hunter adds, "Given how much ornery old teenpop has long eaten into the happiness of rock fans and commentators, it's understandable that 'The Big Room' seeks to reposition M2M toward the real."
Lead singer Marion Raven
Marion Raven
Marion Elise Ravn, born 25 May 1984 in Lørenskog, Norway, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, and former child actress. Her surname is of Norse origin, with Ravn meaning Raven, which she adopted as her stage name Marion Raven as well as her trademark raven logo. She was one-half of the now defunct...
has stated on the album: "The songs are always about things we experience and think about," Marion says. "This album is mostly about love, but there's also songs about jealousy, about how we see the world." She also spoke about how they approached the album as opposed to their first, further saying, "One the first album we were all about finding who we were. Everything was new to us, songwriting, traveling, and the producers. Everything! On this album we knew exactly what we wanted. We wanted to make a 'real' album. With a live band in the studio, with our songs and a producer we knew would listen to our ideas. It's a lot different then the first record. You change a lot from 14 to 17."
Track listing
- "Everything" (Marit Larsen/Marion Raven/Peter Zizzo/Jimmy Bralower) – 4:11
- "Jennifer" (Marion Raven/Marit Larsen) – 3:08
- "Don't" (Marit Larsen/Marion Raven) – 3:27
- "Payphone" (Marit Larsen/Marion Raven) – 3:16
- "What You Do About Me" (Marit Larsen/Marion Raven/Peter Zizzo/Jimmy Bralower) – 3:05
- "Love Left For Me" (Marion Raven) – 4:15
- "Miss Popular" (Marit Larsen/Marion Raven/Peter Zizzo) – 3:06
- "Wanna Be Where You Are" (Marion Raven) – 3:26
- "Leave Me Alone" (Marion Raven) – 3:08
- "Sometimes" (Marion Raven/Marit Larsen) – 2:53
- "Eventually" (Marion Raven/Marit Larsen) – 3:01
Singles
- "Everything" — first single from The Big Room. The single was released in March 2002 in the US and the rest of the world, although the music video began airing in Southeast Asia in mid-November 2001. The Big Room was also released in the region with different cover art. The music video was directed by Chris Applebaum, showing M2M singing while driving, and on a red stage in the middle of a field. The video showcased M2M's mature look which had evolved from their first album.
- "What You Do About Me" — second single from The Big Room. The music video was directed by Tryan George in Krabi, Thailand. It was M2M's last video ever.
- "Wanna Be Where You Are" — only released in the Philippines shortly before the band's dissolution.
- "Don't" — a strictly US-only promo single. It was also released as a CD single, and had no music video to accompany its release, along with "Wanna Be Where You Are".
| Country | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Philippines | 5x Platinum | 110,000 |
| Thailand | 4x Platinum | 200,000 |
| Indonesia | 2x Platinum | 50,000 |
Charts
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 98 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | 16 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
21 April 2002 | Warner Music | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
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