All You Wanted

Album: The Spirit Room (2001)
Charted: 33 6
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The songs on Michelle Branch's major-label debut album The Spirit Room deal with different stages of love and heartbreak. In "All You Wanted," she's dealing with a guy who shuts her out when he really needs someone to care for him. In a Songfacts interview with Branch, she said: "I feel like everybody wants to find someone who you feel understood by and will be there to catch you when you fall, and that's what 'All You Wanted' is about."

    Branch says it's her favorite song on the album.
  • Branch was just 18 when the album was released; judging by her songs, you would think she had made the romantic rounds, but she hadn't - from the time she was 15 she was laser-focused on her music and was home schooled. But she did have an innate sense for songwriting and could really connect with a love lyric based on how she thought it would feel. When she did fall in love, she went all-in, marrying her bass player, Teddy Landau, in 2004 when she was just 20.
  • "All You Wanted" was Branch's second single, following "Everywhere." It climbed to #6 in the US and helped The Spirit Room sell over 2 million copies.

    Branch's producer on the album was John Shanks, who had worked with Melissa Etheridge and Rod Stewart. He and Branch worked very well together; when Michelle played him "All You Wanted" in demo form, he knew it was already a great song and he just had to frame it. The final product ended up being very similar to the demo.
  • Branch was big on MTV, which put her "Everywhere" video in hot rotation and made her a regular on their live countdown show TRL. The "All You Wanted" video got a lot of airplay on the network. Like the "Everywhere" video, it was directed by Liz Friedlander and shows Branch on various sets interacting with a hot guy. "All You Wanted" uses a freeze framing, motion-control effect that was popular at the time.

    As for the guy in the video, Branch picked him from a choice of head shots. She remembers him being named Josh.
  • This song resonated with another young woman with a guitar: Taylor Swift, who is a big Michelle Branch fan and learned The Spirit Room songs when she was starting out as a songwriter. In 2011, Swift played "All You Wanted" on her Speak Now tour.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tony Banks of Genesis

Tony Banks of GenesisSongwriter Interviews

Genesis' key-man re-examines his solo career and the early days of music video.

Maxi Priest

Maxi PriestSongwriter Interviews

The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.

Charles Fox

Charles FoxSongwriter Interviews

After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears

David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & TearsSongwriter Interviews

The longtime BS&T frontman tells the "Spinning Wheel" story, including the line he got from Joni Mitchell.

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"They're Playing My Song

Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.