Scarlett Johansson: Anywhere I Lay My Head [Album Review]
I’ve been holding off on posting anything about this, but I buckled. Scarlett Johansson released her debut vanity album last week. The album is a collection of Tom Waits covers with one original thrown in.
Can’t she just be happy being hot and a pretty good actress? Did she really need to go out and piss all over my favorite musician’s back catalog? Apparently, she thought she did. She somehow dragged two of my other favorite musicians down with her – the album is produced by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio, and features David Bowie (?!?), as well as members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Celebration.
Sitek’s production work was a large part of what made TotR’s Return to Cookie Mountain one of the best albums of this decade, but it sounds out of place and overdone in this setting. Scarlett’s husky voice is swathed in reverb and buried in the mix — probably to be more forgiving to her sub-par voice.
Below is a video for “Falling Down” and an MP3 of her slaughtering one of my favorite songs from Tom’s weird phase (ok, his weirder phase) — a song I want played at my funeral.
Video:
Scarlett Johansson – Falling Down [f. David Bowie]
MP3s:
Scarlett Johansson – Anywhere I Lay My HeadTom Waits – Anywhere I Lay My Head
[...] Johansson gave AOL Music a live performance in support of her album of Tom Waits covers. I gave a less-than-complementary review of the album a few weeks ago, but I have to admit that this performance somehow adds a little life [...]
Dear Stranger Jay,
Perhaps it is not so weird that Scarlet managed to get Bowie, TVOTR etc to help on her album, perhaps all those talented people saw it as a worthwhile project, and perhaps she was not trying to piss on anyone, but paying homage.
I would agree she does not have a great voice, better than my voice, and mine is pretty good, but its not great. The album, however is pretty good too. Sometimes Tom’s gravelly voice can be a bit contrived, and I find listening to a different take on them refreshing.
So it lived on my MP3 player for at least 10 listens, but did not make the cut for my 3 albums worth purchasing that month.
It gets a 7/10 for me.