[Pop] Album: Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head.

[Stew]

Recorded at Dockside Studio in Louisiana's Cajun country, Scarlett Johansson s debut album ANYWHERE I LAY MY HEAD features her distinctive vocal interpretations of ten songs by legendary singer-songwriter Tom Waits. It also introduces one original track, Song For Jo, which she co-wrote with David Andrew Sitek (TV on the Radio), who produced the album and lent his instrumental skills throughout. The title track comes from Waits 1985 opus Rain Dogs, and Johansson s set also pulls cuts from Alice, Swordfishtrombones, Big Time, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, Real Gone, Small Change and Bone Machine. David Bowie adds backing vocals on two tracks, Falling Down and Fannin Street, and the disc also features the talents of Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and multi-instrumentalist Sean Antanaitis from Celebration, among others.

I've only listened to this one time through so far, but wow, this is better than it has any right to be. Everyone wrote this off immediately, but I assumed it would at least be listenable due to Bowie and Zinner guest spots. Oh yeah, and also Tom Waits material. It's very Niko does Waits, and ScarJo's voice isn't anything to write home about, but let's be honest, Tom Waits is no Tenor. It works extremely well with the music. I'll have to go through it once more before I can get all of my feelings down on it. Her version of "Falling Down" is just beautiful. Would it have been too much to ask for a "Chocolate Jesus" cover though?

[pANDAS Radio]

The whole idea sounds like a car crash, Maybe Mr Waits has announced tour dates so he can raise the cash to have her rubbed out.

[kimzor]

Originally Posted by pANDAS Radio

The whole idea sounds like a car crash, Maybe Mr Waits has announced tour dates so he can raise the cash to have her rubbed out.

My initial thoughts exactly.

I'll listen to it though, see what its all about.

[GreatKingRat]

ScarJo... who came up with that one?

[Stew]

Originally Posted by GreatKingRat

ScarJo... who came up with that one?

It's shorter than 'The girls with the magnificent breasts'.

Also, you can give three of the tracks a listen on the myspace page:
--http://www.myspace.com/scarlettalbum

I think my judgement may be clouded by my love for her, but when you bear in mind that Tom Wait's voice itself isn't the best in the world, it's listenable and a lot better than I thought it would be.

[MarkMono]

His voice is pretty unique though, and it would require an incredibly talented (Or, if you prefer, individual) voice talent to do any of his songs justice.

At least she didn't cover Temptation.

[pANDAS Radio]

Part of Tom Waits' magic, for me at least, is his voice and the way he uses it.

So although it may not be the best in the world it is the best in the world for his songs.

[Stew]

This is kinda interesting really. The production is just a smudge of sound, but I wouldn't've expected anything better from Sitek. There's really no highs or lows, it all just flows and every song is as melodramatic as the last one. Pretty surprising, I would've expected it'd be some horrible minimalist whispering.

She's no Milla Jovovich or Zooey Deschanel as far as celebrity albums go but this isn't as bad as I was prepared for.

[Pier Angeli]

Originally Posted by GreatKingRat

ScarJo... who came up with that one?

The media.

[pANDAS Radio]

YouTube - Tom Waits Press Conference

I hope the tour makes it to the UK, that'd be astoundingly good.

[monkey star]

Theres a rumour he's playing Edinburgh, £180 a ticket, but that was just what someone in the pub told me.

[pANDAS Radio]

An Edinburgh Castle gig like Leonard Cohen's would be great.

I've just compared the cover of Fannin Street with the original. Fuckin' hell, it's awful.

She's taken a lovely blues track and ripped as much of the soul and passion out of it as she can, Just listen to her sing "down" at the end of the chorus, loads of the notes are too low for her and makes it sound EVEN WORSE. Christ, if this album was a child then i'd have advised the pregnant mother to take a bottle of Gin and a rusty coathanger into a very hot bath. This is the kind of shite that you'd expect the "talented" but "special" child in a US sitcom to sing at a talent show, fuckin' travesty. Sounds a bit like a bad joke on paper, sounds exactly like a very bad joke when recorded.

YouTube - *NEW* Scarlett Johansson song - Fannin...

[MarkMono]

Aye, sorry Stew, after listening to the Myspace I have dismissed this as pathetically awful.

[pANDAS Radio]

She makes I Don't Want To Grow Up sound like Bananarama Vs The Waitresses.

[McLeary]

Self-indulgent bullshit, and I don't even care about Tom Waits.