Music Review: Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head
Published May 19, 2008
A certain irony exists in criticizing the quality of someone’s voice when that person is singing the songs of Tom Waits, whose gruff howls make one imagine Cookie Monster suffering from chronic emphysema. Nevertheless, Scarlett Johansson sounds downright abysmal on her debut album – a set of ten Waits compositions and one original – entitled, Anywhere I Lay My Head.
Whirring in a low, invariable drone, Johansson conveys a detachment that renders her timid at best and, at worst, lifeless. As well, her voice is processed with so much reverb that, instead of seeming exotic or ethereal, it just sounds awkwardly robotic. Even on her own creation, “Song For Jo,” she resonates to such an unremarkable extent that the track wafts into obscurity.
Not to heap criticism solely on Johansson’s vocals, the music warrants its own derision as well. Swathed in synthesizers and drum machines, each song sounds like the indulgent consequence of a shopping spree at Radio Shack. “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” comes off like a Depeche Mode outtake, its techno-throb diminishing this rambunctious rant to a disposable remix. The title track is underscored by what sounds like a toy keyboard running on a loop while a faux music box muddles a rudimentary version of “I Wish I Was In New Orleans” as if submerged in an echo chamber. “Falling Down” as well as “Fannin’ Street” both feature David Bowie on background vocals, but even he can’t save them from their soulless doom.
However, this album could have taken a different, ultimately more rewarding course. In 2006, Johansson contributed a coquettishly sultry performance of “Summertime” to a benefit album, Unexpected Dreams: Songs From the Stars. The production was unaffected, unpretentious, and uncomplicated or, in short, beautiful.
Had Scarlett Johansson approached Anywhere I Lay My Head in a similar way – perhaps by interpreting material with more naturalness and subtlety – she likely would have fared far better than she does. Also, in considering the songs she covers here, which favor more obscurities than classics, Johansson clearly admires the breadth of Tom Waits’ music. Unfortunately, her appreciation doesn’t translate to her yielding a satisfying album.
Donald Gibson is an Assistant Music Editor at Blogcritics Magazine and he publishes his own website.He is a freelance writer in the fields of music, books, film, and various pop culture topics. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of South Florida.
- Music Review: Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head
- Published: May 19, 2008
- Type: Review
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Review, Music: Pop, Music: Experimental
- Writer: Donald Gibson
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dang, i was really looking forward to this.
anyhow, for a really good Waits tribute, check out Holly Cole's Temptation.
also, Southside Johnny & LaBamba will be releasing a big band/Waits record in the summer.
She can act? Really?
Donald, you've confirmed what I suspected.
Dang, someone please clean up my multiple comments. I swear it didn't take. I even refreshed and saw nothing. And now I've got three of basically the same thing.
Josh, she acts real good...in my dreams...every night.
Well I am a fan of Scarlett's so in her defense:
Scarlett was not out to make a mainstream record, she had nothing to prove, it seems to me that she wanted to make this album for people who would enjoy it and possibly to spark creativity for herself, these are my opinions. Listen to the song "No One Knows I'm Gone". I enjoy it highly and if no one else does thats fine but just try to think of what she has made the album for. I agree that Summertime was brilliant and maybe if were lucky enough her next album will sound more like that, but for the time being, this one is perfectly good for me.
Mat #4: Refreshing is what caused the multiple comments. If you hit Publish and nothing happens and you refresh, you're sending the 'Publish' signal to the site every time you do it.
A little patience is what's needed sometimes.
Also, sometimes the site will give you a 'timed out' message if the page doesn't reload quickly after you hit Publish. That doesn't necessarily mean your comment didn't take.
What I do in such cases is:
1. Hit the Back button until you arrive back at the comments box with your comment in it.
2. Highlight, right-click and copy the comment text in the box.
3. Navigate back to the BC home page (or any page from where you can get to the Fresh Comments page).
4. Click on 'Fresh Comments' and see if your comment posted. Most likely it did.
5. If it didn't, go back to the article, paste your comment text back into the box and try again.
ASSISTANT COMMENTS EDITOR
Thanks for the tips good dr. It kept asking me if I wanted to save some sort of php file when I tried commenting. I'd tell it no and then seemingly nothing would happen, but I guess it posted anyways.
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/77043)
I had some hopes for this. I'm not generally into actors turning into singers, but she had the balls to do an album full of Waits covers, but from a precursory listen I think you've nailed it. Scarlett's voice is kind of awful, and the music is pretty cheesy.
At least she can act, I guess.