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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Fawn |
| 2. Town With No Cheer |
| 3. Falling Down |
| 4. Anywhere I Lay My Head |
| 5. Fannin Street |
| 6. Song For Jo |
| 7. Green Grass |
| 8. I Wish I Was In New Orleans |
| 9. I Don't Wanna Grow Up |
| 10. No One Knows I'm Gone |
| 11. Who Are You |
Product Description
Review
Actors making music, what a cheek eh? The crimes are many and varied. Bruce Willis' soul monstrosities? Keanu Reeves' sub-grungers, Dogstar? William Shatner's remarkable thesp-psych classic, The Transformed Man? We do love to laugh and point at such abberations. Yet why should we? Surely musicians and actors share many similar traits, if only the need to show off in public. So before we talk about Scarlett Johansson's new album let's remember that it's a thin line between this and David Bowie mincing around in tights as the Goblin King in Labyrinth.
Which brings us to Anywhere I Lay My Head. For it features the Dame himself on backing vocals (Fannin Street, Falling Down). It's been a few decades since he lent his voice to others like this (Lou Reed, Mott The Hoople etc) but a very servicable job he does too. And what of Johansson? Well, you probably know by now that this album consists of ten Tom Waits cover versions and one original. What's more it's ten fairly left field Waits tracks from albums like Alice, Bone Machine and even Small Change, all performed and produced as if it were a Cocteau Twins or My Bloody Valentine-era product. Confused yet? Believe me, you will be.
Much has already been made about the double-tracked, bathed in reverb vocals of SJ. Aha, say detractors, she obviously can't sing! Well, yes, it's hard to tell here, but frankly it matters not. What's more if this was some obscure Canadian indie act's debut not a soul would focus on such a detail. What IS apparent is that she has a distinctive tone that suits these arrangements down to the ground. TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek (a man almost as ubiquitous as Danger Mouse these days) slavishly recreates those early 4AD days with ticking beat boxes, cavernous strings and chiming musical boxes. Each song is totally re-versioned; a distant ghost of the jazzy, wheezy originals. And (here's the controversial bit) it actually works. It's Tom Waits for the post-industrial age and works best as one whole piece. From the dreamy waltz of Fallin' Down to the nursery rhyme tinkles of I Wish I Was In New Orleans, if you just let go and allow Anywhere I Lay My Head to carry you away you'll be hooked.
Let critics bray, but one suspects that this album will, in ten years, be a treasured obscurity that was wrongly condemned. Be cool, and dig it now. --Chris Jones
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Album Description
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.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Paris Hilton makes a record and is pilloried from pillar to post; Scarlett Johansson on the other hand, despite her Justin Timberlake video cameo's seems to get the benefit of the doubt. Nothing to do with the fact that this is largely an album of Tom Waits songs. And the fact she's roped in a "hip" producer (Dave Sitek from TV On The Radio), has one of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on guitar and managed to rope in David Bowie in on backing vocals.
The NME love it, which isn't as surprising as it may seem. It's an event record, just one that happens to be padded out with a better supporting cast than the majority of Hollywood Actresses vanity projects. Although I'd be interested in how they would view it if a less "cool" actress had made the exact same record.
Her singing isn't bad (but then is no better than, say, Lindsay Lohan's) but as if to make up for the obvious deficits the production at times seems keen to drown her out, or at least make her a peripheral character in her own album. It's no bad thing as she doesn't have the character of voice to carry proceedings on her own.
All in all it's not bad. It's been lovingly crafted, offers up some interesting version of Waits' songs and the one new track, Song For Jo, does suggest that there might be mileage in a prolonged Sitek/Johansson musical relationship. But in the final analysis, it's an interesting curiosity - nothing more. This is not a record that normal music listeners with no need to seem cool will love.
The NME love it, which isn't as surprising as it may seem. It's an event record, just one that happens to be padded out with a better supporting cast than the majority of Hollywood Actresses vanity projects. Although I'd be interested in how they would view it if a less "cool" actress had made the exact same record.
Her singing isn't bad (but then is no better than, say, Lindsay Lohan's) but as if to make up for the obvious deficits the production at times seems keen to drown her out, or at least make her a peripheral character in her own album. It's no bad thing as she doesn't have the character of voice to carry proceedings on her own.
All in all it's not bad. It's been lovingly crafted, offers up some interesting version of Waits' songs and the one new track, Song For Jo, does suggest that there might be mileage in a prolonged Sitek/Johansson musical relationship. But in the final analysis, it's an interesting curiosity - nothing more. This is not a record that normal music listeners with no need to seem cool will love.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Scarlett Johansson - she's going to have her haters as let's face it, she is gorgeous, and if this was Claire Rayner singing a whole album of Tom Waits I doubt I'd of even bothered with the listen, but as an album I think this works pretty well. It's not going to be mainstream but as an indie-folk album it more than holds it's own. My girlfriend thought the lead single was good and then enquired to who was singing.
Her voice isn't what you'd expect (well not what I expected anyway) -it's pretty deep and could be accused of being a bit one dimensional on the evidence here.
I am no Tom Waits fan but this album has given me an incentive to check out his material, which is clearly a positive sign.
Fannin' Street, the title track and the first single Falling Down are definite stand outs - David Bowie's input on the first and later songs add an extra star to my rating, and his addition to the album, as well as manufacturing extra sales instantly is a masterstroke.
Coming into this album as an Indie / Rock boy I would say there is more than enough for me to enjoy.
It has it's weaker moments, and the album kind of blends into one nearer the end but this is an encouraging debut suggesting finally that a hollywood star could make it in the music world.
Next time maybe a few more original songs though please.
3.5 stars out of 5
Her voice isn't what you'd expect (well not what I expected anyway) -it's pretty deep and could be accused of being a bit one dimensional on the evidence here.
I am no Tom Waits fan but this album has given me an incentive to check out his material, which is clearly a positive sign.
Fannin' Street, the title track and the first single Falling Down are definite stand outs - David Bowie's input on the first and later songs add an extra star to my rating, and his addition to the album, as well as manufacturing extra sales instantly is a masterstroke.
Coming into this album as an Indie / Rock boy I would say there is more than enough for me to enjoy.
It has it's weaker moments, and the album kind of blends into one nearer the end but this is an encouraging debut suggesting finally that a hollywood star could make it in the music world.
Next time maybe a few more original songs though please.
3.5 stars out of 5
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Producer Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio fame and not Ms. Johansson is initially the star here, doing a sterling job of re-imagining songs from the Tom Waits catalogue. These interpretations and arrangements alone make Anywhere I Lay My Head an enticing prospect for Waits fans.
But we all know who gets star billing here and the shock of Johansonn's voice can be a little repellent at first. Her deep, untamed vocals do not match her Hollywood megastar looks one bit but she does call to mind a drunken Nico and by the time you come to the title track you find yourself succumbing to her charms. And a certain David Bowie pops up on backing vocals to offer a helping hand on two tracks, Falling Down and Fannin' Street.
So Anywhere I Lay My Head is left with the problem of not being awful enough to become a cult classic and not commercial enough for Scarlett to become the next Kylie. And for that we can only take our hats off to her. It's not as though this is even a selection of Waits' 'greatest hits'. The sole original track, Song For Jo, even gives reason to believe this could just be the audition for the actress's latest role as credible songstress in her own right.
What could, and perhaps should, have been a cringeworthy vanity project eventually turns out to be one of the better and more interesting albums you could add to your record collection this year.
But we all know who gets star billing here and the shock of Johansonn's voice can be a little repellent at first. Her deep, untamed vocals do not match her Hollywood megastar looks one bit but she does call to mind a drunken Nico and by the time you come to the title track you find yourself succumbing to her charms. And a certain David Bowie pops up on backing vocals to offer a helping hand on two tracks, Falling Down and Fannin' Street.
So Anywhere I Lay My Head is left with the problem of not being awful enough to become a cult classic and not commercial enough for Scarlett to become the next Kylie. And for that we can only take our hats off to her. It's not as though this is even a selection of Waits' 'greatest hits'. The sole original track, Song For Jo, even gives reason to believe this could just be the audition for the actress's latest role as credible songstress in her own right.
What could, and perhaps should, have been a cringeworthy vanity project eventually turns out to be one of the better and more interesting albums you could add to your record collection this year.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
So much better than you might expect!
Ok, forget Tom Waits for a minute. He's a legend, but this isn't his album. What's the use in making a cover album if you're going to make every track just like the original? Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2009 by Matthew C. Baldwin
Give her a break
Why do people get so uptight about an actress making an album. I don't recall much publicity about this. She did not appear on chat shows pushing it, like some do. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2009 by Chris Rawlings
Embarrassingly Bad. Vile. Awful. TERRIBLE!
Anyone who thinks that this is anything but unlistenable, pretentious garbage needs their head checked! Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2009 by Fairuza Foch
Jolly Folly
This is a difficult album to review objectively as one camp is so strong in their condemnation of Johansson's `sacrilegious assault' in covering this collection of tracks by Mr. Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2009 by Gannon
Surprisingly decent
I heard this when i was in my friends cd shop having a browse.
On first listen i was suitably impressed and had no idea who it was coming through the speakers. Read more
On first listen i was suitably impressed and had no idea who it was coming through the speakers. Read more
Published on 16 Nov 2008 by D. Brodie
She can't sing!
I can't even comment on the melody or lyrics of the songs because they may be ok but what a hell does it matter because you can't listen to it since she sings so badly. Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2008 by Vendy
oh dear!
Pitiful. Not only is the production/music very poor and dated, she takes some of Waits' most beautiful ballads and turns them into monotonous drivel where the only refreshing parts... Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2008 by Mr. B. P. Appleby
A pleasant surprise
I wasn't sure at all what to expect from Scarlett Johansson musically. I do remember her singing very briefly in The Other Boleyn Girl but I knew that couldn't be definitive of her... Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2008 by Mustafa Evren
For David Bowie Fans Only.
To be honest I couldn't give a monkey's knacker about Scarlett Whats-her-name, but bought this album for the mere fact David Bowie is featured on two tracks. Read more
Published on 20 Jun 2008 by Ward-Minter
Beautiful! Sublime!
I don't know anything about Scarlett Johansson as an actress and don't recall seeing any films with her in, but I do know that I love this recording! Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2008 by Music Lover.
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