Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
People have been sharpening their knives, waiting for this release, 16 May 2008
Probably all listeners are going to come to Scarlett Johansson's debut album with preconceptions. There are many who hate the concept of actresses releasing albums (and with Lindsay Lohan, who can blame them?), envy her lifestyle (million dollar income, villa in the Hollywood Hills, Ryan Reynolds as fiance, etc.) or hate her for the Hollywood adulation and her already gargantuan popularity. And there are those who are accused of weakening at the knees before the formidable marketing juggernaut, loving the idea of this album before they have even heard a note. She's subject to adulation to be sure, but also to ridicule, falling seemingly irresistibly into that actress-cum-singer shoebox.
The crucial question, however, is: IS IT ANY GOOD? And I would say yes and no. Her weird, angular voice is definitely a surprise (I don't remember it being such a croaky baritone in Lost in Translation), which strikes a refreshingly different chord to the hyperhigh, glass-shattering vocals of other female singers. But Scarlett's delivery is almost always drowned out by the epic soundscape that David Andrew Sitek has created around her and Tom Waits' songs: she's more of a feature on the album's musical landscape than occupying its centre stage. David Bowie lends a hand on vocals, too (more a measure of her star-studded connnections than the high esteem in which he holds her vocal ability and musical artistry, I would imagine). The uncharitable would say that her voice is deliberately overwhelmed to cover up the fact that she can't actually sing, but it's a shame that we don't hear more of it - precisely because her throaty, croaky voice is unusual and compelling. Those shoegaze and dreampop atmospherics - from which this album borrows to craft its sound - are nothing new, having had their heyday in the early nineties. The album improves, however, towards the end: by the eighth and ninth tracks, she shakes off the woozy, dreamy soundscape and lifts her voice out of its basement. Her vocals become more melodious and emotive, as well as being set against less dominant instrumentation, quicker beats, and the chinking acoustics of a little girl's jewellery box. We could have done with more of this liveliness.
Worth a listen: Anywhere I Lay my Head, Falling Down, Fannin Street, I Don't Wanna Grow Up, I Wish I Was in New Orleans
For fans of: Dot Allison, Mazzy Star, the gravelly voices of Marianne Faithfull and Nico
Not for fans of: Tom Waits, probably ;-)
|
|
|
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly good, worth a listen, 14 May 2008
I think some of the reviews here are unfair and are simply just music snobbery. I'm not going to insinuate that this is one of the greatest albums ever, it isn't, but it is certainly a very good attempt considering how much rubbish tends to come as a result of actress-turn-singer albums.
The opening instrumental, Fawn, is a fantastically powerful track that (whilst I feel it's bizarre it's the opening and not the finale) is worth a listen if you're going to ignore the rest. Tracks such as 'Town with no cheer' and 'Fannin Street' make for a respectable album that is most certainly worth some of your time. The good thing, at the end of the day, is that it isn't just empty, manufactured pop music which can only be considered a bonus.
|
|
|
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good effort from movie star turned singer., 13 May 2008
Pop stars becoming artists, artists' becoming actors and actors becoming pop stars, there has always been a tendency for people to try their hand at another trade and it normally ends badly, think Hasslehoff or Madonna. But some manage to do it very think Will Smith or Juliette Lewis and it pains me to say that you can now add Johansson to that list. On paper this record sounded terrible, ten Tom Waits covers and one original composition sung by the film starlet with a voice that no one has actually heard but dig a little deeper and you find out that none other than David Bowie sings on two tracks and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs plays guitar on several tracks. So to the music then, well it's actually pretty good and Johansson can sing, the easiest comparison is to liken it to Mazzy Star as she, with a little help from her friends, turns each song into a dreamy mellowed out soundscape. It's the kind of music that will be played everywhere because it is so inoffensive; think Morcheeba meets Portishead for the dinner party generation. That said it is of a better standard than most and shows that it's not just a vanity project for Johanssen it's a very serious affair. Where she goes with this sideline from here is anyone's guess but for now just enjoy the record for what it is with the sun shining, a glass of wine and some serious chilling out.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Pete Yorn/Scarlett Johansson
~ Martha Wainwright
~ Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan
~ Fleet Foxes
~ Bon Iver
