The first track from Anywhere I Lay My Head, Scarlett Johansson's album of Tom Waits covers, gave us a pretty good indication of where the album might be headed: thick, fuzzy production, androgynous vocals, and some pretty drastic reinterpretations of Waits' songs. Now, six full tracks from the album are streaming online, and sure enough, they all have a similar vibe.
Those of you who thought the vocals on "Anywhere I Lay My Head" sounded manly will have a field day with "Town With No Cheer," on which Scarlett's voice sounds flat and almost spooky. The title track still seems like the most dramatic makeover of a Waits song, and thus far, my favorite is the first single, "Falling Down," which has backing vocals courtesy of David Bowie (who also contributes on another of the streaming tracks, "Fannin Street").
Having heard more of the songs, I'm still not positive I'd buy the album, but the result is nothing like the disaster I imagined way back when I first heard ScarJo had her eye on Waits' catalog. How about you? To listen to Scarlett's version of "Falling Down" along with a live version of Waits singing his original, just read more.
Tom Waits — "Falling Down" (Live):
Topshop
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Henrik Vibskov
she sounds like a talking robot
1*disappointed*
2Not impressed. Sounds flat.
3I'm not very impressed. I went to the album site & under the music link you can listen to samples of all eleven songs.
http://www.scarlettalbum.com/music.lasso
It's strange to say, but if I didn't know any better, I would have thought I was listening to a different sample of the same song each time. Not to into that deep low voice thing she has going on, no matter who she is supposed to sound like.
4I thought she's be better
5*...she WOULD be better.
6I don't know, I've heard "Falling Down" about six times on the Current, the radio station I stream while working, and it's strangely addictive. I have started to enjoy it, which I'm shocked by.
One thing I will say, though, the video is pure gold — that is, if you're a voyeuristic heterosexual male (which I think accounts for the majority of her fans).
7Well, I like it. Hey, I'm even living in a town with no cheer,
8what a coincidence. But that's something I'm accustomed to.
I'm conflicted, on one side Im impressed she is a Tom Waits fan, on the other, I just want to smack her for this, lol.
9Blaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
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