Check Out More of Scarlett's Tom Waits Covers

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:30:03 -0700

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):

Source

First Listen: Scarlett Johansson, "Anywhere I Lay My Head"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:28:16 -0700

It's been a long wait for ScarJo's album of Tom Waits covers, Anywhere I Lay My Head and we still have until May 20 for the full album, but today we can at least hear the title track. Apparently, the album's producer Dave Sitek was "going for a 'cough medicine/Tinkerbell' vibe" on the album, which it actually helps to know when listening to "Anywhere."

The song has a dreamy/hazy thing going on, with lots of synth. Scarlett's low voice gets somewhat lost in all the percussive stuff, and I could probably do without the drum machine. Something about this reminds me of Annie Lennox, though I wish Scarlett's vocals would take on some more of Lennox's emotion. Overall, though, I give Scarlett a lot of credit for transforming Waits' song into something totally novel.

Update: Sadly, I had to take down the music file for "Anywhere I Lay My Head."