Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson

Anywhere I Lay My Head

Atco Records

1.5 out of 5 stars

Release Date: May 20, 2008

You will have no argument from me regarding Scarlett Johansson’s sheer beauty or acting ability. As an actor she is simply wonderful and having to look at her on screen or in print is an absolute pleasure. That said, this album is simply a novelty that high school girls are going to listen to while doing their algebra. Regular readers of People Magazine and US Weekly are going to, like, totally dig this album as well.

Anywhere I Lay My Head is Johansson’s debut album and features 10 Tom Waits covers and one track co-written by Johansson and album producer Dave Sitek. The album sounds like a low-fi indie recording —buried, double-tracked vocals, ambient room textures, resonating guitars. Simply put, anyone could have sung over these basic low-fi basic instrumental tracks.

The shame of it all is that people who are not familiar with Waits are going to buy Anywhere I Lay My Head and probably like it more than Waits’ original, raw recordings. Genius and commerciality often times sit at opposite ends of the bar. At least Waits’ will be receiving some royalty checks in the time it takes for Anywhere I Lay My Head to come and go.