Anywhere I Lay My Head (by Scarlett Johansson, Rock)

Scarlet Johansson is a major fan of the moody and sardonic American icon Tom Waits, with his incomparable growling vocals and poetic songwriting. Many have covered his music before (Rod Stewart singing "Downtown Train," Bruce Springsteen covering "Jersey Girl"). Johansson takes 10 of Waits' lesser known songs and joins them together with her vocal treatment and the production power of Dave Sitek from the group TV on the Radio. Johansson wrote one original track, "Song for Jo," and David Bowie accompanies her on two songs.

If you start off with quality poetic lyrics, an album's sure to be a success, right? Well, covering songs by one of the greats of American songwriting, Tom Waits can be tricky business and it seems that ScarJo might be well over her head. When an artist covers another the assumption is that the new covers will reinvent -- or at least recapture -- the spirit of the songs. Unfortunately, Johansson's treatment is bogged down by over-production to the point where she's almost lost in the techno accompaniment. It's easy to jump on the Johansson-bashing bandwagon; nearly every critic has dissed the album, but there's an atmosphere to a few of the tracks that will linger with the listener, such as the moody title track or the hauntingly poppy "I Don't Wanna Grow Up." But the languishing vibe of the album never changes, and as a whole, listeners will probably feel like they are stuck in a monotonous fog of dreary vocals.

Released on: May 20, 2008
Label: Atco
Genre: Rock