In between getting engaged to Van Wilder and filming a make-out session with Penélope Cruz for the new Woody Allen picture, Scarlett Johansson (Scar-Jo if you're nasty) decided, “Hey, might as well record a bunch of Tom Waits songs.” So she called on the production skills of TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, and the two road-tripped down to Louisiana to make a record.
And they kinda pulled it off. No kidding. Sitek's arrangements (for songs that were pretty much perfect to begin with) are mostly inspired, with the '80s style echo-drenched textures of the production smartly avoiding most of the indulgent clichés of such a sound. David Bowie lends his voice to two tracks, turning out a charming Beach Boys-esque dum-de-do-wah choral on “ Fannin Street .”
On the other hand, Johansson can't really sing (but then some might say the same about Waits). She sounds pleasant enough. She keeps her baritone to a sultry whisper, which suits the path she and Sitek chose for these songs. Then again, there's the title trackoriginally one of Waits' most heart-wrenching vocal performanceswhich didn't really need a Casio bossa nova beat.
And that begs the question: Did these songs need any sort of makeover? No. But unlike most full-fledged tribute albums or actress-turned-singer albums, this at least sounds like more than a novelty item. It's actually a shame that, in 10 years' time, that's inevitably how it'll come to be remembered.
