I’m so curious about this. I’m a huge fan of Tom Waits, and would be interested to see what Scarlett Johansson does with a variety of his songs. There’s a great track-by-track review over at Uncut that sounds promising.

Here’s a taste of what they had to say:

1. “Fawn”

(Taken from Tom Waits’ 2002 album, Alice)

A bit of a cheat, this, as it’s an instrumental track. But, it does efficiently set out the album’s sonic template – loosely, late period Cocteau Twins, with touches of Mercury Rev’s Deserter’s Songs and Marianne Faithfull. A gentle organ intro before a wave of brass comes crashing in, then straight into…

2. “Town With No Cheer”

(Swordfishtrombones, 1983)

Scarlett privileges the storytelling aspect of Waits’ original, recalling here Marianne Faithfull as she half-sings, half-speaks the lyrics. Waits’ version is pretty sparse – just his voice recounting the lyrics accompanied by keyboard and accordion. Initially, this version doesn’t stray too much from that: the backing is organ, and keyboards with the occasional burst of guitar, but gradually Sitek layers on sax and drums and pushes the organ further up in the mix.

3. “Falling Down”

(Big Time, 1988)

This was the only studio cut on Waits’ ’88 live album. Here, Scarlett sounds very like Liz Frazer, which is effectively the vocal setting she operates in for much of the album. Her voice is perhaps deeper and less sharp than Frazer, but it works convincingly in the musical context, which Sitek describes as a “cough medicine tinker bell vibe.” And, yes, her voice sits surprisingly well with Bowie’s harmonies. There’s sleigh bells and a xylophone, while a haunting guitar motif towards the end recalls Mercury Rev’s “Endlessly”.

4. “Anywhere I Lay My Head”

(Rain Dogs, 1985)

Instead of the opening drunken trumpet reverie of Waits’ original, we get a soft, drum pattern intro and the swish of a keyboard and accordion. Scarlett sings defiantly “I don’t need anybody because I learned to be alone” against a stunning church organ crescendo.

…

According to Amazon, “Anywhere I lay my head” will be released May 20th on Rhino.

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