Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Scarlett Johansson's Album Gets Bad Reviews

From Reuters:
"Anywhere I Lay My Head," a collection of Tom Waits songs recorded by the star of such films as "Match Point," "Lost in Translation" and "Girl with a Pearl Earring," has been described by the actress as "an intimate experience." But numerous reviews of the album complained that Johansson's vocals end up lost in the lush arrangements of producer David Andrew Sitek, the guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band TV on the Radio.

For some critics, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Johansson's voice is unremarkable and her pitch sometimes unsteady; she's a faintly goth Marilyn Manson lost in a sonic fog," wrote Rolling Stone magazine, which gave her a lukewarm 2.5 stars out of five.

Britain's Mojo magazine called the recordings "fussy and forgettable," adding that the decision to begin the album with an instrumental was hardly a vote of confidence in Johansson's vocal abilities.

The disc received a middling "C" grade from Entertainment Weekly magazine, which wrote that her "expressionless voice" was buried "deeply in the druggy ambiance."

And the Washington Post said it was possible to listen to all 40-plus minutes of Johansson's album and "still have no earthly idea what she sounds like."

"The album is ultimately too ethereal for its own good," the Post said. "Every song is like every other song, even the ones that sound different."

...

She later sang live with the band Jesus and Mary Chain at the Coachella Music Festival in California.

I didn't know about that last part. That's a nice move on the part of Jesus and Mary Chain. Anyhow, don't let those critics get you down Scarlett. They don't know what they're talking about, plus they're jealous of you (or your boyfriend).

2 comments:

Failgoat said...

The only word for this album (other than possibly "abortion") is "laughable." It's that bad. Rather Advanced of Tom Waits to support the project though.

polkatronixx said...

Yes, pretty advanced, if you ask me. And it's about time, too... Waits has been painfully overt for far too long.