Recorded at Dockside Studio in Louisiana’s Cajun country, Scarlett Johansson’s debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head features her distinctive vocal interpretations of ten songs by legendary singer-songwriter Tom Waits. It also introduces one original track, “Song For Jo,” which she co-wrote with David Andrew Sitek (TV on the Radio), who produced the album and lent his instrumental skills throughout. The title track comes from Waits’ 1985 opus Rain Dogs, and Johansson’s set also pulls cuts from Alice, Swordfishtrombones, Big Time, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, Real Gone, Small Change and Bone Machine. David Bowie adds backing vocals on two tracks, “Falling Down” and “Fannin Street,” and the disc also features the talents of Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and multi-instrumentalist Sean Antanaitis from Celebration, among others.
Anywhere I Lay My Head is the debut studio album by actress Scarlett Johansson, released through Atco/Rhino Records on May 20, 2008. Dave Sitek (of TV on the Radio) produced the album, and David Bowie contributed to two tracks, “Falling Down” and “Fannin Street.” Anywhere I Lay My Head features four songs written by Tom Waits, six songs written by Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan and one original composition, “Song for Jo.”
The album received lukewarm reviews, scoring a 59/100 on Metacritic. Paste featured Johansson on its June 2008 cover. Johansson was also featured on the cover of the May 21 issue of NME.
Track listing
- “Fawn” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Alice) – 2:32
- “Town With No Cheer” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Swordfishtrombones) – 5:03
- “Falling Down” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Big Time) – 4:55
- “Anywhere I Lay My Head” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Rain Dogs) – 3:38
- “Fannin Street” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards) – 5:06
- “Song for Jo” (original song; written by Johansson and Sitek) – 4:09
- “Green Grass” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Real Gone) – 3:33
- “I Wish I Was in New Orleans” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Small Change) – 3:59
- “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Bone Machine) – 4:11
- “No One Knows When I’m Gone” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Alice) – 2:57
- “Who Are You” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Bone Machine) – 4:49
- “Yesterday Is Here” (originally on Tom Waits’ album Franks Wild Years) – 2:44
- “Sincerely, Scarlet.” (originally on Tom Waits’ album The Black Rider) – 4:11
