Scarlett Johansson, known globally for her acting prowess, ventured into a different artistic realm in 2008 with Anywhere I Lay My Head, an album dedicated entirely to the songs of Tom Waits. While the album itself garnered mixed reviews, it remains a fascinating exploration of Waits’s gritty lyricism through Johansson’s uniquely smoky vocal lens. Among the album’s tracks, “Fannin Street” stands out, not only for its haunting melody and narrative but also for the ethereal harmonies contributed by the iconic David Bowie. This song, rooted in the blues tradition and reimagined through Waits’s distinctive voice, takes on yet another layer of interpretation in Johansson’s rendition, amplified by Bowie’s spectral presence.
The story of Anywhere I Lay My Head begins with Johansson’s long-held admiration for Tom Waits. As a child, she found his songs both humorous and strangely captivating, a sentiment she articulated in an interview, recalling how tracks like “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” resonated differently as she matured and understood the adult perspective behind them. This early exposure to Waits’s world of poetic grit and melancholic beauty laid the groundwork for her eventual foray into recording an album of his material. Initially considering a collection of standards, Johansson’s vision crystallized around a Tom Waits tribute, sparked by her desire to record “I Never Talk to Strangers,” a duet originally performed by Waits and Bette Midler.
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To bring her vision to life, Johansson enlisted Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio. Sitek, sharing a similar artistic sensibility, envisioned the album as a cinematic experience, drawing inspiration from the Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra collaborations. This approach steered Anywhere I Lay My Head away from straightforward covers, aiming instead for reinterpretations that captured the essence of Waits while forging a distinct sonic landscape. Recorded over five weeks in Louisiana, the album primarily featured Waits’s later compositions, leaning towards the atmospheric textures of albums like Bone Machine, Alice, and Real Gone. Sitek’s production aimed for a “cough medicine tinker-bell vibe,” layering Johansson’s vocals within a tapestry of unconventional sounds, including Tibetan bowls, music boxes, and bass harmonicas, creating an ethereal and slightly unsettling atmosphere.
“Fannin Street,” originally written by Waits for John Hammond and recorded by Waits himself in 2006, is a poignant example of this reinterpretation. The song itself is a modern echo of Leadbelly’s blues lament of the same name, shifting the locale from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Houston’s Fannin Street. While Leadbelly’s version evokes a sense of illicit allure and escape, Waits’s rendition paints a picture of temptation and damnation, a place of closed doors and faded glamour. Johansson’s take on “Fannin Street” is characterized by a simple delivery, her voice settling into its lower register, adding a layer of understated melancholy.
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The most striking element of Johansson’s “Fannin Street,” however, is the inclusion of David Bowie. Johansson, a long-time Bowie admirer, had even fantasized about duetting with him on “I Never Talk to Strangers.” While that particular collaboration didn’t materialize, fate intervened when Bowie and Johansson found themselves in the cast of Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. A chance encounter led to Bowie’s unexpected involvement in Anywhere I Lay My Head. Intrigued by Johansson’s project with Sitek, Bowie spontaneously offered his contribution. He arrived at Avatar Studios during the mixing stage, sheet music in hand, ready to lend his vocal artistry.
Sitek proposed Bowie contribute to “Falling Down” and “Fannin Street.” Bowie, feeling less inspired by “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up,” focused his efforts on the former two. On “Fannin Street,” Bowie’s harmonies are nothing short of transformative. His four-part vocal arrangement builds throughout the song, culminating in a breathtakingly sorrowful climax in the final refrain. Where Johansson’s vocal performance is restrained and observational, Bowie’s harmonies inject a profound sense of lament and emotional depth. His voice acts as a spectral counterpoint to Johansson’s, amplifying the song’s themes of regret and lost innocence. While Waits’s original delivery of the line “give a man gin, give a man cards/give him an inch he takes a yard” carries a sense of self-pitying condemnation, Johansson’s version transforms it into a subtle indictment, the perspective of someone on the receiving end of such exploitation. Bowie’s harmonies underscore this shift, adding layers of empathy and understanding to Johansson’s nuanced interpretation.
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The album also features “Falling Down,” another Waits composition where Bowie lends his vocals. The song’s inclusion is almost self-referential, given the lyric “come from St. Petersburg/Scarlett and me,” seemingly blurring the lines between Johansson’s public persona and her artistic explorations. The music video for “Falling Down” further plays with this duality, depicting Johansson as a movie star meticulously constructing her image, a commentary on fame and manufactured identity. In her rendition of “Falling Down,” Johansson pushes her vocal range, incorporating a New York accent reminiscent of Debbie Harry, adding a punkish edge to Waits’s melancholic tune. While Waits’s original vocal performance on Big Time is a raw, visceral expression of a world collapsing, Johansson’s approach is more detached, observational, akin to an observer moving through wreckage. Bowie’s vocals in “Falling Down” begin as whispers in the background, gradually rising to meet Johansson’s in the refrains, adding a layer of poignant loss to her detached delivery.
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Despite its ambition and the intriguing collaboration with Bowie, Anywhere I Lay My Head met with a lukewarm reception commercially and critically. Stephen Thomas Erlewine’s assessment, noting the album’s imperfect execution yet undeniable ambition and lack of vanity, remains a fair summary. While Sitek’s production might sound somewhat dated today, Johansson’s performance, especially on tracks like “Fannin Street,” retains a captivating allure. Her interpretations, infused with a blend of detachment and emotional depth, offer a fresh perspective on Tom Waits’s songbook. And Bowie’s harmonies on “Fannin Street” elevate the track into a haunting duet, a unique meeting of musical minds that transcends the album’s overall reception. “Fannin Street,” in particular, stands as a testament to the power of interpretation and collaboration, a song where Scarlett Johansson, Tom Waits, and David Bowie converge to create a moment of lasting musical intrigue.
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