Scarlett Johansson has joined the likes of Kevin Bacon, Keanu Reeves and Zooey Deschanel for stars that have decided that they made enough money in film and want to move onto a music career. For Bacon and Reeves this has not been a profitable transition but the jury is still out on Deschanel though.
Johansson is treading on sacred ground now though that could spell disaster for her. When she covered Tom Waits everyone said “Fine I’ll give you that one but don’t push your luck.” Well she’s pushed her luck with this one.
The way I look at it, if the skinny dude from Coldplay can rip off Jeff Buckley, the hot chick from The Island can, too.
I appreciate the advance warning. I’ll admit I was quite prepared to hate it, even though I enjoyed her album of Waits covers. You’ve got to give it to her – the chick has exquisite musical taste.
After giving it a listen, though, I can’t say that I hate it. Of course, it comes nowhere close to equaling the grandiose, heartwrenching catharsis that erupted from the original that Buckley recorded (what’s her range, three octaves fewer than Buckley’s?) but few covers ever do. I admire the fact that she realizes her limitations and that she knows how to work well within them. This homage (and, let’s face it, every cover is a tribute, whether it’s for a commercial Hollywood film or not) is heartfelt and, I must say, her voice is just as pretty as her face.