Your Listening Pleasure
She & Him, The Miracles, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Waits.
For this edition of Your Listening Pleasure, I'm going to try something new. Instead of describing three recently released, but unrelated songs, I will compare two or three with a commonality that I feel goes to the heart of something significant in how music relates to our culture at large. This week, I am going to compare the recent musical output of Zooey Deschanel (She & Him) and Scarlett Johannson. Both are notable young, white and attractive Hollywood actresses, are backed by artists with loads of indie-cred (M. Ward and David Sitek of TV On The Radio, respectively) and both have recently released covers of well-liked artists (The Miracles, and Tom Waits, respectively). But are both worth listening to? Let's compare.
She & Him – You've Really Got a Hold On Me and The Miracles – You've Really Got a Hold On Me - The original 1962 chart-climbing hit - led by Motown's resident pop songwriting genius, Smokey Robinson - is the kind of slow blend of soul and R&B the label was known for in its heyday. Driven by piano, horns, drums, bass and the five-piece's harmonies, "I Thought I Saw Your Face Today" is an undeniably excellent song that stands the test of time. She & Him's rendition, on the other hand, is much more minimal, restraining the instrumentation to an acoustic guitar, and the reverbed, dueting vocals of Deschanel and M. Ward. Despite the mellower vibe, the cover is both faithful to the original and brings new life to the melody of the song. In addition, while Deschanel's vocals are somewhat uneven throughout the duo's debut album, "You've Really Got a Hold On Me" is probably one of her strongest performances, and also serves as an example of the right way to apply studio effects onto vocals.
Scarlett Johansson – Anywhere I Lay My Head and Tom Waits – Anywhere I Lay My Head - Dedicating a cover album to a songwriter of the opposite gender with one of the most unique and distinctive voices in music history would be a risky proposition for just about anyone - especially for a celebrity not known for their musical talents. So what becomes immediately obvious when listening to Johansson's rendition of "Anywhere I Lay My Head" (also doubling as the title of her collection of mostly-Tom Waits covers) is that her low, effects-ridden, but flat voice is barely in tune with the epic, wall-of-sound that backs her. And why does the main percussion consist of a tacked-on Casio-keyboard bossa nova beat that doesn't even add anything to the song? The original, by contrast, puts Waits' powerful voice in the forefront, with the horns and organ merely complementing his booming delivery. It is ironic then, that the original song's focal point is essentially the cover song's weakest link.
The ultimate verdict? Zooey Deschanel can certainly carry a tune. However, Scarlett Johansson should probably just stick to acting.
She & Him – You've Really Got a Hold On Me
The Miracles – You've Really Got a Hold On Me
Scarlett Johansson – Anywhere I Lay My Head
Tom Waits – Anywhere I Lay My Head
Posted by Jason Prechtel on May 05, 2008 @ 12:00 am