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Actress-turned-singer Scarlett Johansson may see Woody Allen, Bill Murray, Barack Obama, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits as her five father figures, but she would have done better to leave the latter off the list. In fact, she would have done best to leave Waits’ music alone, too. Johansson’s debut album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, attempts to follows in Waits’ footsteps with a collection of 10 covers, but instead it’s an experiment in mediocrity, a disappointing set that does Waits disservice. Throughout the entire album, Johansson’s voice – a monochromatic, monotonous drone – is a pale imitation of Waits’ unique, tortured growl, and even guest vocalists such as David Bowie and producer David Andrew Sitek (who has previously worked with TV on the Radio) can’t save this mess. Equally miserable is “Song for Jo” – by Sitek and Johansson, it’s the only original track on the album – which, though it only clocks in at 4:09, seems to crawl on forever. Scarlett should have known that Nico did this all before – or did one of her five “dads” forget to tell her?

Standout Tracks: “Town With No Cheer,” “I Don’t Want to Grow Up” ROXANA HADADI