After 30 years, Beth Hart continues to redefine her style with her electric blend of blues-rock blockbusters, country diversions, and poignant ballads on “You Still Got Me.”
Beth Hart’s career has now lasted over thirty years, but she owes a great deal of her rise to fame to Joe Bonamassa, with whom she recorded three duo albums (Don’t Explain in 2011, Seesaw in 2013, and Black Coffee in 2018) in addition to her solo career in 2014.
Her most recent CD marks a new high point in a career that has included about fifteen studio albums and four live recordings.
We believed that Beth Hart was gone, as her warm, raspy voice has always complemented her blues-rock music, which frequently has jazzy undertones. She still has a lot more to offer, though.
Hart showed that she is at ease in both the hard and classic rock genres by taking a surprising detour by covering Led Zeppelin following the release of the darker, more vulnerable album War in My Mind.
How does she then carry on with such fruitful stylistic experiments? By further enlarging her sound. The album opens with two strong blues-rock tracks: “Suga N My Bowl” with Eric Gales and “Savior with a Razor” with Slash. You Still Got Me has many shocks, but these big names set the tone for what’s to follow.
These include the fun song “Never Underestimate a Gal,” the country-influenced song “Wanna Be Big Bad Johnny Cash,” and the thrilling song “Machine Gun Vibrato,” which serves as a fitting album finale.
With the outstanding tune “Don’t Call the Police,” a six-minute composition full of dynamic contrasts that demonstrates Hart’s flexibility, her songwriting feels more focused than ever.
The album also features a few ballads, which are more conventional in style but nonetheless incredibly moving, showcasing an artist who isn’t scared to show her emotions while still paying respect to the genre’s origins.
You Still Got Me is not a straightforward reinvention; rather, it is an album that defies stagnation, with Hart’s indisputable brilliance driving each tune and her voice flawlessly fitting the mood of each one. From beginning to end, the voyage keeps listeners interested, and it may be Beth Hart’s best work to date.