Album Review: Beth Hart bares her emotions with heart-on-her-sleeve latest, You Still Got Me

Beth Hart is one of those rare artists with a voice that stands out from the crowd and absolutely demands to be heard. When she sings, it comes from a place deep inside her soul, and is done in such a way as it becomes a visceral, and often, cerebral experience.

She is a woman who has, at times lived on the edge, and her latest release, You Still Got Me, takes all of that lived experience and lays it out bare for all to see, in what is a largely autobiographical collection of songs. She has even enlisted a couple of co-conspirators (Slash and Eric Gales) who share that same, smoky back-bar badass persona.

As a performer and song-writer, she oozes a wicked charm which often shows up as a femme fatale persona, but is also just as equally juxtaposed with a vulnerability and fragility. This ‘complexity of being’ is what draws her fans so tightly to her, and earns their trust in knowing that what you see (and hear) is what you get. It is also refreshing to know that she can use what may be to some, weaknesses; utilizing them as a catharsis and eventually turning them into strengths.

Her vocal abilities lift her into that rarified space occupied by the likes of Etta James, Grace Slick and Susan Tedeschi; soulful, yet with a power and control that, in the hands of these finest of singers, convey the entire gamut of emotions. There is even a song on the album which describes one of her greatest vocal abilities, titled Machine Gun Vibrato (“But I can’t help it, It’s just the way that I roll, Machine gun vibrato, It’s all that I know“).

You Still Got Me is her eleventh album, and arguably one of her finest achievements. It is testament to her ongoing career and longevity that she can produce a work of this level deep into her career (whilst many of her contemporaries have either faded into obscurity, or totally lost their magic).

The album is chock full of highlights, from the opening two rocking rides in Saviour With A Razor (featuring Slash) and Suga N My Bowl (featuring Eric Gales), the stunningly powerful Don’t Call The Police (a shout out to the indignation and racist tragedy of the George Floyd murder) right through to the Vaudevillian Never Underestimate A Gal replete with its’ carny-inspired vocal.

Hart’s versatility is widely on show with the singer showing her wares across outright rockers, smoky jazz-tinged ballads (Drunk On Valentine) and even onto country/rockabilly vibes (Wanna Be Big, Bad Johnny Cash). Her comfortability around a beautiful ballad is evident on the title track, and is a moving tribute to her husband who has been a mainstay in her life, come good times or bad.

Another notable feature of the album is the fine musicianship throughout, and Hart’s capacity to give the band members their time to shine. This is nowhere more evident than on Don’t Call The Police when guitarist, Randy Flowers produces a sublime solo, and on the (Tom) Waitsian musicianship of the entire band on Never Underestimate A Gal.

You Still Got Me was recorded in 2023 and produced by Kevin Shirley at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Beth’s working relationship with Kevin Shirley goes back to her three collaboration albums with Joe Bonamassa (Don’t Explain, Seesaw, and Black Coffee) and her 2012 studio album Bang Bang, Boom Boom.

‘You Still Got Me’ is released on October 25th via Provogue / Mascot Label Group, and is available at all good music stores and streaming services.

Feature Image: As supplied