Listening to each record of the American singer/songwriter Beth Hart, it feels like scrolling the pages of a personal diary every time.
Of course, for each passing year, the content of Hart's diary changes, reflecting life's experiences of any sort, may they be related to love or to struggles.
Those who know well enough Beth Hart as an artist and as a human being, they are also aware that Hart's amazing talent as a performer, singer, lyricist and as a communicator come with a price, something that relates to personal demons present in the artist's life since her early 20's, demons that Hart has been fighting for her whole life using the only healing weapons that Hart knows, which are music and love.
Highs and lows are never easy to balance and, perhaps, as the years go by, one way to keep that balance right, together with love and music, is also to try and use that inner dreamer and rebellious child inside still wanting to feel alive and kicking, to provide an extra motivation to keep us going in life.
In that respect, Beth Hart's brand new album out now and called You Still Got Me, provides a precise portrait of where Hart is at the tender age of 52, through 11 songs that encapsule feelings of love, hope, anxiety and rawness in equal measure.
Undisputedly, Hart's ability to write and deliver first class vocal performances is very much present on You Still Got Me too, especially through songs like Drunk On Valentine, Little Heartbreak Girl, Don't Call The Police and the stunning closing tune of the album, Machine Gun Vibrato, the latter showing a new side of Beth Hart's amazing vocal abilities.
Although the album doesn't come across as hugely cohesive, in some parts and in our personal opinion, one cannot deny the American singer-songwriter's ability and craft in chiselling solid songs, such as Suga N My Bowl (with some impressive guitar parts from Blues/Rock Guitar Titan Eric Gales), Wonderful World and Pimp Like That, among others.
You Still Got Me, in its entirety, albeit not reaching the same artistic peaks that Hart reached on past records like Don't Explain, Bang Bang Boom Boom, Seesaw and Fire On The Floor, it's still a very strong record that reflects very well where Beth Hart is now, as an artist and as a person.
Honest, intense and truthful, You Still Got Me mirrors Beth Hart's huge soul at 360 degrees.
You Still Got Me is out now and is available to be purchased via Mascot Label Group / Provogue
