BETH HART’S NEW ALBUM, BETTER THAN HOME,
IS BETH-ER THAN EVER
Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, Beth
Hart, has never sounded better (musically and spiritually) that she does on her new album, Better Than Home.
When she sings clocks stop, hearts dance and neck-hair tingles…it’s that compelling! A Planetmosh critic said,
“I was just blown away by Beth’s voice!”, and American Songwriter proclaimed, “Beth’s tough, throaty voice…she
uses that powerful instrument to best effect on dramatic, arena filling ballads.”
Beth’s incredible voice is what moved guitar
legends Jeff Beck, Slash, Joe Bonamassa and Buddy Guy to perform with her on records and in concert. She
reached national attention with the hit single, L.A. Song (Out Of This Town), the single reached #6 in the Billboard
Modern AC chart and #7 in the Adult Top 40 chart; subsequent album, Bang Bang Boom Boom, made it to #3 in the
Billboard Top Blues Album chart and shortly thereafter, Beth was nominated for a Blues Music Award; and album
collaborations with Joe Bonamassa, Seesaw and Don’t Explain, made it to the top (#1 and #3) of the
Billboard Blues Albums Chart, to #8 and #22 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums Chart and into the
Billboard 200.
International audiences fell in love with her and rewarded her with two #1 singles in Denmark from
albums Leave The Light On and 37 Days (recorded live). And her greatest
validation as one of the defining voices of
our time came when her tribute (alongside Jeff Beck) to Buddy Guy on The Kennedy Center Honors Special received
one of the only 2 standing ovations of the evening, led by President Barack Obama and his wife,
Michelle.
The producer of The Kennedy Center Honors,
Michael Stevens, and the musical director, Rob Mathes, saw what people have been seeing for nearly 20 years:
a woman who wears her soul on her sleeve and has the pipes to back it up. Michael and Rob decided to produce
her new album, Better Than Home.
What makes Better Than Home quite possibly
her greatest album is that it is her most introspective work ever,because it goes to the depth of her soul,
revealing terrible pain in her past, family issues and personal demons as well as her coming to grips with them and
using that knowledge to find the real beauty in her life.
No words do a better job of summing up what
this new album is all about, than the lyrics to the title song, Better Than Home:
I can feel my
body breathing, I can feel my heart movin’ fast
I am not afraid
or lonely; I am not chasing the ghost of the past
Now Beth’s putting her past behind her,
embracing the great things she’s done and the good things she has and looking forward, or, as she says it best,
“I’ve been blessed by God and surrounded by love. It’s better than what I dreamt of as a kid.”
The track, Mechanical Heart, is a powerful
love song to her husband, Scott Guetzkow. “It was my way of saying”, Beth admits, “yeah, I don’t have a healthy
or normal heart, but I’m going to figure out a way to bring you everything you need and want in
life.”
Beth calls Trouble, “A brass balls
song…about a female who says, ‘Hey, I didn’t come here to make trouble, but the bottom line, it’s a whole lot of fun.’ It’s
a bad girl song.”
In the very powerful, We’re Still Living In
The City, Beth chronicles two peoples’ lives by their marriage together. “They’re going through life…this
rollercoaster. But the one thing that’s always constant between them is…no
matter what, I’m still crazy about
him!”
St. Teresa is an anthem with a unique
point-of-view, narrated by a man in prison. Beth tells us the film, Dead Man Walking, inspired this song. “There’s this
man, who knows everyone hates him, and there’s this woman, who’s very close to God, and she will love him and be
devoted to him no matter what.”
As Long As I Have A Song is a stirring
ballad that Beth reveals, “represents my love and hate about being a
songwriter. What I love about it, it’s connecting, but,
out of the blue, it can all go away. You’re searching to get reconnected, and out of writer’s
block.”
Beth isn’t afraid of admitting her own
shortcomings. Mid-tempo Might As Well Smile is a soulful reminder of that. “You’re taking yourself too seriously, just
smile, relax and just get through the tough time.”
Tell ‘Em You Belong To Me is one of the most
personal songs on the album for Beth. “This is about my relationship with my father. When I was a kid, my Dad
and I were as tight as can be. Then he married this woman who would not allow me to have anything to do with
him. It’s the story of ‘You tell that lady you’re my Dad.’
”
But Beth shows a lighter side on The Mood
That I’m In. “It’s a fun song. It’s about love, it’s about going out at
night. You’ve got someone that you’re crazy about
but they’re not available to you, so you go searching for it in other
people.”
In the highly emotional, limited edition
bonus track, Mama This One’s For You, she’s not afraid to tell her mother how much she loves her. “It’s probably the most
important song to me on the record. I finally got how blessed I was to have my Mom.”
This album isn’t about the problems Beth’s
faced in her life. Instead, she’s choosing to find the good things that have been there all along: accepting and loving
her parents for who they really are, appreciating a good husband, facing her fears head on and ultimately finding ways to
heal and convert that positive energy into music that moves
people.
This is an incredibly moving, self-written
and composed, album that’s going to reach people on a very personal level,because a one-of-a-kind artist found the
perfect formula for exposing her very private inner voice and empowering it with her legendary outer voice. Because of
that, it simply doesn’t get better than Beth Hart’s Better Than
Home.
01 Might As Well
Smile
02 Tell ‘Em To Hold
On
03 Tell Her You
Belong To Me
04 Trouble
05 Better Than
Home
06 St.
Teresa
07 We’re Still
Living In The City
08 The Mood That
I’m In
09 Mechanical
Heart
10 As Long As I
Have A Song
11 Mama This One’s
For You (bonus track on limited edition)
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