Beth Hart is both one of the strongest contemporary artists, and the most vulnerable. Her songs are both her armour, and the chinks within it. When she sings, you’ll feel life, love, laughter and, when the mood calls for it, loss. Beth has fought her way to some of the biggest stages in the UK and still seems giddy with joy at having the opportunity to play them. Her stories, regaled without a hint of pre-planned guile, are related to Beth’s most remarkable ability – to take a huge auditorium and make it feel intimate. War in my mind is Beth’s ninth studio album and the follow up to 2016’s ecstatically received Fire on the floor. The intervening years have not been idly spent, with Beth chalking up a number of live albums and black coffee, her third collaboration with Joe Bonamassa. Beth’s intense touring schedule has undoubtedly informed war in my mind, a twelve-track, dynamic set tracked by Rob Cavallo, and it might just be Beth’s most expressive work to date.
With its soulful overtones and a driving rhythm, the sparkling Bad Woman Blues is Beth at her toughest and most street smart. Backed by an exceptional band and ready to rock, Bad Woman Blues is a straight-up belter and it sets a taut pace for the record that follows – play it loud and prepare for the live version, it’ll rock your socks clean off. Next up, War In My Mind is dark, deep and a touch schizophrenic, a gently descending piano motif suddenly rent by stabs of guitar, the track building beautifully to one hell of a crescendo, representing the internal battle Beth must fight. Slinky bass helps to lead us into the jazz-infused Without Words, a beautifully sung lament with a sensitive musical backdrop that damn near breaks the heart. In the world of late-night blues, Beth reigns supreme and, with the lights down low, Without Words In The Way dominates the room. Airy keyboards announce the piano driven Let It Grow, a track that musically echoes Lennon’s Imagine, before the band step in, the song builds, and Beth reminds herself that she’s stronger than she thinks she is. A song of empowerment in the face of adversity, Let It Grow is the perfect Beth Hart anthem, deeply personal and yet universal in the experience it imparts. In contrast, the sprightly Try A Little Harder is musically whimsical, the addictive chorus driven by weighty piano that recalls The Killer in his prime. The first half ends with Beth talking to her late Sister with Sister Dear, a poignant letter that evokes the sense of regret that inevitably follows the loss of a loved one. A truly beautiful and disarmingly open piece of music, it says much of Beth’s respect for her fans that she is willing to share this with us, and it brings the first half to a dramatic conclusion.
Opening side two, Spanish Lullabies, is a flamenco-flecked piece that showcases Beth at her grittiest as she drives down the open road towards the rising sun. After so effervescent a number, the minor-key beauty of Rub Me For Luck adopts a more thoughtful pose, before Beth unleashes a chorus that reaches all the way to the heavens, soaring through the clouds and letting the sun briefly shine through. Nailed by a tough beat, Sugar Shack is a straight up, dancin’ in the aisles sort of song – the sort of track that will cause more than a few palpitations for the floor staff at venues – Beth clearly revelling in the moment as the band whip up a storm behind her. Sober but defiant, Woman Down is a deeply powerful piece of music with a bravura performance from Beth whilst Thankful sees Beth stripped of all her armour, simply thankful for the life she now leads, the band wisely holding back until the second verse, giving Beth all the space she needs. The album concludes with its most vulnerable and heart-rending piece, the naked piano-and-voice I Need A Hero. A showstopping moment, it sees the album end with Beth alone, blazing under the spotlights and delivering her performance with a quiet intensity that haunts the listener long after the record has come to a halt.
Beth Hart has earned a place as one of the great singers. Her recorded output has been exceptionally consistent in terms of quality over the years, and it remains a remarkable facet of her work that she can make a mass-produced piece of plastic feel like a personal gift to the listener. Bold, beautiful, brassy and beguiling; war in my mind sees Beth Hart continue her remarkable run with another set of songs that seep into the senses and there is no doubt that a number of these pieces are destined to become fixtures of her live set. Utterly enthralling. 9
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