Music review: Beth Hart – 鈥楢 Tribute to Led Zeppelin鈥�
Beth Hart gets a whole lotta led out in exhilarating style on her latest effort that highlights select Led Zeppelin classics.
With an abundance of hearty confidence, Hart owns these memorable arrangements that serve as a fitting tribute to one of the greatest groups in rock music history.
Added to the fiery guitar-driven numbers is an orchestral element that provides a subtle touch of elegance and assists in spotlighting Hart鈥檚 soulful and gritty vocal performance throughout the album.
鈥淲hole Lotta Love鈥� opens the set in rousing fashion as Hart鈥檚 vocals match the intensity and raw sexual passion displayed by Robert Plant on the band鈥檚 second album from 1969.
The California native next reproduces the spellbinding beauty of 鈥淜ashmir鈥� from 1975鈥檚 double-album 鈥淧hysical Graffiti.鈥� Hart鈥檚 guttural vocal outbursts take this number to another level and proves she is more than capable of treating the ambitious piece in the proper manner it deserves.
Hart鈥檚 all-star backing band shines on the straightforward rocker 鈥淏lack Dog鈥� as Hart鈥檚 mighty voice keeps pace with the raging musical storm that masterfully fluctuates in both pace and presence.
The band goes on to infectiously capture the funk groove of 鈥淭he Crunge鈥� first featured on 1973鈥檚 鈥淗ouses of the Holy.鈥� Hart鈥檚 voice is the perfect vehicle to deliver the soulful tone of this James Brown tribute track with Hart announcing, 鈥淚 wanna tell you about my good thing.鈥�
While it鈥檚 difficult to match the mystical aura of 鈥淪tairway to Heaven,鈥� Hart maneuvers along this sacred ground with a commanding magnetism that is comparable to Plant鈥檚 original hypnotizing performance from 1971鈥檚 鈥淟ed Zeppelin IV.鈥�
For me, the highlight of the album is found on 鈥淕ood Times Bad Times.鈥� I鈥檝e loved this track ever since purchasing the band鈥檚 eponymous debut release. As a curious 10-year-old, the spirited effort introduced me to the beauty and emotion of a rock and blues marriage with tracks like 鈥淏abe I鈥檓 Gonna Leave You,鈥� 鈥淒azed and Confused鈥� and 鈥淐ommunication Breakdown.鈥�
鈥淭he Rain Song鈥� escorts things to a tender conclusion with Hart offering up a Janis Joplin vibe when abruptly declaring toward the close, 鈥淯pon us all a little rain must fall.鈥�
When all is said and done, Hart does a smashing job of making sure the song does indeed remain the same.