Beth Hart

December 13, 2024 5:51 PM

When Beth Hart sings that she wants a "Whole Lotta Love", she sounds like means it.

My introduction to Hart’s flamethrower voice and Dionysian stage manner was the concert video of her 2005 performance at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, from which is excerpted this rendition of her song "Broken and Ugly".

The composition is from her 2003 album Leave the Light On, of which AllMusic wrote:

On Beth Hart's third album in six years, the singer/songwriter has taken her already lean, rootsy approach to writing, scaled it back to skillfully reflect what is essential in a song, and then, as is her trademark, poured the very grain of her being into each performance. ... No matter what happens commercially or critically, this album will sound necessary and vital a decade from now. Classic rock indeed.

posted by Lemkin (9 comments total)

needs a rhythm section.

damn-wow.
posted by clavdivs at 6:11 PM on December 13 [1 favorite]

I appreciate that she leans away from the mic to breathe in.
posted by aubilenon at 6:28 PM on December 13 [4 favorites]

I appreciate that she leans away from the mic as part of her vocal and volume control.

She's got one hell of a voice and has some really interesting body expressions as she sings - she's definitely all in, even though it's just a radio station gig.

Thanks for this, Lemkin.
posted by ashbury at 6:47 PM on December 13 [3 favorites]

she's definitely all in

At one point in the concert video, she goes into the crowd mid-song and is singing in a fan's face so ardently you think she's going to French kiss him.

Doesn't do things by halves, our Ms. Hart.
posted by Lemkin at 6:55 PM on December 13

Love me some BH - unleashes her full inner Janis every time out.

Hilarious YT comment:
I don’t listen to Beth often, but when I do, so do my neighbors.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 5:58 AM on December 14 [5 favorites]

I love that there are people walking among us who can sing like this (although not many at this level!). Imagine you were at a birthday party, or church, or it's time for the seventh inning stretch, and your friend who you've never heard sing before just belts it. Amazing.
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:34 AM on December 14 [1 favorite]

Yeah, she's pretty great. That's a hell of a performance.
(Still think Alison Moyet has the most expressive voice I have ever heard, but I digress)
posted by Windopaene at 7:55 AM on December 14 [1 favorite]

Thanks for posting this, it lit up my day a bit.
I've been sort of half-following Beth since she started out thanks to a DJ boyfriend. It's not really my genre of music, but that girl can sing.
posted by mumimor at 8:26 AM on December 14 [1 favorite]

Wow. I was just singing some Janis this morning and thinking about the raw power of her voice (what I do does not in any way compare--I am Not a singer) and mourning her early passing. This was exactly what I needed to get out of that funk. Thank you for introducing me to Ms. Hart.
posted by agatha_magatha at 8:55 AM on December 14