Grammy-nominated powerhouse singer/songwriter Beth Hart has announced her new studio album, You Still Got Me, that will be released on 25th October via the Provogue/Mascot Label Group. The album features appearances by Eric Gales and Guns ‘N Roses’ Slash. She has also has a new single out, ‘Wonderful World’.
A piano ballad. ‘Wonderful World oozes optimism. “That song was written for and about my beautiful niece,” Hart revealed. “As time has gone by, I see that it’s really written for the lineage of the women in my family. All the way down the line; my great grandma, my grandma, my mom, my sisters, my niece and her daughter. So, it’s the lineage and how imperative it is for me to see that, and what a gift to finally see that.”
Regarding her writing process Hart said, “It’s always for the joy of writing or for the challenge of writing, to seek what’s going on. Sometimes, when I’m sad or scared, I check in on the piano. Sometimes a song comes, and sometimes one doesn’t. Either way, there’s comfort there.”
The album erupts with a soaring rocker in ‘Savior With A Razor’ featuring Guns ‘N Roses’ Slash. The epic Bond-like anthem thunders with nihilistic defiance as Hart’s vocals take the listener through the shadows and smash through the ceiling as Slash’s guitar wraps around the story in an electric fashion. “Beth Hart is one of my favourite artists to work with,” said Slash. “She is an incredible singer/lyricist on so many levels. But Beth is also as sincere and genuine a friend as they come. She’s amazing.”
Explains the messaging within the songs, Hart said: “I leave that up to the listener to decide. Personally, I know what it is for right now. One of the beautiful things I love about songs and albums is that over time, that meaning changes. I like to keep that open because there’s a lot I can learn from it.”
‘Little Heartbreak Girl’, pierces through the clouds like spears of hope and power. “Little Heartbreak Girl, you’re on your own,” she sings yearningly but follows with “Little heartbreak girl, stronger than stone”. Still, it’s the lyric “You’re gonna conquer the world” scattered throughout that stands atop the mountain, planting a flag into the ground.
The decadent groove-laden funk of ‘Suga N My Bowl’ features southpaw wizard and longtime friend Eric Gales. She offers up a cautionary tale on ‘Never Underestimate A Gal’, while the Tom’s Waits-esque ‘Drunk On Valentine’ is a tender, jazzy, smoky barroom ballad. Her “most personal and powerful song on the album” is the haunting socio-political opus ‘Don’t Call The Police’, an incredibly raw, upsetting, and observational insight on the George Floyd murder.
You Still Got Me is Hart’s eleventh studio album, and it finds her riding a career trajectory that has been heading for the stars for several years and keeps soaring. Her most recent albums, A Tribute To Led Zeppelin (2022) and War In My Mind (2019), became her highest charting UK and US releases to date, along with crashing into the Top 10 in Germany, France. Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, and The Netherlands. Selling out shows worldwide, her recent travels have taken her across the US, Canada, Europe, and all the way to India, Morocco, and Australia.
Previously, ‘You Still Got Me’ was released as a single. Poignantly it features her beloved husband, Scott. Scott, along with the team around her, provide that surface to fall on when she needs it. Night after night on tour you can see the adulation she receives and that she also gives back. That connection has been forged over the last 28 years of releasing music in which she unapologetically wears her heart on her sleeve.
We all have our “Me” when she sings “You still got me” – a loved one, a friend, a pet, a place, a memory, a song… even in her moments of fragility, Beth Hart continues to inspire many. She buries her hand deep and tears her emotions open so we can all see a mirror into ourselves, reminding us that you can feel low, but your inner strength is so much more powerful.
Hart will be playing UK dates this November and in February 2025. If you have ever seen her live or immersed yourself in her music, you know she puts every ounce of her being into her songs. Firebrands inspire; it’s what attracts people to them. However, part of those personalities’ makeup is that they do not wear a harness. They thrive on the freedom and space around them. But, with that comes danger; you need an emotional crash mat, and those save lives. It is something we all need at times throughout our lives.
Tickets are available here and you can find more about the tour and other Beth Hart related matters at RAMzine here.
