Beth Hart – Better Than Home
Rob Dickens
Posted On April 14, 2015
Beth Hart’s new album, Better Than Home (out April 10 on Mascot/Provogue), is a worthy follow-up to 2014’s Bang Bang Boom Boom. There’s a good deal of introspection and bravery in the eleven songs featured here, all of them written and composed by Hart herself.
The themes of past pains, family issues and personal demons are explored with her heart on her sleeve. It’s not all hard going though, as there is an abundance of hope and opportunity to find a clear path to happier times. This is evidenced in the lyrics to the title track:
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
It’s no secret that Hart has experienced intense periods of struggle in her life, from the loss of her sister to AIDS, to drug use, familial challenges, and a late bipolar diagnosis. All of this has provided enormous inspiration and liberation in her music.
Key tracks worth the admission price alone
- “Tell ‘Em To Hold On” – a slow, beautiful, soulful, burning gospel/blues number
- “Tell Her You Belong To Me” – an intensely personal song, sung from the perspective of a daughter when her father remarries.
- The aforementioned “Better Than Home.”
- “St. Teresa” – inspired by the death-row movie Dead Man Walking and the devotion of a person no matter how difficult the circumstances.
- The wonderful “Mechanical Heart” – a powerful love song to Hart’s husband of fifteen years, Scott Guetzkow.
- The limited edition bonus track “Mama This One’s For You” – Hart says, “It’s probably the most important song to me on the record. I finally got how blessed I was to have my Mom.”
As mentioned before, this is a personal collection, with a sincere tenderness and sentiment evident. If you are looking for Beth Hart in her brassy, rocking, blasting persona, then you might be better off to check out her rewarding back catalogue. But there is plenty here to absorb, embrace, and enjoy as Hart clearly needs to tell her colourful story and there’s plenty here for us to learn as we listen.
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