Music review: Beth Hart – ‘A Tribute to Led Zeppelin’
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’s soulful and gritty vocal performance throughout the album.
“Whole Lotta Love” opens the set in rousing fashion as Hart’s vocals match the intensity and raw sexual passion displayed by Robert Plant on the band’s second album from 1969.
The California native next reproduces the spellbinding beauty of “Kashmir” from 1975’s double-album “Physical Graffiti.” Hart’s 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’s all-star backing band shines on the straightforward rocker “Black Dog” as Hart’s 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 “The Crunge” first featured on 1973’s “Houses of the Holy.” Hart’s voice is the perfect vehicle to deliver the soulful tone of this James Brown tribute track with Hart announcing, “I wanna tell you about my good thing.”
While it’s difficult to match the mystical aura of “Stairway to Heaven,” Hart maneuvers along this sacred ground with a commanding magnetism that is comparable to Plant’s original hypnotizing performance from 1971’s “Led Zeppelin IV.”
For me, the highlight of the album is found on “Good Times Bad Times.” I’ve loved this track ever since purchasing the band’s 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 “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” “Dazed and Confused” and “Communication Breakdown.”
“The Rain Song” escorts things to a tender conclusion with Hart offering up a Janis Joplin vibe when abruptly declaring toward the close, “Upon us all a little rain must fall.”
When all is said and done, Hart does a smashing job of making sure the song does indeed remain the same.