While recording her 2019 album War in My Mind with producer Rob Cavallo, Beth Hart sang a version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" during a bit of downtime in the studio. Impressed, Cavallo suggested that Hart record an entire album of Zeppelin covers, but the singer demurred, saying she needed to be in a specific mindset to sing those songs: "you've got to be pissed off to hit that right." Hart got pissed off during the COVID-19 pandemic, so she summoned Cavallo and made A Tribute to Led Zeppelin. If Hart's focus on ...
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While recording her 2019 album War in My Mind with producer Rob Cavallo, Beth Hart sang a version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" during a bit of downtime in the studio. Impressed, Cavallo suggested that Hart record an entire album of Zeppelin covers, but the singer demurred, saying she needed to be in a specific mindset to sing those songs: "you've got to be pissed off to hit that right." Hart got pissed off during the COVID-19 pandemic, so she summoned Cavallo and made A Tribute to Led Zeppelin. If Hart's focus on anger suggests she has perhaps a rather limited perspective on the oeuvre of Page, Plant, Jones, and Bonham, the resulting A Tribute to Led Zeppelin confirms such suspicions. Although she's made space for a few quieter moments, such as the closing "The Rain Song," the album barrels forth through the songs you know and love from classic rock radio: "Kashmir," "Stairway to Heaven," "Black Dog," "Good Times Bad Times." "Dancing Days" is put into a medley with "When the Levee Breaks" and "No Quarter" is paired with "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You," while "The Crunge" stands on its lonesome, sounding as stiffly funky and odd in the hands of Hart and company as it did in Zep's. There is passion and precision in these performances -- more precision than Page, perhaps -- and they're distinguished by an extended collaboration with a string section. The strings add expected color and drama to "Kashmir" and "The Rain Song," but when they're cranking out the "Black Dog" riff or chugging along on "Good Times Bad Times," they seem a bit ham-fisted. Even with the heavy orchestral presence, Hart sings as if she's leading a sweaty bar band, making sure she exorcises her rage, which means this is hard rock with a very high ABV: it's so high-octane that a little of it goes a long, long way. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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