Beth Hart – Better Than Home

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Beth Hart embarks on a seven-date UK tour with a show at the Colston Hall on Friday May 1. Expect sultry blues with jazz influences, alongside ballads and a willingness to rock out, and no doubt plenty from her new recording Better Than Home.

Quickfire round to get you in the zone – pick one of each of the following and explain why you made the choice:

Janis Joplin or Aretha Franklin?

Would not choose – I would say both.

Box set at home or night at the cinema?

Sorry, it depends on the mood.

Big Sunny Festivals or Small Sweaty Clubs?

Again, two totally different things but I love them both equally for different reasons.

Now you’re warmed up, some queries to get you thinking: You’ve played the UK a lot – when you see British dates on the schedule what do you most look forward to about returning?

Well, I know that playing in the UK is very challenging as the audiences are not just fuckin’ gonna go crazy and be all loud and crazy, they’re gonna be really listening. It’s more astute, so I think what it does for me is it makes me focus and work harder, concentrate more and not make it about show business. Instead, I really make it about music. And so it’s harder, but I think that it makes you grow. I think it’s really good for you – so I give it a thumbs up for that.

And when you see those dates, what do you look forward to least?

Probably the same thing that I look forward to is also a bummer because of course you want it to be easy. You want to go out there and people just go crazy and you just feel like “Yeah!” and they love everything we do. But it’s not like that in the UK, so I think it’s a bummer that way ‘cos it’s like, oh shit, I’ve got to work harder. It’s also a plus because you know you’re gonna grow and learn that way.

The latest recording – Better Than Home – has a gorgeous old school sound to it, was that a deliberate move or did it just evolve that way?

It just evolved that way: I wrote the songs and then the producers Rob Mathes and Michael Stevens had their vibe on it and I agreed with it and so we did it. It was just all about the songs. It wasn’t, like, OK we’re gonna make this kind of record, you know? I think the only thing about the record that was really methodical came from the producers, and they said to me “We’d really like to get more of a positive record out of you”. It’s not like I can just go home and go, OK, it’s going to be positive. I just turned in 45 songs and I guess the most positive songs out of that group were chosen, so that’s the deal there.

Given that retro feel do you feel any affinity with bands like Vintage Trouble, Alabama Shakes, St Paul & the Broken Bones and Sharon King & the Daptones, all of whom are mining the rich heritage of Soul, RnB and the southern sound?

I really love Vintage Trouble and I know them personally and they’re awesome guys. I think their music is fantastic and I’m a huge fan of Alabama Shakes – I don’t know the other people listed. But yeah, I think that they’re amazing.

Speaking of old school: vinyl, CD or digital – does it really matter (except to blokes of a certain age)?

I have no idea who it matters to, I just think it’s great to have all of it available for different people that prefer them – I think it’s a smart choice.

You’ve worked with some stellar guitar players (Jeff Beck and Joe Bonamassa for instance) and Jimmy Page is apparently planning to return to the stage in the autumn – how would you like to help him out with some vocals?

Well I couldn’t just say “Hey, Jimmy Page, let me help you out with some vocals.” I would have to get a call from him obviously, but I loved working with Jeff Beck and I love Joe Bonamassa. They’re so amazing, such great guys too.

Speaking of Jimmy, there has been constant speculation about Led Zep touring without Robert Plant, would you be up for that if you got the call?

I probably wouldn’t be, probably because I’m 143 years old now and singing Led Zeppelin songs I think is for a really young person to take on – that’s a lot of shows, singing really heavily. Whereas in my show, I can have heavy songs and then I can have light songs and I can change them up how I want to and how my voice feels for the evening. But with a show like that, I couldn’t come on board and be a dictator. I think signing Zeppelin songs is for a young, really super strong voice

Women in the music business have come a long way since Billie, Janis & Aretha. Do you think women artists now have true equality with their male counterparts?

The only times that I’ve felt [unequal] maybe a little bit is when it comes to doing business. But when it comes to being an artist I’ve never had men treat me less than equally. I guess I’m just fortunate or that I just don’t look for it or I don’t know what the frick it is. But I’ve always felt equal and always been very respected by men.

Many of the younger female artists (naming no names) are certainly willing to flaunt what they’ve got in videos & on stage in a way that’s totally different to the natural sensuality of, say Tina Turner or Janis; do you think this is a sign of empowerment as they claim, or are they just kidding themselves they’ve some control over their use of their sexuality?

I can’t answer a question for somebody else. I can’t do that, and you know I’m you know I’m not in my twenties. I’m not of that generation, so who the hell knows what they’re thinking? I think they all look beautiful they’re doing their thing and I think it’s awesome. I think a really sad thing is when artists start judging each other, especially when older artists start judging younger artists. It’s just foolish & stupid and it goes against everything we stand for as artists anyway. Cos the whole part of being an artist is being really accepting and celebrating and bringing others up and not bringing them down because they don’t do things maybe the way you do them. That goes against everything that art stands for, so I’m in total support of whatever the fuck anybody wants to do. Why not? It’s just people being creative and expressing themselves and you can’t cut someone down for that. It’s ridiculous to do that.

What currently makes you most proud to be an American?

Well, I mean, a lot of things. One of the things that I love about being an American is I know that I can dress however I want, say whatever the frick I want, be whatever I want, change my mind whenever I want, vote whenever I want. if I don’t want to vote I don’t have to. I can do whatever the frick I want. And I love that: I love that about being an American. I also love how when people don’t agree with things they can go out and picket and scream about it and do whatever the frick they wanna do and you’re not gonna be put in jail for it. I mean the only time you would be is if you were hurting someone.

And what currently makes you least proud of your country?

I hate it when, you know, we go over and we make war, but I don’t know a lot about politics and all that. We gotta do what we gotta do for where humanity is at the time. The thing that makes me sad is when these young beautiful boys and girls go to war and they die, and they don’t get to come home and their parents are devastated. Or they come back and they’re missing legs and limbs and it’s just really sad to me. Like everybody, I wish that we could come to a place in this world where, no matter what our differences are, we could work it out through our language instead of with our bodies and bombs. So I guess that’s something to keep praying for and hoping for a change.

Pic credit: Greg Watermann