So I really don't know what compelled me to risk a tenner or so on Beth Hart's 'A Tribute To Led Zeppelin'!īut I did, where would we be if we didn't take a few risks? Don't ask Beth Hart though because she's taken few risks with this set largely faithfully reproducing the Led Zep sound with little imagination, originality or creativity. I know very little about Beth Hart other than her work with Joe Bonamassa, I liked their first collaboration but not the second I know more about Led Zeppelin but wouldn't describe myself as a massive fan and I know I don't much like covers albums, lazy, unimaginative etc etc. Sometimes people come along, and they're from another planet, and they make these pieces of art which will forever be, like the Mona Lisa.' Talking about the music and legacy of Zeppelin, Beth says, 'it's so beautifully done, it's timeless. From there, it's a non-stop, palpitating journey. It's fitting that the song that started it all, 'Whole Lotta Love', is the opening song of the album. Things clicked into place when Cavallo was producing Hart's previous album, War In My Mind (2019), and she did an impromptu version of 'Whole Lotta Love' in the control room during the session.

All that was left was the final piece of the puzzle the voice. The A-list musicians include Cavallo on guitar along with Tim Pierce, Chris Chaney on bass, Jamie Muhoberac on keyboards, Dorian Crozier on drums and Matt Laug, with Orchestral arrangements by David Campbell. At the helm was super-producer Rob Cavallo and engineer Doug McKean. Rumours about the album had been circulating for a few years. The nine-song album highlights the incredible spectrum that Led Zeppelin operated in, from powerhouse rock to psychedelia, folk, jazz, prog, blues, funk, soul and beyond. The album will be released on CD, double black vinyl and doulbe orange vinyl via Provogue/Mascot Label Group. 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.The Grammy-nominated powerhouse vocalist Beth Hart takes on one of her most profound undertakings to date by channelling the legendary voice of Robert Plant on A Tribute To Led Zeppelin. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

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.

Tribute to led zeplin