HART, Beth 37 Days (CD)

(Provogue Records) 14 tracks

After a life dominated by alcohol and drugs, Beth Hart reached the point where, by her own admission, she "lost the music". This conclusion was the moment when she began addiction therapy. Finished with the rehab program and fully dedicated to her music, her star rose in the sky of Europe when she released her second album and went on tour. During the tour she wrote new songs and soon had collected enough for a new album.

The end result is "37 Days". All the tracks were put straight to tape by Beth and her band. Beth decided to record the album this way after being asked repeatedly by fans and critics for an album that captures the emotion of her live shows.

"37 Days" is a pure album with songs about the search for love and happiness. The album was originally only released in Europe and Japan in 2007...

After a life dominated by alcohol and drugs, Beth Hart reached the point where, in her own words, she "lost the music". This conclusion was the moment when she began addiction therapy. Finished with the rehab program and fully dedicated to her music, her star rose in the sky of Europe when she released her second album and went on tour. During the tour she wrote new songs and soon had collected enough for a new album.

The end result is "37 Days". All the tracks were put straight to tape by Beth and her band. Beth decided to record the album this way after being asked repeatedly by fans and critics for an album that captures the emotion of her live shows.

"37 Days" is a pure album with songs about the search for love and happiness. The album was originally released in 2007 in Europe and Japan only...

Beth Hart is on fire. Right now, the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter is riding a creative tidal wave, firing out acclaimed albums, hooking up with the biggest names in music and rocking the house each night with that celebrated burnt-honey voice. In 2016, the headline news is Beth’s latest album, Fire On The Floor, a release that even this fiercely self-critical artist describes as “pretty frickin’ good.” But let’s not forget the backstory that brought her here…

The Blues Magazine once dubbed Beth Hart “the ultimate female rock star”, and there’s no doubt that her two-decade career is the ultimate thrill-ride. Born in Los Angeles, she released a fistful of hit albums through the ’90s, then reignited in the post-millennium as both a solo artist and the head-turning vocalist for guitar heroes like Joe Bonamassa, Jeff Beck and Slash. “Extraordinary,” wrote The Times of her once-a-generation voice box, while The Guardian praised her “daring, brooding and angry” performances.

But it’s in recent times that Beth has truly blossomed. In April 2015, she released Better Than Home, a critical and commercial smash that topped the iTunes Blues Chart and was crowned #4 Best Blues Album Of The Year by Mojo magazine. The release also reached #1 in the Dutch charts and helped Beth to fill Amsterdam’s Heineken Music Hall with 5,500 fans (her largest club show to date). “Oh, that was so good, man,” she reflects. “I love Holland. They’ve been really good to me.”

The US market has embraced her, too, with Beth packing ever-larger venues in major cities on the Better Than Home tour – including Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium – and receiving a nomination from the American Blues Foundation in the category of Contemporary Blues Female Artist. “It’s unbelievable,” she admits. “This last tour, we were playing much bigger houses than I’d ever played in the States – and they were sold-out.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, Beth’s rocketing UK profile has never been higher. Recent years have seen auspicious headline sets at the Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican (not to mention the historic Hampton Court Palace with Joe Bonamassa), and in December 2015, she chalked up another first with a spot on Jools Holland’s legendary annual Hootenanny.

Bringing in the New Year with a soulful take on Tell Her You Belong To Me and Nutbush City Limits alongside long-time collaborator Jeff Beck, it spoke volumes that the pair’s performance rapidly became the Hootenanny’s most-watched clip on the BBC’s official YouTube channel (even overtaking heavyweights like Tom Jones and Paul Weller). “Every time Jeff performs, he just kills it,” gushes Beth, who also joins the veteran guitarist for her first-ever appearance at the Hollywood Bowl this year. “To me, he’s the greatest ever.”