Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa release new album "Seesaw"

The 2nd album from Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa
Released on Deluxe CD+DVD and Double Vinyl

UK Release: Monday 20th May
US Release: Tuesday 21st May

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Beth Hart, known for her raw and powerful blues-rock sound, wraps her expressive vocals around classic soul covers on Seesaw, the second album that grew out of her musical ties with the acclaimed blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa. The album will be released on Deluxe CD+DVD and Double Vinyl in the UK and Europe on Monday 20th May by Provogue Records.

BETH HART AND JOE BONAMASSA RETURN WITH THEIR FOLLOW UP OF CLASSIC BLUES AND SOUL COVERS, HOT ON THE HEELS OF 2011's SUCCESSFUL "DON’T EXPLAIN" ALBUM

 After their first successful collaboration on Don’t Explain this highly talented duo is back with Seesaw. As with Don’t Explain, Seesaw is tastefully produced by Kevin Shirley (Black Crowes, John Hiatt, Joe Bonamassa, Led Zeppelin).
"Beth’s got a pretty heady voice, very reminiscent of Janis Joplin," says Shirley. "She’s also got a lot of Etta James in her. With this material, there’s gentleness to the way she delivers the most heartfelt tunes. She’s done a fantastic job."

Bonamassa and Hart first crossed paths on the road numerous times, and played many of the same festivals in Europe. In early 2010, Bonamassa attended one of her concerts in London. "It was killer," says Bonamassa. He suggested they do a project together sometime.

Don’t Explain took shape that summer. Now two years later, the follow-up album, Seesaw, captures 11 new blistering tracks. The album features covers from Billie Holiday (Them There Eyes), Melody Gardot (If I Tell You I Love You), Etta James (A Sunday Kind Of Love) and the title track Seesaw made popular by Aretha Franklin.
Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa’s debut album Don’t Explain sold over 150.000 copies in Europe, and charted in 10 countries including the UK, Germany, Benelux, Denmark, and Sweden.

The Album – Track By Track

1. "Them There Eyes"
Seesaw, Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa’s second album collaboration, opens with "Them There Eyes," made famous in 1939 by Billie Holiday—one of Hart’s biggest inspirations. "My mother turned me on to this song when I was a kid," says Beth. "I love the bubbliness. It’s sexy, it’s fun, and it has a great swing to it."
2. "Close To My Fire"
Next up, Hart offers a super sultry take on a much more contemporary cover, 2012’s "Close To My Fire" from Slackwax. "I didn’t immediately jump on this song, but my husband did and my manager loved it," she says. "I was intimidated because the woman who sang it with Slackwax just nailed it, and I had to find my own way of getting it right. It didn’t click with me until the day we did it. I felt like I ended up having nice timing on the song, and the band played amazing."

3. "Nutbush City Limits"
On "Nutbush City Limits," Hart wails with an intensity that would make Tina Turner proud. "Kevin sprung that song on me the last day of recording. He said, ‘We’re going to do this in half an hour.’ I remembered that in the Tina Turner movie What’s Love Got To Do With It, Ike is being abusive to her, telling her to sing the song like a man, to sing it hard. I adore Tina, and doing "Nutbush City Limits" was a big challenge. I went outside, listened to her version, and then came back in the studio and did it. It ended up feeling incredible to sing, and the band killed it."

4. "I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know"
Hart’s slow and soulful burn on "I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know" pairs dramatically with Bonamassa’s smoking guitar. "It’s a Donnie Hathaway song that I really got turned on to when I saw a live version of it that Amy Winehouse did in France. I found it online. To prepare, I learned Donnie’s version, but Amy did an amazing job with it as well."

5. "Can’t Let Go"
The tempo kicks up several notches with Hart’s tight, rocking vocals on "Can’t Let Go," from Lucinda Williams’ Grammy-winning 1998 album Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. "I love the southern appeal of this one—playing out of a little sugar shack, and singing that song about your man walking away from you. It’s a classic," says Hart.
6. "Miss Lady"
Up next is a fierce cover of "Miss Lady," the Buddy Miles song that was originally produced by Jimi Hendrix. "Kevin played this for me when we recorded Don’t Explain, and I didn’t want to do it," says Hart. "He suggested it again this time, and I still didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t that I didn’t think it was a great song, it was just so vocally demanding. I felt I would screw it up. At the end of one long day, he said, ‘Let’s just do a quick pass on it.’ My throat was so tired, I just screamed it out, and he kept it. It was a nice surprise."

7. "If I Tell You I Love You"
Hart revisits Melody Gardot’s songbook to deliver a sultry, jazzy rendition of "If I Tell You I Love You." "Her voice and her songwriting are incredible. It feels so good to sing this song, it just rolls off the tongue. The lyrics, the melody, the vibe are great," says Hart.
8. "Rhymes"
It pairs beautifully with "Rhymes," which Hart found on an album by her idol Etta James. "I have a huge collection of recordings by Etta," she says. "I decided to go through every single one, and I came across ‘Rhymes.’ I loved the low end singing, the bottom end stuff. It has attitude, but there’s an innocence to the attitude, and a wonderful groove."
9. "Sunday Kind Of Love"
Another Etta James song follows, a gorgeous take on the classic "Sunday Kind Of Love." "I have loved this song forever," says Hart. "It was one that Kevin and I both agreed on, but he was the first to suggest it, he beat me to the punch. I worked hard on it and tried to have faith in myself. This song was a big one for my mother. So I was thinking about Etta, and also about my mom, knowing that she would love it, and that it would mean something special to her."

10. "Seesaw"
"Seesaw," is a Don Covay/Steve Cropper composition from Aretha Franklin’s 1968 album Aretha Now. "This is another one I’ve always adored," says Hart. "It’s really high up in the range, and I asked Kevin to take it down a whole step. He said, ‘No, you can do it.’ It’s a really fun song, high energy, with a lot of attitude. Kevin liked it for the title track because he felt it was a good way of describing the ups and downs of the record."

11. "Strange Fruit"
The album closes with Hart’s haunting and atmospheric version of "Strange Fruit," a song that began as a poem about American racism—and lynching—by Abel Meeropol. "This is one of the most amazing songs ever written. The lyrical concept is one of the most important things in American history. Billie Holiday and Nina Simone both did great recordings, but Nina’s is the one that Kevin really had me listen to. I don’t have any personal relationship to slavery in my family, but I can at least sing it from a place of compassion."

BETH HART & JOE BONAMASSA
JUNE 2013 EUROPEAN TOUR DATES

Bergen Fest
Bergen, Norway
Saturday June 22, 2013
Buy Tickets: www.billettservice.no

Hampton Court Festival
Surrey, UK
Monday June 24, 2013
Buy Tickets: www.hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com

Lotto Arena
Antwerp, Belgium
Wednesday June 26, 2013
Buy Tickets: www.sportpaleis.be

Carre Theatre
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Saturday June 29, 2013

Carre Theatre
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sunday June 30, 2013

BETH HART

Singer-songwriter Beth Hart is known for the passionate conviction of her soul-baring performances, on record and onstage.
The strength of her vocals is matched by what she conveys in her lyrics, making her take on confessional song-writing authentic and heartfelt.
On 2010's My California - Hart's most recent album prior to collaborating with Joe Bonamassa for the blues-soul covers collection Don't Explain she is as raw and emotionally immediate as ever, singing of life's travails, lessons learned, and contentment gained.

She also adds a new tenderness to her powerful blues-rock sound that intimately draws listeners in.
The British music website Rocktopia wrote, "each track impresses on both a spiritual and musical level, and the fact that everyone should be able to identify with elements of Beth's narratives simply adds to the attraction."
It follows up 2007's 37 Days, which was recorded, produced, and mixed like a live album (in only 37 days), with a 12-camera shoot capturing all the action for the DVD The Making of 37 Days.

A Los Angeles native, Hart began playing the piano at age 4, and has made music all her life. She attended L.A. High School for the performing arts, and released her first album, Immortal, in 1996.

JOE BONAMASSA

As Joe Bonamassa grows his reputation as one of the world's most masterful guitar players, he is also emerging as a charismatic blues-rock star and singer-songwriter of stylistic depth and emotional resonance.
Bonamassa's latest solo album, 2011's Dust Bowl - his tenth, is his highest charting (#1 Blues, #37 on the Billboard 200) and best-selling to date. Recorded in Santorini, Greece, Nashville, Malibu, and Los Angeles, with Kevin "Caveman" Shirley producing, the album is a genre-bending mix of '60s-era British blues-rock (à la Beck and Clapton), roots-country, and blistering Delta blues.

Just one of his other projects, Black Country Communion, the British-American rock band he formed with Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Billy Idol); their second album was released in June 2011.
Bonamassa tours the world regularly, and his ability to connect with live audiences is epic, with a career highlight being a sold-out show at London's Royal Albert Hall-where Eric Clapton joined him onstage (the concert is captured on the 2-DVD set Joe Bonamassa: Live From The Royal Albert Hall).

He has been chosen Best Blues Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine's Readers Choice Awards for four consecutive years, and in 2009 was named Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the U.K.'s prestigious Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. A child prodigy, Bonamassa began his career at age 12 opening shows for the legendary B.B. King.

All Photo Credits: © Jeff Katz

For More Information & Free Song Download
www.hartandbonamassa.com

Beth & Joe's Official YouTube Channel
www.youtube.com/user/hartandbonamassa

Beth's Official Facebook
www.facebook.com/officialbethhart