Beth Hart – Live at the Royal Albert Hall

In May this year, Beth Hart performed at the Royal Albert Hall in front of a capacity crowd. It was a superb show, lasting two hours and with Beth Hart in superb form. Now the show is being released on CD, Vinyl, DVD, BluRay and digital formats.

For this review I’m covering the CD version which comes on two discs. As you’d expect the sound quality is excellent, whether it’s the soft quiet parts (for example when she walks through the audience to the stage as she sings the opening song), or the louder more lively songs.

When Beth Hart says she’s going to do a song that isn’t in the setlist, if you listen carefully you can almost hear the record label people tearing their hair out as the carefully planned setlist for a show due to be released on DVD changes. They probably weren’t surprised though – Beth is a performer who regularly changes the setlist to either miss a song out or add another in based on her mood and how the audience is responding, and I’ve never seen an audience leave looking disappointed. In fact the audience tend to love the fact that every show is different rather than it being the same generic setlist every night, and more importantly Beth Hart tends to be very open about her inspirations for the songs, what was happening in her life at the time and so on, so the show has a very personal intimate feel. That’s certainly true here – despite the Royal Albert Hall being full, when she pays tribute to her sister at the start of “Sister Heroine”, or talks about her life, the place is silent and it feels like a small intimate show not a big show.

That’s the thing with a Beth hart concert – they’re both small and intimate and at the same time, filled with big tunes and good times – it sounds like a contradiction but it’s just what makes Beth hart’s shows so special. It’s something you see and hear on this release.

Beth Hart puts in a fantastic performance in this show and it’s a live release I have no hesitation in recommending.

Track listing:

Disc 1

1. As Long As I Have A Song
2. For My Friends
3. Lifts You Up
4. Close To My Fire
5. Bang Bang Boom Boom
6. Good As It Gets
7. Spirit Of God
8. Baddest Blues
9. Sister Heroine
10. Baby Shot Me Down
11. Waterfalls
12. Your Heart Is As Black As Night

Disc 2

1. Saved (Live)
2. The Ugliest House On The Block
3. Spiders In My Bed
4. Take It Easy On Me
5. Leave The Light On
6. Mama This One’s For You
7. My California
8. Trouble
9. Love Is A Lie
10. Picture In A Frame
11. Caught Out In The Rain