Singer/songwriter Beth Hart continues to explore her blues and soul roots via 11 cover versions of her favorite tracks on Seesaw, her second album with blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa.
Following the same path as their first collaboration, the 2011 all-covers release Don't Explain, the pair hooked up again with producer Kevin Shirley, who has previously worked with Led Zeppelin, Journey, Black Crowes, Joe Bonamassa, and numerous others.
The 11 tunes kick off with a jump blues rendition of "Them There Eyes," a rock blues take on Ike & Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits"; punchy horns accentuate the Buddy Miles penned "Miss Lady," and they give a straightforward soul treatment to the Don Covay/Steve Cropper tune "See Saw" recorded by Aretha Franklin in 1968.
The influence of Janis Joplin and Etta James is evident on the powerful ballads "If I Tell You I Love You" and "A Sunday Kind of Love." The album closes with an eerie version of the anti-lynching poem from 1937 associated with Billie Holiday, "Strange Fruit." Also returning from the Don't Explain album are Bonamassa's assembled backing band: Anton Fig (drums and percussion), Blondie Chaplin (guitar), Carmine Rojas (bass), Arlan Schierbaum (keyboards), Lenny Castro (percussion), and Michael Rhodes (bass on "I'll Love You More Than You'll Ever Know").
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Them There EyesMaceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, William Tracey | Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart | Play | 02:32 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 2 | Close to My FirePeter Hoppe, Stephanie Popp | Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart | Play | 05:14 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | Nutbush City LimitsTina Turner | Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 4 | I Love You More Than You'll Ever KnowAl Kooper | Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart | Play | 07:04 | 16 MB | 45 MB |
| 5 | Miss LadyBuddy Miles | Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 6 | If I Tell You I Love YouMelody Gardot | Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | RhymesAl Green, Mabon "Teenie" Hodges | Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart | Play | 05:05 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 8 | A Sunday Kind of LoveBarbara Belle, Anita Nye, Louis Prima, Stanley Rhodes | Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | See SawDon Covay, Steve Cropper | Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 10 | Strange FruitLewis Allen | Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart | Play | 05:47 | 13 MB | 27 MB |
| 11 | Can't Let You Go | Beth Hart, Joe Bonamassa | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 49 mins | 113 MB | |||||
| 49 mins | 312 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Allen | Composer |
| 2 | Barbara Belle | Composer |
| 3 | Joe Bonamassa | Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 4 | Jeff Bova | String Arrangements |
| 5 | Lenny Castro | Percussion |
| 6 | Blondie Chaplin | Guitar (Rhythm), Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Erin Cok | Public Relations |
| 8 | Don Covay | Composer |
| 9 | Steve Cropper | Composer |
| 10 | Ron Dziubla | Saxophone |
| 11 | Anton Fig | Drums, Percussion |
| 12 | Heidi Ellen Robinson Fitzgerald | Public Relations |
| 13 | Jim Freeman | Management |
| 14 | Dennis Friel | Design, Illustrations |
| 15 | Melody Gardot | Composer |
| 16 | Al Green | Composer |
| 17 | Scott Guetzkow | Tour Manager |
| 18 | Beth Hart | Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 19 | Doug Henthorn | Vocals (Background) |
| 20 | Mabon "Teenie" Hodges | Composer |
| 21 | Peter Hoppe | Composer |
| 22 | Rachael Iverson | Management |
| 23 | Michael Jensen | Public Relations |
| 24 | Jeff Katz | Photography |
| 25 | Al Kooper | Composer |
| 26 | Jared Kvitka | Engineer |
| 27 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 28 | Buddy Miles | Composer |
| 29 | Anita Nye | Composer |
| 30 | Maceo Pinkard | Composer |
| 31 | Stephanie Popp | Composer |
| 32 | Louis Prima | Composer |
| 33 | Michael Rhodes | Bass |
| 34 | Stanley Rhodes | Composer |
| 35 | Carmine Rojas | Bass |
| 36 | Arlan Schierbaum | Organ, Piano |
| 37 | Kevin Shirley | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 38 | Marcus Sweeney-Bird | Photography |
| 39 | Doris Tauber | Composer |
| 40 | Lee Thornburg | Brass Arrangement, Trombone, Trumpet |
| 41 | William Tracey | Composer |
| 42 | Tina Turner | Composer |
| 43 | Randy Weeks | Composer |
| 44 | Roy Weisman | Executive Producer, Management |
| 45 | David Wolff | Management |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |