I’m pretty sure Phoebe Hunt could sing a used car commercial and make it mesmerizing. Â The former lead singer and fiddle player for the Belleville Outfit just released her first full length solo collection, Live at the Cactus Cafe, and it does a great job showing off her musical and vocal range.
Several of the songs on the record do have that crossover country/jazz sound that Belleville Outfit was known for. Â Fly On, the opening cut has that spice to it, as does the funky Flee Fly Flow Fum. Â A little more in the jazz vein are Oh, So Many Ways and the almost steamy rendition of One Trick Pony.
For me, though, the strongest songs on the disc take that jazzy influence and add just a touch of, dare I say it, a progressive, folk rock sound of the 70’s. Â On Walk Away, it’s so easy to hear Hunt channeling Joni Mitchell. Â Wild Oats, her self-proclaimed folk anthem, has guitarist Reed Turner injecting some sweet synthesized sounding guitar. Â Woman On Fire, the most up-tempo song on the album outside the Bo Diddley beat of I Got Love, carries a certain Celtic folk influence to it. Â Good Blood has a Ricki Lee Jones club performance feeling, some of that I suppose from the always great vibe of the Cactus Cafe.
 The material on this album celebrates a lot of styles that get thrown into the Americana mix.  There are slow, acoustic ballads and upbeat pop songs, gospel, blues and country.  So in many ways it’s the perfect accompaniment to this Independence Day weekend.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.