The second release from fiercely indie blues/R&B pianist
Kelley Hunt is inspired indeed, with the technical perfection of a studio
recording and the energy of a live performance. This is, in fact, a
live recording, which adds a bit of extra oomph. Hunt herself admits that
it's unusual to release a live album as one's second recording, but the
material here is all new--and all original, one of Hunt's more endearing
and less typical qualities being her unwillingness to do covers. That's
quite all right; she hardly needs them. Inspiration kicks off with
the title track, which rolls along nicely at an even, midrange tempo, with
a rhythm so solid you could set a dinner service for eight on it. For the
second track, Hunt offers "Stronger Wings," which starts off weakly--the
opening melody line seems a bit low for Hunt's admittedly impressive vocal
range. However, she pulls out of the potential misstep almost immediately,
and the song turns into a remarkably strong gospel-inflected ballad with
true emotional depth.
Faster, though no less energetic, are the sizzling "Treat
Me Right," the solid "Forgive and Forget" and the sultry "Just Like
Oxygen," which serve as anchors for the rest of the material. "Queen of
the 88's" is a tale of the piano instructor who taught Hunt, by the
accounting given in the song, everything she knows--the sort of unsung
hero who, here, finally gets her due. If the song's a little long, Hunt
may therefore be forgiven. In addition, there's the ballad "Love Never
Dies," which garnered Hunt plenty of new fans when it was included in a
1998 broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion. If there's a notion in
the blues world of indie cred, Hunt has made it work for her, building an
impressive presence. It'll be intriguing to see where she takes her
considerable performing talent and songwriting skills from here.
-- Originally appeared in Blues Revue No. 67,
May 2001, p. 65