Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks” is one of the greatest albums in rock ‘n’ roll history, without question. But at a Dylan show, the most you might hear is “Tangled Up in Blue,” and it’s usually done up in any number of different arrangements the ever mercurial living legend might fancy.
So to hear Mary Lee’s Corvette go from “Tangled” through “Buckets of Rain,” with all the original arrangements and Mary Lee Kortes’s fantastic voice last night at Schubas was almost a revelation. Jay Bennet, formerly of Wilco, joined the Corvette on stage for a blistering version of “Meet Me in the Morning.”
After which, Mary Lee sang a couple of her own songs, and while they didn’t compare to the scenes of Dylan’s affair, they were very good in their own right. An unfocused performance of the 15-verse “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts” was the only letdown in an otherwise memorable evening of music.
The greatness of Dylan’s artistry came sparkling through in the Corvette’s performance and Kortes’s singing, which is the biggest compliment that can be paid, I think.