Mary Lee’s Corvette – 700 Miles
After deftly navigating Bob Dylan on their last disc (the fine live re-creation of Blood On The Tracks), Mary Lee’s Corvette takes a more personal journey on 700 Miles. This album concentrates on frontwoman Mary Lee Kortes’ own tunes, save for a closing cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “No Place To Fall”.
Kortes displays her strong voice, as both a singer and a writer, throughout 700 Miles. The marvelous “Portland, Michigan” showcases her storytelling skills, capturing the life of a girl who grew up “wild with the reeds under the cornstalks” in a small midwestern town. Using her sweet yet steely voice, she conveys the sense of yearning in a trio of standout love songs: “Haunting Me”, “Like Water”, and the eloquent title track (inspired by her grandmother).
Kortes’ brand of smart folk-pop suggests such fellow female singer-songwriters as Sam Phillips (particularly on the jangly “Out From Under It”) and Marti Jones (on the no-holds-barred look at envy “The Nothing Song”). In fact, the fun and funky “More Stupider” wittily comments on the “perils” of being an intelligent woman.
While Kortes’ lovely rendition of “No Place To Fall” again demonstrates that she is a terrific song interpreter, this disc (produced by her husband, roots rock icon Eric “Roscoe” Ambel) shows that her own songs are also well worth being sung.