Search - Mary Lee's Corvette :: Love Loss & Lunacy (Dig)

Mary Lee has gone rockin'

Les Borean | So-Cal | 06/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Had a hard time going to sleep one Sunday night a few weeks ago because there wasn't a part of my body I could lie on that wasn't sore. That day I had taken out my old mountain bike which had been rotting away in the garage for quite some time. Got new tires and did the beach bike path from PV to Temescal Canyon and back. A 44 mile round trip - I think not bad for a 62-year old who hadn't been in the saddle for some time.



Musicians and other artists who maintain their vitality are more in touch with changing times than the average bloke - more in touch with the tides of society; and their artwork changes with that changing pulse of the world, as reflected in their own psyche - if the artist is to maintain vibrancy. So many of them don't, and so many fade away.



People in general are not so eagerly open to change as are vital artists. Even the most radical of us can tend toward favorite habits and cherished ruts. The more one may think he is not of this ilk, the more deeply he is prone to resist substantive change in his psyche and life.



Probably.



When a musician gives to the world a new album, fans generally want it to be just like the last album, except different. What they get sometimes is a far cry from what they expected because their admired artist has moved on - and the fan prefers his comfy old ruts. The fan in this case can accept the invitation to make the leap; or be lazy and betray his band.



A tragic example of this is Garbage's innovative album "Beautiful Garbage". So many fans of Garbage turned away after the release of BG that the band, as a survival move, issued a subsequent album that was merely more of the same old stuff as previous albums.



Don't like your favorite artists new album? Look at your life and blame not the artist. Likely as not it's your own inertia trying to keep you stagnant while the world moves on.



I received Love, Loss and Lunacy a week before I was to leave on vacation to Yosemite; so I saved the album for the 400-mile drive.



At 3 a.m., with only 3 hours of sleep behind me, while cruising I-405 north toward Yosemite - I popped the album into the player.



It kept me awake! It certainly kept me awake, like a gale force wind gushing thru the speakers.



Here, I was expecting an album just like the last one only different, and here was sockin' rock & roll at 3 a.m. I was expecting sweet melodies in Mary Lee's sweet voice, and I got electric jams; electric shock. High voltage.



Whatever possessed her???



But Mary Lee's considerable talent with lyric and melody is still there in this new album, amidst all the electric foment, the driving beats, the rockin' guitars. The things I've loved about her music in the past are all still there amid the blast of rock energy. I'd have never thought, but her style of lyric and melody does very well with rock.



The more I listen the more I like this new album. A yearning keeps surfacing in me to pop in one of her older CD's and let my psyche be soothed for a while. And someday I will listen again to the old albums. But for now I like the freshness of LL&L, even if it kind of jangles me.



Between Mary Lee going rock, and the Ditty Bops doing their cross-country album release bicycle trip, I've been inspired and jostled into leaving some of my old comfortable life behind and for one thing, hitting the bike paths with all those younger guys on their thousand dollar bikes.



Oh, lordy."

Pure Pop for Now, People!

Mark A. Schreiber | Birmingham, AL USA | 07/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Want to turn your friends on to the best album of the year? Listen no further! "Love, Loss & Lunacy' outdoes every release I've heard in 2006.



I may be doing the album a disservice by labeling it "pop." Yes, Mary Lee and her band lay down one catchy hook after another, delivered by her perfect voice and tight, not-too-much production. But there is an edge and hint of darkness to the sweetness. This isn't bubblegum or diabetes-inducing pop like perhaps the Veronicas or even the Corrs of late (although I enjoy those artists). No, this is a perfect blend of darkness and light, sweetness and poignancy.



The songs are beautifully written and have depth behind their immediate hook-friendly accessibility. After you're humming along you start to reflect on the lyrics and realize there's some deeper stuff here. There's a lot going on for a "pop" record but the production doesn't overwhelm Mary Lee's incredible voice, which is intimate, strong and vulnerable all at the same time. One thing's for sure: you won't be able to stop listening.



To help curious fellow consumers I've thought of who I would compare this band to and I just haven't hit it yet. There's a little Bangles and a dab of Marshall Crenshaw. But the truth is Mary Lee's Corvette is wonderfully unique. And don't be shy if you love the hard stuff. I adore Drive-By Truckers, Foo Fighters, Audioslave, etc. Mary Lee's Corvette is not a "rock" band but has enough muscle to satisfy.



I purchased this cd solely based on Amazon's recommendation and the few audio clips I sampled. A previous reviewer commented that this album suits any mood and that's true. If you like pop/rock and want to hear something really smart, catchy, fun, moving and well-crafted, don't miss the best album of the year."

Love, Loss & Lunacy...Wins!

Barnes Newberry | Boston, MA USA | 07/04/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Are you looking for one of those wonderful Under-The-Radar albums we all just love to find? The kind you are absolutely gob-smacked with on first listen and you can't wait to tell a friend? Then this may be your place to stop. Mary Lee Kortes, aka Mary Lee's Corvette, has done it again on her new cd Love, Loss & Lunacy. This New York resident has delivered the goods with a stunning meld of accessible power pop, good ol' rock and roll, punchy lyrics and foot-tapping joy, all held together by a cracker-jack band. She can out-jangle the Bangles when she wants and easily go beyond the crowing of Sheryl with soaring vocals and tough, yet tender, songwriting. All this from the woman who delivered a spot-on live rendition of His Bobness's Blood On The Tracks a few albums back. Some of my faves here are the percolating Thunderstruck, the waltz-like Where Did I Go Wrong Elton John, the Beatley horns in Wasting The Sun, the infectious Learn From What I Dream and the punchy Blood Of Stones. Each song is a little gem and I urge you to pop it in the car player for a great summer spin. Perfect if you're happy and equally touching if you're feeling blue, it is THE cd to have and pass on. Give the gift of uplifting the soul. Uh,uh,oh indeed. Mary Lee's back and she's got a winner here, folks! Barnes Newberry, Host, Highway 61 Revisited (www.wumb.org)"