Rickie Lee Jones at the Barbican

Like Bob Dylan, Rickie Lee Jones gives a great deal of ongoing thought to how she presents her songs in terms of musical arrangement. Such care is never allowed to outweigh the feeling of freshness and spontaneity, even when the material concerned is getting on for half a century old, as were the five songs from her debut album, written when she was barely into her twenties, included in last night’s 90-minute set. Her current touring band includes the brilliant Ben Rosenblum on accordion, piano and harmony vocals, the divine Petra Haden on violin, percussion and harmony vocals, and the very fine Vilray Bolles on Fender Telecaster. It’s a beautifully dextrous and flexible unit, capable of handling the way Jones likes to stretch songs such as the opening “Weasel and the White Boys Cool”, “We Belong Together” and “Living It Up” into woozy mini-symphonies. Just about everything about the evening was deeply enjoyable, including her very funny introductions and digressions and a couple of…