Sarah Jarosz • Build Me Up From Bones
 f there’s a gold standard for acoustic Americana recordings,
singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sara Jarosz’s Build Me Up From Bones
certainly fills the bill. It features performances that swell with emotion and sonics that
mimic three-dimensional acoustic space. Instruments are so realistically presented that
you can sense the texture of a Dobro’s steel strings, the resonating wooden body of a
dreadnought guitar and the textured friction of a freshly rosined fiddle bow. From the
intimate capture of Jarosz’s liquid-smooth and nuanced vocal delivery to the richly
layered instrumental tapestries that comprise her complex original compositions, this
Grammy-nominated third album is easily among the best of the Texas-born prodigy’s
already impressive 12-year career.
While it was originally released shortly after Jarosz’s 22nd birthday, Build Me Up From Bones sounds like the work of an old soul. On the title track, she sings, “The moon’s a fingernail, scratching on the back of the night,” demonstrating a penchant for innovative turns of phrase. Small wonder then that she chose to cover Joanna Newsom’s “The Book of Right-On,” which contains quirky lines like, “I killed my dinner with karate / Kick ‘em in the face / Taste the body.” But it’s Jarosz’s rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate” that really steals the show and sets the bar for anyone else brave enough to attempt the trick. Accompanied by nothing more than the simple string-plucking of cellist Nathaniel Smith, Jarosz applies just the right amounts of bitter and sweet phrasing to this breakup classic; the result is a parting kiss tinged with such irony and longing that it gives Dylan’s own version a serious run for the money. Many great recordings are the fruit of a close collaboration between artist and producer. Consider the work of George Martin and the Beatles, Norman Granz's and Ella Fitzgerald’s work on the Great American Songbook or Gus Dudgeon’s four-album stretch with Elton John. Likewise, much of what makes Sara Jarosz’s recordings exceptional is her longtime association with Nashville legend Gary Paczosa (Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Dixie Chicks). Published interviews with Paczosa reveal a man obsessed with finding exactly the right microphone for a performer’s unique voice and a dedication to removing anything in the recording chain that reduces timbral and dynamic fidelity. Coupled with Jarosz’s keen musician’s ears, the two have managed to create a signature sound that is both organic and artfully arranged. The sonic landscape is accurate without being dry, and the atmosphere is warm without being overproduced. Whether it’s Jarosz’s interplay with Dobro master Jerry Douglas or the instrumental pyrotechnics as she trades licks with mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile, Build Me Up From Bones conveys presence and detail that encourage repeated listening sessions and produce more than a few goose bumps. The icing on this reissue cake is the care invested in
the project by Craft Recordings. With flat and quiet 180-gram vinyl courtesy of United
Record Pressing, this record tops the already stellar digital release in its presentation
of soundstage depth and width. I don’t have a rare and expensive copy of Sugar
Hill’s original pressing for comparison, but the lacquers for that version and this
Craft release were both mastered by Eric Boulanger and cut at The Mastering Lab in Ojai,
California. As one might expect from this outstanding provenance, the sound from these
sessions simply jumps off the platter, making Build Me Up From Bones one of the
very best vinyl reissues I’ve heard this year. |
