It’s a well proven proverb that creativity and commercialism aren’t always the best bedfellows. Going out on a limb and sharing some inner truth isn’t necessarily appealing to the masses. So when Jimmy Yeary opted to record his upcoming debut album Left of Sinner and include songs written from a personal perspective, he was in fact detouring away from his earlier career as an ongoing Nashville presence, lead singer of the popular band Shenandoah and a singer/songwriter signed to various major labels. Most significantly, he had scored several country hits, including “I Drive Your Truck,” a Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music “Song of the Year,” and, more recently, the number one Kenny Chesney/David Lee Murphy collaboration “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.”
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Nevertheless, Yeary wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to tell his own story, warts and all, one that would share his downturns and disappointments, as well as the hopes, faith and aspirations that keep him moving forward.
That’s what attracted veteran producer/songwriter/record executive Marshall Altman to him when they first met as part of a three way co-writing collaboration with Tim Nichols in 2015. The record was never released, but regardless, Altman —whose past production projects include work with Amy Grant. Marc Broussard, Natasha Bedington, Gabe Dixon, and Tom Morello, among others — claims he was immediately impressed, not only by Yeary’s skill as both an artist and composer, but also by his unbridled optimism and insightful observations. Aside from the fact that the two became good friends, he also made it his mission to do an album with him at some point.
“Every time I saw the dude, it was like ‘Hey man, let’s make a record,’” Altman recalls.
“Marshall was so refreshing for me,” Yeary suggests. “I was writing things that I didn’t want to write, and after checking out his history, straight away it was obvious that Marshall wasn’t just about chasing down a hit. He wanted to feel something. And I was also starving to death to feel something again myself. So we just jumped into something that was real. I don’t care if anyone hears it. I just wanted to write it. I love his passion, his intelligence and he just seemed to get me immediately. It became really, really fun and I just wanted to do it as much as I could.”
It was another four years before that desire came to fruition, but in 2019, the new album was completed. Lacking major label assistance and the usual network of promoters, publicists and an extensive distribution network, the prospects for getting it out into the marketplace might seem gloomy at best. Nevertheless, their enthusiasm won out and both men are only too eager to tout their mutual accomplishment.
The first single was released last month with two others expected over the span of the summer. That initial offering is “Same Water, Different Boat,” a song that eschews the need for perseverance even in the face of overwhelming odds. The chorus rings with determined resilience:
“Yeah, we’re all just riding on this rock together
We’re all just kinda learning as we go
Trying to find a little break in stormy weather
Just out here trying to keep this thing afloat
Same water, different boat.”
Yeary notes that he had achieved earlier success, but he dismisses most of it as the product of someone who was really young and without a lot to say. “I just wanted to be famous,” he insists. “And that’s not a great combination. So where I am today, I do have something to say and I have a few wrinkles. I was just cutting what people wanted me to cut, saying what they wanted me to say, and I wasn’t enjoying it.”
As a result, Yeary considers Left of Sinner not only a reboot of his career, but also his first real solo set. He also credits Altman’s oversight with bringing it to fruition.
“Selfishly speaking, I really wanted to hear a record that was made for him as an artist and not tailored individually for each pitch for what his publisher was going after, “ Altman responds. “Our goal was to make a record that both of us loved and could proudly play to our wives. The clarity that Jimmy has now…it’s very rare, especially in Nashville where a lot of careers are built on doing what you’re told.”
“I knew these were songs that would never get cut, but they were songs I just had to write,” Yeary maintains. “This record has given me a chance to have freedom. I found such joy in it. I wrote the way I wanted to write. And I feel that people want to hear those kinds of songs again.”
Altman has his own words of acknowledgement. “There are plenty of good writers, and I’m not taking anything away from them,” he adds. “But the first time I met Jimmy, I felt like there was a great artist in there. To have him say, ‘Nobody’s going to cut these songs, but these are the things I’d like to say’ — that was inspiring to me as a record producer. I’m not a fool enough to think everything I do is going to make money, but I want to be inspired, because if it doesn’t inspire me, it’s not going to inspire anyone else.”
Altman explains that several of the songs were written before the album was conceived and the early intention was to send them to other artists. However Yeary maintains that he didn’t think that most, if not all of them would never get covered. They were, he declares, simply sentiments he wanted to express.
“I’ve been a drunk, I’ve been married three times, I’ve been an idiot, and I’ve done every conceivable drug you can think of,” he relates. “I’ve just come to a place of gratitude today. I just want to feel as much as I can so that other people can feel it too. I’ve seen the power that comes from that connection, and I just want to meet that internal need so we don’t all feel alone.”
“At the end of the day, my hope for this is that Jimmy gets to make another record,” Altman explains. “My belief is that this is a special record that could change the way people think about country music, which, in my humble opinion, has been suffering from its own hunger for the spotlight. It’s a rich and beautiful genre that has had a lot to say has been marginalized in a lot of ways, at least on the mainstream side. You can quote me on that. This is a record from a guy that’s received all these accolades and had number one hits, who should just be writing the most blatantly simple, commercial cuttable songs…only writing songs that people can run up the charts and have number ones.”
In that regard, Altman says that any commercial consideration takes second place to the conviction the two men imbued in its creation. “The thing that I love about this record is that it feels like what country music should be without the thirst for another number one or any kind of approval. That to me is the crux of this record. I believe that there’s a deeper calling, and this record represents that stance. I know that people that hear it, however many there are, will believe it. They’ll be moved by it. They’ll find hope and comfort and solace and joy in it.”
“I hope the whole world hears it but we did not make this record with that intention at all,” Yeary muses.
“We’re confident that the people that hear will actually hear it, will listen and that won’t be just another set of songs,” Altman suggests. “Sometimes you want to believe in what you’re making and hope that it sells. But you also want to fully believe in the music you’re making. Sometimes people want it to sell more than they want to believe in it. I’ve fallen prey to that myself. These songs truly move me. I don’t hear that that often, so that’s the defining thing about this album for me.”
Yeary has his own reason for wanting the songs to be successful. “I enjoy writing songs that really move me,” he says. “I hope they make me millions and millions of dollars, but if they don’t, that’s still a better choice for me than trying to cut the cookie the same way every time.”
