Trisha Yearwood Learns Digging Deeper Pays Off

Trisha Yearwood Learns Digging Deeper Pays Off

By Michael McCall

With Jasper County, Trisha Yearwood's first album in four years, the two-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year proves that a grand entrance more than makes up for an extended absence.

In 2001, after 20 Top 10 hits with nine at No. 1 in 12 years, the singer decided that she'd take a year off from recording and touring. One year stretched to two. "I was anxious to get into the studio and get a record done," she recalled. "But I was in such a hurry that we forced it. We started working in the studio before I was ready."

Yearwood believes she works best when she takes the time to learn new material and lets it seep into her bones before starting the recording process. "When you're not a songwriter, you have to live with songs for awhile and make them yours," Yearwood explained. "It's hard for me to find songs that say what I would say if I could write them myself. That's what I look for, songs that allow me to say something personal or something I can relate with."

In 2003, she headed into the studio. But after recording plenty of tunes, Yearwood realized she wasn't satisfied - she hadn't spent enough time making her song choices.

"It wasn't that they were bad songs," she said, "it's just that they weren't the right ones." She called her producer, Garth Fundis, to relay her concerns. "To Garth's credit, he was the one who said, 'OK, let's start over.'"

Yearwood and Fundis ditched all but two tunes, then began re-visiting publishing houses to explain that this time they wanted to dig deeper - and the new selections are reflected on her new album, Jasper County, released on Sept. 13. The CD features the kind of songs that Yearwood is known to excel: emotionally rich lyrics about heartbreak, confrontation, inner strength and moving on.

September 13, 2005

"My goal was to make a Trisha Yearwood album," said the Georgia native. "After having been off the radio for awhile, I didn't want to come back with something radically different. I wanted to do what I think I do well."

That means stately songs with lyrics that probe life and love with a scalpel instead of a hammer. Yearwood strives to delve into difficult truths delivered with subtle grace rather than easy slogans conveyed with conspicuous sentimentality.

"Songs are like mini-movies to me," Yearwood noted. "I really like to put myself in the middle of the experience and to feel whatever the person in the song is feeling. That's just how I was when I grew up listening to songs, and that's how I am now when I sing them."

With the album's first single, "Georgia Rain," Yearwood convinced songwriters Ed Hill and Karyn Rochelle to alter the original tune so she could slip into character more readily and make the song feel autobiographical. "I'd been looking for a song about Georgia for a long time," she said. "I loved this song immediately, but the original title was 'Augusta Rain.' That's Augusta, Ga., of course, but a lot of people might not know that."

Yearwood maintains a deep respect for songwriters, and she's never previously asked that a lyric be altered. "I just thought I could make a much stronger personal connection if I sang 'Georgia Rain,'" she explained. "So I asked if they'd change the song, and if they could put Jasper County in it, since that's where I'm from. They

were happy to do it, and, I must say, it made the song very personal. That song really set the tone for everything on the album."

A sweeping epic, the tune not only says we can go home again, but suggests that, in this transitory time, returning home can feed your soul. "It was very easy to put myself into that song and feel everything it says," she said. "I think that's why I'm drawn to ballads. They tend to be a lot more dramatic."

That doesn't mean she can't rock. From "That's What I Like About You" and "XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl)," to "A Perfect Love" and "Squeeze Me In," her 2001 duet with Garth Brooks, Yearwood repeatedly has proven she can growl and soar with gritty punch. Jasper County shows this off with a raucous roadhouse take on an Al Anderson/Leslie Satcher song, "Pistol," one of the most ferocious cuts Yearwood's ever recorded.

That song - about falling in love with a wild soul and the trouble that comes with it - also serves as the subject of another of Yearwood's new recordings, "Trying to Love You," written by Beth Nielsen Chapman and Bill Lloyd. Quiet and contemplative, the lush ballad showcases Yearwood's ability to convincingly communicate tender emotion and tough truths within one song.

"That song is probably autobiographical for anybody," she explained. "Anyone who's been in a relationship ends up having a hard time at some point. But I think that song is ultimately positive - even if it acknowledges that when you love someone, you sometimes grow frustrated with them. I think people can relate with that kind of honesty."

The singer is quick to point out that not every song is autobiographical. "Who Invented the Wheel," for instance, tells of a woman lashing out in frustration at a deceitful, absent lover. "I certainly don't feel that way in my life right now," she said with a laugh. Still, she explains, it allows her to flash anger in a song, which she enjoyed.

On the other hand, she knows exactly how the happy, strong woman feels in "Gimme the Good Stuff." "Who doesn't want to cheer for someone who's saying that they're not going to settle for less, that they're going to be happy, and bring it on?" she said. "That's a great statement to make for anyone."

Jasper County is sequenced so that it follows a storyline with which Yearwood also can relate. It begins with a woman realizing that she had to leave her lover to save herself. A couple of tunes deal with heartbreak and ends with several positive love songs. That emotion, said the newly engaged singer, was easy to tap.

"There was a time when I didn't feel comfortable singing happy songs," she said. "Part of it was that I didn't think they were as serious or meaningful as the sadder ones. But I think your songs can reflect where you are in life, and I'm definitely a happy girl these days. I didn't have to pretend on the fun songs, and I think that makes them feel more real to me."

Her relationship with Country Music's most famous retiree, Garth Brooks, certainly colors her music, she revealed. It also had much to do with why she took so long between albums. She moved with Brooks to Oklahoma, lending a hand in raising his daughters. "It's a very small town," she explained. "You know everybody, pretty much. And there are a lot of soccer games. It reminds me of how I grew up."

Getting away from Nashville also helped minimize the gossip, though the couple remained a hot topic for the tabloids. "You just have to laugh at it, because it's ridiculous. It's never right," Yearwood said.

Of course, headlines and spotlights aren't anything new to Yearwood. The three-time GRAMMY winner has performed duets with pop stars Aaron Neville and Don Henley and opera great Luciano Pavarotti. She's drawn ovations when singing at the Academy Awards, the closing ceremonies of the '96 Olympics, The White House and the Library of Congress.

Now that she's back in action, Yearwood figures press coverage will intensify. But she remains focused on her career.

"Music is something that's a very important part of who I am. I've got plenty still to do," Yearwood said.

On the Web: www.trishayearwood.com