Customer Reviews

Scarecrow

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Being a rabid Garth Brooks fan, I love ALL of his albums. But even I found some of his more recent work (1997's Sevens, for instance) lacking a soul. On Scarecrow Garth has found whatever it was that his music lost in the late 90's. "Wrapped Up In You," is a happy, infectious song that you'll find yourself humming hours later. Powerful and evocative, "The Storm" is an appropriately dark sequel to the theme of "The Thunder Rolls." "Thicker Than Blood," with its references to Brooks' own family, is touching and for some reason makes me smile every time I hear it. A dark and melancholy ballad, "Mr. Midnight" defies explination. "Big Money" and "Mexico or Rodeo" are toetappers with a sense of humor. Without going into all of them, I can say that there is not a weak song on this entire album. It's a pure joy to listen to all the way through. This CD is typified by great lyrics, spices of harmonica, fiddle, piano, banjo, and steel guitar, and the excellent vocals of Mr. Brooks at his most diverse and powerful.

Scarecrow is a fine album - one that favorably compares with Brooks' best efforts. Garth and longtime producer Allen Reynolds have put together a set of songs that move effortlessly between poignant and exhuberant. It is, however, more than just a country album.

From the start of his recording career, Brooks has shown us that his range of influence spans beyond traditional country. Garth's composition "Thicker Than Blood" is a tribute to familial devotion that takes on a global importance in light of the the September 11 tragedy. It recalls vintage James Taylor, while the first single, "Wrapped Up in You," has a Paul McCartney meets the Kingston Trio feel to it, and "Mr. Midnight" seemingly crosses Billy Joel with Harry Chapin.

After the bland Chris Gaines' CD, it is nice to hear Brooks cut loose on a set of uptempo tunes that create a little ruckus. He sounds delighted to be in the presence of his hero George Jones on the duet "Beer Run" while "Squeeze Me In" finds him whooping it up with Trisha Yearwood. "Big Money" and "Rodeo or Mexico" are particularly fun, while his bluegrass rendition of America's "Don't Cross the River" is a rootsy gem.

Emotions run the gamut on this album, from the optimistic love song "Why Ain't I Running" to the pessimistic "The Storm." "When You Come Back to Me," which Brooks recorded for the film Frequency, hits home with its theme of reconnecting with a loved one, while "Pushing Up Daisies" takes a chilling look at Brooks' father's disconnection with life since his wife's (Garth's mother's) death last year.

It all combines for a well-balanced package, sometimes fun, sometimes moving, and usually substantial. If it is Garth's last release (don't hold your breathe on that one), this was a great swan song.

After that Gaines nonsense, Garth has made a triumphant and very pleasing return to what he does best. The album opens with possibly one of his best songs....ahhh....GARTH HAS RETURN TO US ALL!!! The album's first single, "Wrapped Up In You" not one of the album's best songs, but far from a dud. Of course, Garth's #1 girl, Trisha Yearwood, returns for yet another amazing duet, but this time it's not a ballad!! It's a great upbeat song about trying to not to loose the loved one. Even the legendary George Jones sides with Brooks for a great, yet typical, country song called Beer Run. A moving and haunting piece called "The Storm" could have easily been a b-side of "The Thunder Rolls" discussing the mental power of mother-nature. "Rodeo or Mexico" reminded me of Jo Dee Messina's classic, "Heads Carolina, Tails California" and the CD could not have been complete without the breathless, priceless ballad from the Frequency Sndtrk. "When You Come Back To Me Again."
The easiest way to categorize this album is the a little heavier than "Sevens", a similiar sound as "In Pieces" with the power and attraction of "Double Live" Overall....a great CD with a promise of assurance that Garth is the undefeatable king!

First I must say that yes I am biased, Garth is my favorite artist, and my hero. That's why I was dreading the release of this his final cd.
After his divorce I expected a collection of dark, moody, brooding songs. I then heard him say that he thought he finally made a happy album. He did! The one exception being a song entitled The Storm, which is about a woman dealing with the aftermath of...what else...a divorce.
The rest of the songs while some are the ballads that he is best known for, they never go into the heartbreaking territory of some of his older hits such as say, Somewhere Other Than The Night or even The Dance. The remainder of the disc is what can only be described as a goodbye letter to the most hardcore loyal of his fans (me included in this category) with little lyrics thrown in here and there that touch on subjects in his personal life that only the most ardent fan would grasp outside their respective songs.
The disc itself is a mixture of his first Self Titled cd and Fresh Horses. While I hate to see him go, I'm glad he's leaving with a bang and not a whimper. So in trbiute to my hero, I'm gonna' go to my local AHBA, grab Two Pina Colada's and listen to Scarecrow and celebrate a wonderful man and a great career!

Well, actually I give it 2 1/2 stars, maybe 3. When I heard that Garth Brooks was coming back with a new album I thought he'd put together something deep, something exciting. Mr. Brooks was part of a wave of unique and talented country artists(Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Patty Loveless, etc.)to come along and save the genre in the late 80's. In the long run, he's probably hurt the genre more than he's helped it. Mr. Brooks has the talent and he's definitely in the position where he could put the flavor and excitement back into country music. Instead, 'Scarecrow' sounds too much like every album he's put out since 'No Fences'. The songs are just too overproduced, 'too forced' as another reviewer on here said. The way the songs are arranged and produced...it just takes the creativity and energy out of them. Brooks has also become less and less involved in the songwriting of his material. Overall, I'd say about half the songs on here hold up well, but the other half are totally flat. I also didn't think there was a single song that jumps out as a Garth Brooks classic. I wish Mr. Brooks would do a more stripped down album, a more rootsy, acoustically driven type of album. I'm sure Scarecrow will sell well, but if this is all Brooks can offer, then its going to take something else to put the soul and the identity back into country music.

I put the CD in my player as soon as I could and my first thought after was "That was nowhere near as good as Sevens!" Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed in his latest offering. I listened to it a couple of more times and the songs started getting stuck in my head. I'd be hearing 'em in my head at work and so forth, making me want to hear the CD even more. I suddenly realized, it's not as bad as I thought. Like a fellow reviewer said on down, just because it's not what you were really expecting it to sound like, doesn't make that a bad sound. Now I listen to it all the time. I don't really skip any songs like I usually do, to try and get to the best ones.

Stuff like Pushing Up Daises, Thicker than Blood, and Mr. Midnight are a few of the highlights on here. Then you have the fun stuff like Beer Run (sounds like the two had a blast singing this one), Rodeo or Mexico and Big Money that are easy listening. Like many others, I'm glad to see When You Come Back To Me Again from Frequency (good movie!) included on here. The only two I'm really not impressed too awful much with is Why Ain't I Running and the duet with Trisha. For some reason, those just don't hit me as good as the rest. They're aren't bad, just not to my tastes as much as the others.

All in all, not a bad collection of songs. Nowhere near the perfection of the debut, No Fences, Ropin' the Wind or Sevens, this one is more along the lines of Fresh Horses and In Pieces in my eyes. A fun listen, but I wish he would have retired on a note more along the lines of Sevens.

I can't begin to say how impressed I am with Mr. Garth Brooks on this album. Versatility at it's best, the man is just flat talented. Musically speaking, this album has so much depth. One example is the addition of some strings on the album during songs like "The Storm". This song is so powerful the chords just seem to capture you and take you along for the ride. There is something on this album for everyone with influences ranging from James Taylor to Billy Joel and Elton John and back to the country roots again.

As a fan, I love all of Garth's albums. As a musician, I have to admit that Garth has outdone himself here. The musicians that appear on the album are FANTASTIC!! He's left me standing just about speechless for days, not knowing how to describe it....but just knowing it has me "Wrapped Up" to the point where I just can't let go. And with something this awesome, who'd want to??

What's great about this album is that whenever I get a new album there are one or two songs I kinda skip sometimes until they grow on me....but with this album I can honestly say there isn't a single one I have skipped over since day one! They are ALL great music. You can be sure that if you pick up this CD you are holding that man's heart in your hands!

Garth Brooks 2001 CD Scarecrow was the last studio album he released before retiring from recording and touring. Fortunately he has released some new songs in the last few years, and even performed some shows. This CD showed Garth at the peak of his talents. Scarecrow features the following tunes:

1. Why Ain't I Running 3/5
2. Beer Run (B-Double E-Double Are You In?) w/ George Jones 4/5
3. Wrapped Up in You 4/5
4. Storm 3/5
5. Thicker Than Blood 3/5
6. Big Money 3/5
7. Squeeze Me In - w/ Trisha Yearwood 4/5
8. Mr. Midnight 5/5
9. Pushing Up Daisies 4/5
10. Rodeo or Mexico 3/5
11. Don't Cross the River 3/5
12. When You Come Back to Me Again [Theme from "Frequency"] 5/5

Garth Brooks says this is it he is retiring. Lets see in 5 years.

However "Scarecrow" is a good effort with good songs. Nothing special here. It sounds like Garth, it is Garth and vocally he is stronger than his previous albums.

This is your basic country middle of the road album with Garth Brooks at the helm of the microphone.

Standout songs are "When You Come Back To Me Again" and the duet with Trisha Yearwood titled "Squeeze Me In".

Though Brooks vocals seem stronger here, the songs from his previous albums are stronger than what "Scarecrow" delivers.

Not a bad album at all, just not his best. The songs seem to just sit there except for the two I mentioned. The production is middle of the road, the arrangements are (been there, done that scenario), and the songwriting is just ok.

For the Brooks fan I say buy it to complete your collection, for the new Brooks fan buy his earlier works first and get a better bang for your buck.

....And Garth when you see Barbra at dinner tell her all your fans will see you too in about 5 years, because your ego is too strong to end on a note like the (3 star-"Scarecrow").

I thought I hated country until I heard the song Friends in Low Places. Garth is THE country artist. nowadays there are many others that i like but garth is the best and will always be the best in my opinion. Scarecrow is a great album. not my favorite, but still very good. I have neglected country for a while without garth and shania playing on the radio but it's about time i turn that dial back to my country radio station. Garth's voice is in top form contrary to what one reviewer said. the thing about garth is that he sings with all his heart and soul. the songs are catchy, melodic, and powerful. I recomend it wholeheartedly. please don't retire garth!