The album begins on a good note, with a touch of edginess in the
singing of the title track's chorus:
I am the Scarecrow
and you are the Tinman,
and we are not the
same as we were
changed by love and
changed by compassion
we now have a new
heart and mind.
The lyrics may be trite, but using The Wizard of Oz as inspiration
for spiritual allegory had the potential to be interesting. Unfortunately,
they only make use of it in one other song, "No Place Like Home"--referring
to fellowship among the body of Christ. Most of the time they spend their
energy on Hanson-ish choruses like "Hey-yaaaaah," "Yeaah-yeah, yeah-ah,"
and "I'm just fay ay ay ay ine." Those who dig such pop fluff will probably
enjoy the solid melodies and big harmonies that dominate the songs and
admittedly, there's actually some uniqueness in the contrasting lower and
higher tones in the harmonies.
Most of the songs revolve around the use of organic-sounding vintage
synthesizers fused with acoustic guitars, which could have been a cool
sound under different circumstances. It's possible that the Elefante brothers
as producers killed Scarecrow and Tinmen's creativity and made them into
their typical cheese pop rock. For those who aren't too jaded by the overuse
of musical, vocal, and lyrical cliches, however, there is some truly sincere,
encouraging music to be had.
Josh Spencer (5/22/99)
