"Tumbleweed Connection" has the dubious distinction of being the only Elton John album from the Seventies that did not offer up a certified "hit" (neither did "Madman Across the Water" if you want to get picky, but "Levon" was always a highly requested song on FM radio). However, the lack of acknowledge hits just speaks in favor of this album, because anybody who listens to Elton John's albums knows full well that his best songs are rarely (if ever) the Top 40 hits. Even without the benefit of a hit single, this 1971 album still made it to #5 on the Billboard charts.
Half the songs on "Tumbleweed Connection" are 4:59 or longer in life, which means the odds were long that they would ever be played on the radio. Yet theses songs, such as "Country Comfort" and "Burn Down the Mission," stand out as some of the best work by John and lyricist Bernie Taupin during this period. The latter track remains a prime choice for the big finish at an Elton John concert to this day. There is something of a "country/western" flair to the album, at least as interpreted by two Englishmen, represented by not only those two songs but "Ballad of a Well Known Gun," "My Father's Gun," and "Talking Old Soldiers." I think those who were listening to Elton John before he became a star (operationally defined as anything before "Honkey Chateau," always had a preference for these early albums, especially those where Paul Buckmaster was doing the arranging and conducting. Ironically, on many of these songs, such as "Come Down in Time," it is John's voice and not his piano playing that stands out (note: Dusty Springfield is one of the backing vocalists on the album). There is also "Love Song," which was written not by John & Taupin but Lesley Duncan, who plays acoustic guitar and sings the duet.
Elton John was certainly prolific during this early period and had the great advantage of those Buckmaster string arrangements. The self-titled "Elton John" album was released in the summer of 1970, with "Tumbleweed Conection" following in February 1971. That same year saw the live "11-17-70" and the "Friends" soundtrack released as well, with "Madman Across the Water" coming out at the end of the year. In 1972 with "Honkey Chateau," Elton John would become a star. But all of this is before the dazzling costumes and bizarre collection of eyeglasses, which made Elton John the Liberace of pop rock. This is way back almost to the beginning, when it was all about the music. By the time "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" came out, those days were clearly over. This CD version of the album offers up a couple of bonus tracks from John and Taupin, with "Into the Old Man's Shoes" and the original version of "Madman Across the Water," which clocks in at 8:52.
This is one of his early albums... definately a must have for the E.J. collectors out there. I remember listening to this on an album when I was growing up even long after it came out. It is much better preserved on a CD, of course.
Elton John has created quite a number of great albums. His first great album had to be his third album, "Tumbleweed Connection." This album was an early indication of Bernie Taupin's fascination with the American West. It was also an indication of how little Bernie knew about the American West. In fairness to Bernie, his lyrics on this album are among the most coherent and understandable of those on Elton's first six or eight albums.
The music on this CD is well balanced. Instrumentation is chosen and arranged based on the selection, giving us a picture of an artist quite different from Elton as we would come to know him, whose keyboards and piano were often prominently featured. Also, Lesley Duncan wrote and co-sang "Love Song," unusual among Elton's earliest albums where Bernie wrote nearly all the lyrics and Elton wrote all the music. The Elton John and Bernie Taupin commercial steamroller would soon downplay the artistic excellence they displayed on this album.
I have so many favorite songs on this CD that there isn't sufficient space to discuss all the songs properly in a single review. Most of my favorites are the ballads. Slow, smooth, mellow, beautifully and artistically performed. "Come Down in Time," "My Father's Gun," "Love Song," and "Talking Old Soldiers" all fall into this category. The topics are serious. The lyrics broach incredibly mature subjects for the young songwriting duo and Lesley Duncan. The arrangements, instrumentation and backing vocals are excellent.
Several of the faster songs are also excellent. "Ballad of a Well-Known Gun" starts sounding a bit like the early 70s music it is, but then the beat and lyrics acquire a country flavor that could have placed Elton into country rock had he continued on this path. There seems something a bit bizarre about an English singer singing about a gunfighter in the American West, but this song, the first on the album, is performed so naturally that I immediately fell into the pace and style of the album.
"Country Comfort" may make some think of a similarly named beverage because the tone of the song feels mellow and smooth. The harmony on this song, with the steel guitar and violin, position this song as a country song. There isn't enough rock in this song to call the song country-rock. The next song, "Son of Your Father," has a boogie woogie piano starting the song, with segue into a fast rock beat. This song is rock with country underpinnings.
I've always enjoyed "Where to Now St. Peter?" The airy instrumentation and vocals, coupled with the surrealistic, dreamy lyrics, transitioning into a rock beat, create an interesting and unusual song about death. A song more easily experienced than described.
"Amoreena" is a love song, but it is much too fast-paced to be a ballad. The lyrics try a bit too hard to be poetically evocative rather than descriptive, but fall just a bit short. The music is pure pop as played by the instruments. The lyrics try to keep the song tied to the country flavor of the rest of the album and succeed more by positioning of the song than by the style of the music or vocals.
I absolutely love "Burn Down the Mission." "Burn Down the Mission," at more than six and a half minutes, is one of the longest of Elton's early songs. The lyrics are virtually incomprehensible. While portions of the lyrics make sense, they conjoin pieces of Americana that did not coexist. Some portions of the lyrics make no sense within a stanza, for example burning down the mission while trying to take everything you need to live inside. In spite of the bizarre lyrical combinations, Elton's music and beat convey the sense of despair and urgency of people escaping attack by Mexican soldiers or perhaps Native Americans. I'm unsure because missions were typically an artifact of the southwest, while at least one reference is to a parish, which are only found in Louisiana. I have decided that this song bordered on being progressive as we knew it then.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin have an incredible amount of talent. As their career progressed and they were influenced by commercial needs, the talent evinced on this album was often obscured. But here you can see all that talent, bare, unfettered by commercial concern. Leap back more than 30 years to an album that may be a bit dated, but still contains all the power and talent of the King of Pop.
Note that this album enjoys numerous versions, including an SACD version. I prefer the SACD version over this version because of the quality of the sound and the addition of two more songs. However, regardless of which version you buy, this album is a must for fans of Elton John, quality rock and classic rock. Though this album failed to have a single hit, it qualifies as one of Elton's best, and one of the best of the rock era.
Enjoy!
