Long before he became Disney's personal whore, Elton John made some good music. Back when people who made really good music occasionally became famous, Elton John made some really good music and became famous. Tumbleweed Connection was only his 3rd album out of...God knows how many, but it's undoubtedly one of his best. It's deep and intellectual, thanks to Mr. Taupin. It does not have any of those flawless pop songs that he'd be singing in the close future, but it's much more of a complete album. He'd just finished the pop masterpiece, his self-titled album. Next comes his overall mastery of music, Madman Across the Water. But this is sophisticated Elton John at his best, with Bernie at his side.
At the time of Tumbleweed Connection's release (1970), Elton had a single hit in his front pocket, Your Song. Now, after making it big with a hit song, the smart thing to do would be to get another big hit, get your name stuck in the heads of the pop-listening audience. Instead of that, Elton John and Bernie Taupin made a pseudo-concept album about the American West. John and Taupin could have very easily screwed up this album. But they did it right, they did it with skill, style and grace.
The Old American/American Western theme is pretty blatant from the beginning, what with the album title, the cool album cover and the first song (Ballad of a Well Known Gun). I wouldn't say that you could place too many of these songs into any classic Western movies per se, but they could definitely work on a few soundtracks.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin hadn't even been to America when they made this (see below), but that really didn't matter. The best Western movies and music are made by Europeans and New Yorkers anyway. You wouldn't think it would matter too much, being that the whole Wild West idea is fabricated in the first place.
Bernie says:
Everybody thinks that I was influenced by Americana and by seeing America first hand, but we wrote and recorded the album before we'd even been to the states. It was totally influenced by The Band's album, Music From the Big Pink, and Robbie Robertson's songs. I've always loved Americana, and I loved American Westerns. I've always said that El Paso was the song that made me want to write songs, it was the perfect meshing of melody and storyline, and I thought that here was something that married rhythms and the written word perfectly.
This sound isn't country music, it's not rock, it's not blues, it's not anything. It's a strange combination of them all, a little country influence here, blues influence there, each and every song with its own sound. And the typical Elton John piano.
Songs:
- Ballad of a Well-Known Gun
Tumbleweed Connection begins with this nice tune that wouldn't fit so well on your average Elton John album. The lyric is as Western as they get. But with the album cover and title, and the song title, we know what we're in for by now.
On a side note, this could be remade into a way cool gangsta rap song. If only rap didn't suck these days.
. - Come Down in Time
Tumbleweed Connection is well structured, and after the fast and loud things, come the nice and pretty ballads. But this one really takes the cake. Come Down in Time is magnificent, both lyrically and melodically. One of the songs to look out for.
. - Country Comfort
The songs on Tumbleweed Connection that I don't consider absolutely fantastic are all still good songs. This is one of them; it's got a great chorus and instrumentation, it's just not a favorite. But Rod Stewart liked it enough to cover it on Gasoline Alley.
. - Son of Your Father
While it's probably not as good as the song before it or the song after it, Son of Your Father is solid, and it's got a catchy chorus. But it's really not of great substance. I'd say it adds much to the overall sound of the album, but isn't spectacular on its own.
The harmonica's cool. Harmonicas are always cool.
. - My Father's Gun
Unaccidentally placed after Son of Your Father, this song ain't nearly as cheerful as its predecessor, but it's much better, in fact, I think it's the best on the album. The "best" song on Tumbleweed Connection could really be any one of the ten; they're all good, it's all opinion. This is my favorite. This the epic song.
Elton John sings about going off to avenge his father's civil war death. And the song doesn't suck. Something strange is going on here.
- Where to now St. Peter?
Some instruments in this song probably weren't around back in the 19th century. You know. Like the electric guitar. Or whatever other funky thing they're using to get that sound.
Still good. Just saying.
. - Love Song
This song sounds a bit different from the rest, for good reason too, it's not a John/Taupin (the only on the album), it was written by Leslie Duncan. Nevertheless, it's another real nice ballad.
. - Amoreena
One of the songs that sticks out. Unfortunately, with the company it has, it probably doesn't stick out as much as it should. One of the best.
. - Talking Old Soldiers
Not my favorite song, but I can't really insult it without feeling bad. I wouldn't skip over it while listening to the album and I'll bet Taupin spent the most time working on this one.
. - Burn Down the Mission
I really couldn't think of a better ending for such an album. This song has got it all, starts out a little slow, speeds up a bit, then goes for insane Elton hammering on the piano like it's his dying day. Only to start all over again. Elton might not be the most talented pianist in the world, but talent doesn't always correlate to pop listenability, and his chords sound great.
And his voice has to be mentioned here, too. Elton John has one of the best voices in the music business; his sound manages to be unique without sounding bad, which isn't done very often. He sings the line "Burn down the mission" just a little too well.
The Tumbleweed Connection CD was re-released with two additional songs, Into the Old Man's Shoes and a strings version of Madman Across the Water. I haven't heard either.
Album Credits:
Elton John Primary Artist
Madeline Bell Background Vocals
Paul Buckmaster Conductor, Arranger
Tony Burrows Background Vocals
Lesley Duncan Background Vocals, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Kay Garner Background Vocals
Tony Hazzard Background Vocals
Tammy Hunt Background Vocals
Barry Morgan Drums
Dee Murray Background Vocals, Bass
Nigel Olsson Background Vocals, Drums, Vocals
Roger Pope Drums, Percussion
Dusty Springfield Background Vocals
Sue & Sunny Background Vocals
Sunny Background Vocals
Brian Dee Organ
Johnny Van Derek Violin
Ian Duck Harmonica
Mike Egan Acoustic Guitar
Herbie Flowers Bass Guitar
Dave Glover Bass Guitar
Gordon Huntley Steel Guitar
Karl Jenkins Oboe
Robin Jones Conga, Tambourine
Skaila Kanga Harp
Chris Laurence Acoustic Bass, Bass
Caleb Quaye Acoustic Guitar, Guitar
Les Thatcher 12-string Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Johnny VanDerrick Violin
David Larkham Artwork, Photography, Design
Bernie Taupin Lyricist
Robin Geoffrey Cable Engineer
Gus Dudgeon Producer
John Tobler Liner Notes
Barry Wentzell Photography
Sources:
http://departments.mwc.edu/~gcampbel/stranded99/Seemiller.htm
http://music.barnesandnoble.com/