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I highly recommend it. Tumbleweed Connection is a great CD, one of Elton John's Best.
This may have something to do with Bernie's enthusiasm for the subject matter. Most people inextricably link western music with country music - incorrectly, because although there is some overlap, they are two distinctive genres. Nevertheless, it seems that lyricist Bernie Taupin was deeply impressed by the classic Marty Robbins song El Paso, one of the few songs that merit's the country and western tag that I so despise. Desperado, the classic Eagles album, is another and may well have been inspired by Tumbleweed connection.
I first came across the song via a cover by Olivia Newton-John, but her version wasn't released as a single either.On subsequent albums, Bernie still sometime wrote lyrics inspired by the old American west, particularly on Blue moves, but this is the album in which his enthusiasm is given full rein. Of course, it's not the only rock `n' western album out there. It's also the one song that just might have become a hit, had it been released as a single. Yet the album contains one song, simply titled Love song, which Bernie didn't write and which could have been recorded for any of Elton's albums.
Recording an album based entirely on images of the old American west could be seen as brave or foolish, but it was certainly effective, both artistically and commercially. Songs with titles such as Country comfort, My father's gun, Ballad of a well-known gun, Talking old soldiers and Burn down the mission reinforce the album title and picture, showing clearly what this album is about. This Elton John album provides a perfect illustration of that difference, being a western album recorded as rock music. None of these songs contain lyrics that are difficult or impossible to understand, as you'll occasionally find elsewhere.
The album went gold in America and did better in Britain than Elton's previous self-titled album that contained the huge international hit Your song.Despite the absence of a hit single, the songs are of a consistently high quality. It apparently created Bernie's interest in the old American west, as well as inspiring him to become a songwriter, so it is easy to see why he wanted Elton to record an album like this.This was only Elton John's third album, and only the second to make a significant impact at the time, although Empty sky eventually made the top ten in the American album charts in the mid-seventies. The only flaw (if there is one) is that the album yielded no hit singles either in Britain or America, but that didn't matter.
What else can I say. (He missed it so much, he since bought another copy lol) I cannot explain the spirit of this album.it makes me nostalgic for a past generation that I was never a part of- not the 70's, when it was written, but for the old lawless west. I am always trying to expand my music knowledge and catalogue. I borrowed Tumbleweed Connection from my dad, upon his high recommendation.
Like this album. the divided south.the new frontier.the countryside.the cattletown.the wilderness, and the riverbend. It has now become a staple of my "untouchables", my golden albums that I consider some of the best music ever written (joined by the likes of the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Young, the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, etc). I highly recommend Elton's "Madman Across the Water" next. Having said all of that, it would be in your best interest to listen to, and take in, this album. I am twenty-five years old.
This album has not left my side, and I do not plan for it to. Pamela What I would not give to buy an album nowadays and have it completely take hold of me as this one did. I have not yet given it back.
The remastering is impeccable and a collection essential. This is a nice follow up to his debut but a little disjointed and takes awhile to get into. But this is not ear candy so the price one must pay; a classic nonetheless.
It just *sounds* different with the western influences. While the western/country pop rock style of Elton John is one of the main things people note about Tumbleweed Connection, it should also be noted that despite sounding different from the pop rock commercial phase of Elton John's career (starting with the "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player" album) his typical style of piano pop on Tumbleweed Connection isn't really any different from any other song you've heard by Elton John. The songs are still written the same way as usual.So basically what I'm trying to say is even though the album has a western vibe, it still falls in the same category of singer-songwriter and the songs really aren't constructed any differently from that of say "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me".However, the quality of the music is REALLY high, and that makes the album a classic. Elton John has had MANY classic albums over the years, and that's why people remember him as the top 5 musicians of the 70's. The early days were really good too.
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