Crucial to any first hit of the early period is hearing how an artist has developed their taste in music into what they wish to see from the future of the genre. David Bowie would do so with The Man Who Sold the World, leaving an imprint on rock and roll that would soon develop into an entire sub-genre. Elton John was a little different in how he influenced rock and roll, with his first two albums toeing the line of psychedelic, late-1960s stylings and the singer-songwriter charms which would, effectively, bring him and Bernie Taupin great successes across the decades. Tumbleweed Connection is a startling effort from John, not because it shouldn’t have been expected, but because what it achieved so early into his career is truly noteworthy. It’s easy to tie John to his hits, but Tumbleweed Connection is a fantastic example, like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road would be, of his understanding of well-paced, full album projects. Every song matters for Tumbleweed Connection.
This is Stateside influence without having ventured there. Taupin would say as much. This is as much an expression of love to The Band as it is to the America he and John would conquer with later releases. Opening song Ballad of a Well-Known Gun has a nice ring to it, a solid lead piano instrumental and stories which feel as though they’re lifted with care from the cowboy trail. That feeling is built on well by follow-up song Come Down in Time, a reserved-sounding piece where the strings and lighter instrumental touch build a refreshing atmosphere. There’s a clarity to John’s performance here, his vocals always astonishing around this time but sounding truly immaculate here. Musically, Tumbleweed Connection leans a little too heavily into what Taupin had considered the Americana style to be. Riffs on The Band are lost in lesser tracks like Country Comfort, where it sounds as though John is playing up his love for a country he had yet to break.
But consider the context of John’s personal life, his relationship with his father, and the double bill of Son of Your Father and My Father’s Gun transcend the Americana flop. Masterful creations from John and Taupin here. It’s the B-side where this strength is found clearest of all. The pair does well to weather the storm of American influences on what would be the glam rock and piano-led style John defined for so long. Tumbleweed Connection holds up because it’s the blueprint for the greatest hits John can remain proud of, but it also feels like one of his best album projects. It’s all too easy for a pop act to litter their album with hits, unrelated to one another, but John resists and has some capable deep cuts throughout this.
Love Song into Amoreena is fantastic. Not every positive comes from sticking around, some of it is sought out, found elsewhere. It’s perhaps why John and Taupin found themselves chasing the style and sound of Music from the Big Pink and adapting that to piano rock is a triumph. Tumbleweed Connection is a fantastic effort from the pair, but it never loses sight of that core success John has. A piano and his voice are more than enough for his best works, as is the case for Talking Old Soldiers, but it’s how it was amplified by the popular genres of the time, that’s what makes the difference. Tumbleweed Connection serves as a stripped-back look at John’s talent for instrumental strength. The same goes for album closer Burn Down the Mission. What remains constant for Tumbleweed Connection is the brilliance of its instrumentals, overlapping well and creating a real enjoyable sound.
