One of the occasional series I have run over the past few years has been my A Classic Album sets, in which I take an in-depth look at an album that I have loved for many years. Previous ‘winners’ of this accolade have been The Beatles, Steely Dan, George Harrison, Cat Stevens, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crosby Stills and Nash and, most recently, Joni Mitchell, back in February. Three months seem more than long enough to say that it is time for another of these, and as with previous posts in this series I’m going all the way back to 1970 for this choice. This is the album I’m revisiting today:
Tumbleweed Connection is the third studio album by Elton John, recorded at Trident Studios, London, in March 1970, and released in October 1970 in the UK and January 1971 in the US. It is a concept album based on country and western and Americana themes. As is usual for Elton almost all of the songs were written by him and Bernie Taupin, though there is one notable exception, which is probably my favourite track!
In 2012, Tumbleweed Connection was ranked #458 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album peaked at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and #5 on the US Billboard 200 chart. In the US, it was certified Gold in March 1971 and Platinum in August 1998, and went Gold in the UK for its original release and then Silver for sales of a 1993 re-release. Even after all these years it is still my favourite Elton John album: I bought it at the time and played it to bits, and still return to it every now and then. That, for me, is the mark of a classic album which has stood the test of time.
The usual sources – Wikipedia and Songfacts – aren’t very forthcoming with details of the individual tracks, but that just means there will be more space here for the songs themselves. Sometimes I play a selection, but for this one I’m giving you all ten tracks, but don’t feel obliged to play them all – just dip in where you like. I’m starting with the one that opened the album:
That was Ballad of A Well-known Gun, for which someone has kindly added scenes from the movie Once Upon A Time In The West to add to the atmosphere. I think it works rather well, and you can immediately get a sense of the concept behind the album.
There are two tracks on the album which deviate from the overall theme, and both are beauties. The first of these was Come Down In Time, which was Side 1 Track 2. Again, someone has added movie scenes to the tune and it is another good fit:
The movie in this case was (500) Days Of Summer – I haven’t seen it, but the scenes add something to the beauty of the song. As with most of the songs on the album there is a strong cast of accompanying musicians, amongst whom on this track was Sir Karl Jenkins playing oboe, in his early pre-knighthood days before becoming a famous composer.
Side 1 Track 3 had already been released in a cover version before this album came out: Rod Stewart included his take on Gasoline Alley, his second solo album, which was released three months prior to Tumbleweed Connection. The track was Country Comfort, and I really like both versions. Of course, for today, it is the slightly belated original I’m playing:
Not scenes from a movie this time, just some relaxing rural images – some with a distinctly Amish connection. But again, a good backdrop for the song.
On to Side 1 Track 4, Son Of Your Father:
The movie scenes for this one come from Shane, in case you didn’t know them. And for anyone who thinks the title sounds familiar, that may be because it was also the title of a different song, a 1972 UK #1 by Chicory Tip – don’t go there, it’s crap!
Both sides of the album closed with longer tracks. For Side 1 it was this one, My Father’s Gun:
More movie scenes for this one, and another movie I haven’t seen: Elizabethtown, directed by Cameron Crowe. Even if the movie hadn’t been any good the soundtrack album is amazing!
Now we move on to Side 2, which opened with Where To Now St Peter? Songfacts tells us that this is about the death of a soldier who is passing over to the other side. The conflict in which he died is not specified but in view of the theme of the album, it is likely that lyricist Bernie Taupin was thinking about the American Civil War. The song is similar to Wilfred Owen’s World War One poem Strange Meeting, in which a soldier meets the man who killed him on the battlefield:
The movie this time is a 1945 documentary, Battle Of San Pietro, which was directed by John Huston. Another good fit, I think.
Side 2 Track 2 is the other one which deviated from the album’s concept. It is another real beauty, is the one which Elton and Bernie didn’t write, and is my favourite on the album. No movie for this one, just a lyric video:
As the video shows, Love Song was written by Lesley Duncan, who played guitar on the recording and added harmony vocals. She was much in demand as a songwriter and session singer around that time, notably for Dusty Springfield and Pink Floyd, as well as Elton. Despite this song being covered more than 150 times – including by David Bowie – her solo career never took off and after marriage she moved to the Isle of Mull and lived a happy life, mostly known locally as a gardener, until her passing in 2010. We have this beautiful gem by which to remember her, though, and her own version – on her album Sing, Children Sing – is also lovely.
I do have a movie clip for Side 2 Track 3, Amoreena, which featured in the soundtrack to the Al Pacino movie Dog Day Afternoon, from which these scenes are taken:
This is one of the few tracks on the album for which Songfacts has any information. they tell us “In this song Elton sings about fond memories of a girl he once knew. The album has a prairie theme, which shows up in this song with images of cattle, cornfields and hay. The wife of Ray Williams, who was then managing Elton John and Bernie Taupin, was pregnant when they were writing this song, and Taupin suggested that Amoreena would be a delightful name for a little girl. The baby was a girl, and she was named Amoreena.”
Side 2 Track 4 is a rather sombre song called Talking Old Soldiers. The YouTube site ‘Elton John Playlists,’ which has provided several of the videos I’m playing today, has attached to it scenes from a 2018 documentary by Peter Jackson, They Shall Not Grow Old, and I think this is very effective:
You may be seeing that one again in November when I post for Remembrance Day! The song’s lyrics are a poignant reminder of what those who have fought battles for us have gone through, of their memories and of the friends they have lost. I think we should all be reminded of that, at all times.
The final track on the album is another long one, Burn Down The Mission, which comes in at 6’26”, though this 1970 live performance is a couple of minutes shorter:
To be honest, I’ve never been entirely sure what those lyrics mean, though I don’t think they are an incitement to riot – in my view they are more a metaphor. I tried one of those sites where ‘clever’ people tell us what they mean, but gave up when I came across someone saying it was Marxist! Bring out your weirdos!
Whatever the lyrics mean this is undeniably a powerful conclusion to a fantastic record, which has been in my life for almost 56 years – a sobering thought! I hope I’ve shown you why I still love this album, and why I still prefer Elton’s early records to much of his later music. He has made many great albums, but for me he has never bettered this one.
See you again for Song Lyric Sunday, I trust? Take care 😊
