Review Summary: I know how it feels to grow old.
Part III: In Which We Take a Trip on a Riverboat Down South
Elton John's fascination with Americana and Southern-borne music is one that has permeated much of his musical career, on some occasions in a more subtle fashion than others. By 1970, it was already evident that the young star took heavy inspiration from American music in general, as his eponymous sophomore effort detailed with its borrowing from gospel and Elton's R&B soul diva-inspired vocal inflections. However, only one song actually delved into out-and-out Americana - "No Shoe Strings on Louise" - and it is widely considered to be one of the weaker songs on the record, if not the outright weakest. As such, it likely came as an incredible shock to fans of Elton's when his next record outright abandoned the string-laden beauty of "Your Song" for a series of tracks that feel as though they were pulled straight out of The Band's back catalog.
Of course, the glaringly obvious fact that must be pointed out is that Elton and collaborator Bernie Taupin were as English as they come. At its heart,
Tumbleweed Connection is merely an English pastiche of roots rock, written by people who never lived in the conditions they sing about and never had a particularly strong empathic connection with the situations they describe. What differentiates this record from any other possible English Americana pastiche is that, for as disconnected as they may be from their subject matter on a global scale, Elton and Taupin clearly care deeply about the music they're writing and what they're writing about. This is not the music of a duo arbitrarily deciding to venture into Americana territory because they dig the vibe; one listen to "My Father's Gun" dismisses this possibility as Elton lays out a carefully crafted soundscape of instruments to back Taupin's haunting Civil War-themed imagery. Never do they portray the South in a stereotype-heavy or ludicrous way, and that's why this album works in ways it really shouldn't, everything else considered.
While Elton had yet to form a proper backing band at this point, the array of session musicians who play on this record have a cohesive enough sound that they may as well be one. Caleb Quaye's guitar playing in particular adds a haunting, almost psychedelic vibe to tracks like "Son of Your Father" and "Amoreena", the latter of which featuring future backing band members Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson on bass and drums respectively. Even still, Elton's piano playing stands out amongst everything else, mixed to the forefront in full band tracks to mimic the effect of a saloon piano. "Talking Old Soldiers" renders itself a highlight of the album by focusing on a sole voice-and-piano arrangement, allowing the lyricism concerning a decrepit soldier regaling his life story to sear through the listener's mind in a crystal-clear fashion.
If
Tumbleweed Connection has a clear weakness in comparison to other Elton records of the time period, it's that the album has no definite standout tracks or "hits", thanks in part to the decision to not release any singles from the album. "Country Comfort" is the closest thing to a commercial track on the album, with its rather vanilla picturesque lyrics concerning Southern life paired with Rod Stewart's having released a cover of the track simultaneously on his album
Gasoline Alley. The excuse can be made that
Tumbleweed Connection is more of a conceptual album and thus doesn't need to rely on singles for appeal; however, I would argue that the album's absence of any sort of narrative makes it a concept album in atmosphere only, which makes its lack of commercial appeal less of a reason for praise in my eyes. And indeed, the concept here is not one that gets by uninterrupted: for some reason, "Love Song" (a minor hit for singer-songwriter Lesley Duncan) is included on the second side as a duet between Elton and Duncan. While a pleasant enough track, its singer-songwriter feel clashes heavily with the Americana of every other song, taking the listener out of the album's atmosphere for a short time.
Tumbleweed Connection is widely seen as one of Elton John's finest albums, sometimes even as his very finest work. If nothing else, it is certainly his most consistent album, featuring a collection of songs that pay homage to the roots music Elton and Taupin enjoyed while remaining an engaging listen. Perhaps it has been extended a mite too much praise over the years due to its existence as a "special snowflake" in the Elton
oeuvre, but there is plenty to enjoy in both the songwriting and the instrumentation, so let it continue to be recognized for its unique stature, I say.
