Personnel: Elton John (vocals, piano, organ, keyboards, background vocals); Elton John; Mick Ronson (guitar); Les Thatcher (acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, 6-string guitar, 12-string guitar); Johnny VanDerrick (violin); Chris Laurence (acoustic bass, acoustic bass guitar); Sunny, Sue & Sunny, Sunny Leslie, Sue Glover (background vocals); Lesley Duncan (vocals, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Nigel Olsson (vocals, drums, background vocals); Caleb Quaye (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Mike Egan (acoustic guitar); Gordon Huntley (steel guitar); Skaila Kanga (harp); Johnny Van Derek (violin); Ian Duck (harmonica); Karl Jenkins (oboe); Brian Dee (organ); Dee Murray (bass guitar, background vocals); Dave Glover , Herbie Flowers (bass guitar); Roger Pope (drums, percussion); Barry Morgan (drums); Robin Jones (congas, tambourine); Dusty Springfield, Madeline Bell, Tony Burrows, Tony Hazzard, Kay Garner, Tammy Hunt (background vocals).

Liner Note Authors: Gus Dudgeon; John Tobler.

Recording information: Trident Studios, London, England.

Editor: Gus Skinas.

Photographers: Barrie Wentzell; Barry Wentzell; David Larkham.

Arranger: Paul Buckmaster.

Recorded in the charmed period between the initial success of ELTON JOHN and superstar extravaganzas like GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD, TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION, a loose concept album about the American West, was a strange, sideways move for Elton John and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. A album in the traditional sense, it is best heard as a piece, with songs that pick up and expand on each other's moods and settings. Notice, for example, the progression of characters from the young fighter waving "My Father's Gun," to the retired and forgotten "Talking Old Soldiers," to the protagonist of "Where To Now St. Peter?," shot down by "a sweet young foreign gun" and ready to be judged by his maker.

The mood holds from the sepia-toned LP cover art to John's songwriting, influenced by folk and country music and by The Band's MUSIC FROM BIG PINK. Among the songs it introduced were "Country Comfort," which Rod Stewart covered on GASOLINE ALLEY, and "Come Down In Time," later done by both Judy Collins and Sting. Though the rollicking piano epic "Burn Down The Mission" and "Amoreena" became FM-radio and concert staples, TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION remains the only John studio album without a hit single, a fact that doesn't affect the impact of this excellent country-rock outing.

Instead of repeating the formula that made Elton John a success, John and Bernie Taupin attempted their most ambitious record to date for the follow-up to their breakthrough. A loose concept album about the American West, Tumbleweed Connection emphasized the pretensions that always lay beneath their songcraft. Half of the songs don't follow conventional pop song structures; instead, they flow between verses and vague choruses. These experiments are remarkably successful, primarily because Taupin's lyrics are evocative and John's melodic sense is at its best. As should be expected for a concept album about the Wild West, the music draws from country and blues in equal measures, ranging from the bluesy choruses of "Ballad of a Well-Known Gun" and the modified country of "Country Comfort" to the gospel-inflected "Burn Down the Mission" and the rolling, soulful "Amoreena." Paul Buckmaster manages to write dramatic but appropriate string arrangements that accentuate the cinematic feel of the album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine