As time has gone by, the music audience's awareness of Elton John's "classic" period has boiled down to his hit singles (a disproportionate number of them novelty songs or nostalgia exercises) and his most outlandish costumes. Although in recent years, he has clearly tried to put the emphasis back on his music, the image of Sir Elton John paying court to Princess Diana, wearing peacock feathers and giant clown glasses while collecting royalties on 70s nostagiac fluff like "Crocodile Rock" seemed to eliminate him from serious consideration. He was good for fun memories and a few million for good causes, but not someone whose music should be considered alongside the Stones, Springsteen, Aretha Franklin or The Band.

But at the same time as his hit singles were topping the charts, Elton John put out four or five of the best "rock" albums of rock's classic era.  "Tumbleweed Connection" is the finest of them all, but it is the most neglected because nary a song off it shows up on a Greatest Hits package.  Not because the album "failed" to produce a single, but because there is not one song on it that sounds like an artistic compromise, or playing for the galleries. While not exactly a "concept album," it is clearly meant to be played all at once.  It sustains a mood, and is adroitly balanced between some pretty hard rockers, some gorgeous love balladry, and a couple of songs that perfectly reflect the questing, questioning qualities of rock at its most meaningful--"My Father's Gun" and especially "Where To Now, St. Peter?"

Like so many albums of the early 1970s, "Tumbleweed Connection" was heavily influenced by The Band. The lyrics also borrow heavily from the Bob Dylan of "John Wesley Harding," and the words Robert Hunter contributed to the Grateful Dead for "American Beauty" and "Workingman's Dead."  The old-west/Civil War atmosphere is so thick, it is reflected in the sepia-toned packaging.  The packaging also gives prominence to  Taupin, underscoring that this album is a collaboration.

But it wouldn't be a great album without the artistry that Elton John brought to it as a songwriter, singer and pianist. The piano-playing is especially strong on this disk, and his singing is powerful, emotional, real; none of the archness or forced irony that started to infect his work a few years later.  The piano is mixed right up front on most tracks, and is stunningly great.  The guitar is rock's signature instrument, but the piano has a long tradition too, from Fats Domino and Little Richard, to brilliant sidemen like Roy Bittan and Nicky Hopkins. On this album, Elton tops them all.  This record is to rock piano what "Electric Ladyland" is to the guitar.
As time has gone by, the music audience's awareness of Elton John's "classic" period has boiled down to his hit singles (a disproportionate number of them novelty songs or nostalgia exercises) and his most outlandish costumes. Although in recent years, he has clearly tried to put the emphasis back on his music, the image of Sir Elton John paying court to Princess Diana, wearing peacock feathers and giant clown glasses while collecting royalties on 70s nostagiac fluff like "Crocodile Rock" seemed to eliminate him from serious consideration. He was good for fun memories and a few million for good causes, but not someone whose music should be considered alongside the Stones, Springsteen, Aretha Franklin or The Band. But at the same time as his hit singles were topping the charts, Elton John put out four or five of the best "rock" albums of rock's classic era. "Tumbleweed Connection" is the finest of them all, but it is the most neglected because nary a song off it shows up on a Greatest Hits package. Not because the album "failed" to produce a single, but because there is not one song on it that sounds like an artistic compromise, or playing for the galleries. While not exactly a "concept album," it is clearly meant to be played all at once. It sustains a mood, and is adroitly balanced between some pretty hard rockers, some gorgeous love balladry, and a couple of songs that perfectly reflect the questing, questioning qualities of rock at its most meaningful--"My Father's Gun" and especially "Where To Now, St. Peter? "

Like so many albums of the early 1970s, "Tumbleweed Connection" was heavily influenced by The Band. The lyrics also borrow heavily from the Bob Dylan of "John Wesley Harding," and the words Robert Hunter contributed to the Grateful Dead for "American Beauty" and "Workingman's Dead. "  The old-west/Civil War atmosphere is so thick, it is reflected in the sepia-toned packaging. The packaging also gives prominence to  Taupin, underscoring that this album is a collaboration. But it wouldn't be a great album without the artistry that Elton John brought to it as a songwriter, singer and pianist. The piano-playing is especially strong on this disk, and his singing is powerful, emotional, real; none of the archness or forced irony that started to infect his work a few years later. The piano is mixed right up front on most tracks, and is stunningly great. The guitar is rock's signature instrument, but the piano has a long tradition too, from Fats Domino and Little Richard, to brilliant sidemen like Roy Bittan and Nicky Hopkins. On this album, Elton tops them all. This record is to rock piano what "Electric Ladyland" is to the guitar.