ELTON JOHN – TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION Translucent White Vinyl LP – EXC+ A3/B4 UK 1970

Elton John – Tumbleweed Connection
(DJM Records  1970  DJLPS410)
Matrix No’s: A3/B4 – UK Pressing

Textured Gatefold Sleeve in Excellent+ condition
– perfect apart from some damage on bottom left corner
Booklet still fixed inside in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Excellent+ condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from some light pops/crackles)

VINYL IS TRANSLUCENT WHITE
IF YOU HOLD THE VINYL UP TO A BRIGHT LIGHT YOU CAN SEE THE WHITE COLOUR

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is an English singer, pianist, and composer. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriting partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. In his five-decade career Elton John has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. He has more than fifty Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 58 Billboard Top 40 singles, 27 Top 10, four No. 2 and nine No. 1. For 31 consecutive years (1970–2000) he had at least one song in the Billboard Hot 100. His tribute single, re-penned in dedication to the late Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind 1997” sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling single in the history of the UK and US singles charts. He has also composed music, produced records, and has occasionally acted in films. John owned Watford Football Club from 1976 to 1987, and 1997 to 2002. He is an honorary Life President of the club, and in 2014 had a stand named after him at the club’s home stadium.

Raised in the Pinner area of London, John learned to play piano at an early age, and by 1962 had formed Bluesology. John met his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, in 1967, after they had both answered an advert for songwriters. For two years they wrote songs for other artists, including Lulu, and John also worked as a session musician for artists such as the Hollies and the Scaffold. In 1969 his debut album, Empty Sky, was released. In 1970 a single, “Your Song”, from his second album, Elton John, reached the top ten in the UK and the US, his first hit single. After decades of commercial chart success, John has also achieved success in musical theatre, both in the West End and on Broadway, composing the music for The Lion King (film and musical), Aida and Billy Elliot the Musical.

He has received five Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards – winning two awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music and the first Brits Icon in 2013 for his “lasting impact on British culture”, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, a Disney Legends award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of 100 influential musicians of the rock and roll era. In 2013, Billboard ranked him the most successful male solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists (third overall behind the Beatles and Madonna). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, is an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. Having been named a Order of the British Empire in 1996, John was made a Knight Bachelor by Elizabeth II for “services to music and charitable services” in 1998. John has performed at a number of royal events, such as the funeral of Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey in 1997, the Party at the Palace in 2002 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace in 2012.

He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s. In 1992, he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation and a year later began hosting the annual Academy Award Party, which has since become one of the highest-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry. Since its inception, the foundation has raised over US$200 million. John, who announced he was bisexual in 1976 and has been openly gay since 1988, entered into a civil partnership with David Furnish on 21 December 2005, and after same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales in 2014, wed Furnish on 21 December 2014. He continues to be a champion for LGBT social movements worldwide.

Tumbleweed Connection is the third album by English singer/songwriter Elton John.

It is a concept album based on the country and western/Americana themes. All songs are written by John and Bernie Taupin, with the exception of “Love Song” by Lesley Duncan. The album was recorded at Trident Studios, London, England in March 1970 and released in October of the same year. It peaked at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and #5 on the US Billboard 200 chart. In the US, it was certified gold on 22 March 1971 and platinum on 26 August 1998 by the IAA.

In 2003, Tumbleweed Connection was ranked #463 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson appear for the first time together on this album as the rhythm section on “Amoreena”. Olsson had played on one track on Empty Sky for John in 1969. It is Murray’s first appearance on an Elton John album.

In 1975, the film Dog Day Afternoon featured “Amoreena” in the opening sequence. In 1998, a bootleg CD was released called Tumbleweed Collection. This was a collection of piano demos and live tracks.

The song “Country Comfort” was released as a single from the album as a b side to “Your Song” by A&M, and one of the songs recorded during the sessions, “Into the Old Man’s Shoes” was released as a b-side for at least one single issue of “Your Song”. An early version of “Madman Across the Water”, featuring Mick Ronson on electric guitar, was also recorded during the sessions for the album. It was released on several albums and reissues of Tumbleweed Connection, though the track was ultimately re-recorded for the Madman Across the Water album.

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted.

Side one

1. “Ballad of a Well-Known Gun” – 4:59
2. “Come Down in Time” – 3:25
3. “Country Comfort” – 5:06
4. “Son of Your Father” – 3:48
5. “My Father’s Gun” – 6:20

Side two

1. “Where to Now St. Peter?” – 4:11
2. “Love Song” (Lesley Duncan) – 3:41
3. “Amoreena” – 5:00
4. “Talking Old Soldiers” – 4:06
5. “Burn Down the Mission” – 6:22

Personnel

• Elton John – piano, organ, keyboards, vocals
• Caleb Quaye – guitars
• Roger Pope – drums
• Dave Glover – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Herbie Flowers – bass guitar
• Dee Murray – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals
• Barry Morgan – drums
• Gordon Huntley – steel guitar
• Brian Dee – organ
• Ian Duck – harmonica
• Lesley Duncan – acoustic guitar, vocals, backing vocals
• Mike Egan – acoustic guitar
• Kay Garner – backing vocals
• Tammi Hunt – backing vocals
• Tony Burrows – backing vocals
• Dusty Springfield – backing vocals
• Madeline Bell – backing vocals
• Paul Buckmaster – conductor

Production

• Gus Dudgeon – producer
• Robin Geoffrey Cable – engineer
• Gus Skinas – editing
• Ricky Graham – digital transfers
• Greg Penny – surround mix
• Bernie Taupin – lyricist
• Paul Buckmaster – arranger
• David Larkham – art direction, design, cover design, artwork, photography
• Barry Wentzell – photography
• John Tobler – liner notes