Customer Reviews

Tumbleweed Connection (Dlx)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, if you liked the sound of the previous remaster, you'll probably like the first disc of this set. If not, you should keep your current CD version if you decide to buy this because the last remaster sounds very similar to this one. The duo's third album (and one which allowed Bernie Taupin to explore his obsession with the American old west in detail)features a strong set of music and lyrics. Interestingly, many people thought that Bernie and Elton had been to America before this album and that his was the result when, in fact, Bernie had been inspired to create this after listening to The Band's "Music from Big Pink" and numerous C&W songs such as Marty Robbins' classic tune about "El Paso" (Robbins' signature song and which is clearly echoed on one of the tracks not used for the first album)one of the earliest tunes that Taupin remembers hearing and liking.


The real reason you're probably going to get this is the second disc and if you're a fan of Sir Elton, you'll probably like it. Alot. We get a deluxe booklet (basically the lyrics plus some new info in the essay), the packaging is like the other deluxe editions--a fold out digipak with a plastic cover that slides over it.

The second disc includes six demos for the album all of which sound pretty good one of which was NOT recorded for the final album ("Sisters of the Cross"). We also get four BBC sessions all previously unreleased which include "My Father's Gun", "Ballad of a Well Known Gun", "Burn Down the Mission" and "Amoreena" none of which appear in demo form here.

Elton and Bernie Taupin have suggested that this is one of their finest albums. They're right. This deluxe edition allows you to listen in as Elton and Bernie created "Tumbleweed Connection". Highly recommended.

For starters, I have every single Elton John album ever made, (with the exception of Victim of Love). I have virtually every B side that I know exists and have mulitple sources of other unreleased material, studio and live. Depending on the day of the week you ask me, Tumbleweed Connection is probably my second favorite Elton release behind Captain Fantastic.

To be clear, my mediocre rating has absolutely nothing to do with the original record. If you have never heard Tumbleweed before, purchase this right away. It is Elton and Bernie at the top of their early game.

While there is much to cheer on this release, my mediocre review is solely predicated on what is not here. For some reason, a trend is developing on re-releases, where the original album is placed on one disc with no additional material, and the second disc is jammed with the extras. It's as if the belief of a few purists that the original release should not be tampered with has permeated the masses. I, for one, just don't understand it.

If I am repurchasing an album I already own, I want as much unreleased material on BOTH discs. If I only want to hear the original album, I'll either GO PLAY THE ORIGINAL ALBUM, or simply hit the stop button once Burn Down the Mission has ended. It's not that hard...

Now, if this was a case of what we have here being the total wealth of unreleased material, then obviously there wouldn't be a problem with formatting the CD this way. But I know there is A LOT more material, because I've already heard it.

I have heard perfectly clean demo versions of Amoreena, Burn Down the Mission, Where To Now St. Peter, and worst of all, a criminally unreleased version of a beautiful song titled Rolling Western Union that was recorded in this time period. Where are these tracks, among others?

O.K. Enough ranting. Let's get to what's great on here. The first song on the bonus disc is worth the price of admission all on its' own. It is an alternate take on Ballad of a Well Known Gun in a more countrified rock version. And it is absolutely gorgeous.

This track is followed by some clean and clear demo versions of about half the album tracks, including a very nice unreleased song I've never heard before, Sisters of the Cross.

Some alternate live BBC versions end the album. The first is a fantastic, piano only version of My Father's Gun, followed by an another great version of Ballad.

The last two songs are a treasure of immeasurable value. They are culled from the same session that ends the other re-released "Elton John" album, (a BBC Sounds of the Seventies session). Although the rather hapharzard and incomplete liner notes make no mention of it, we are listening to the Elton, Nigel and Dee trio on their mini-tour, months before their U.S. sessions that produced the 11-17-70 album. The arrangements and playing style are almost exactly the same and it is absolutely wonderful to hear the slightly different takes of these songs. I would give an eye tooth to have those full sessions released on disc. (Who know, maybe they can remedy that with a deluxe edition of 11-17-70).

Overall, there was and is no chance of any diehard Elton fan not purchasing this album and loving what they hear. There is a treasure trove of unreleased material on here that is absolutely wonderful. My only issue is this; if you are going to go to the effort of re-releasing an album, take time and get it right. I understand that there isn't enough room on two discs to give the fans every second of unreleased material. But when there is an easy opportunity to give them more, take it.

Inspired by The Band's Music from Big Pink and feturing lyricist Bernie Taupin's Great Western imagery,Elton John's "Tumbleweed Connection" is widely regarded as one of his finest albums and for good reason.Though it did not have a big hit single,it contains many classic songs including "Country Comfort"(later covered by Rod Stewart and Juice Newton,of all people),"Burn Down The Mission","Come Down In Time","Amoreena" and others as well.This Deluxe Edition contains a sepia-toned 28-booklet feturing elegant photos and song lyrics,a stunning 2008 remaster of the original album done by Giovanni Scatola and Tony Cousins at Metropolis Mastering,London which surpasses all the previous masters,and a second disc of 9 previously unreleased demos and live sessions of the "Tumbleweed" tracks plus the original version of "Madman Across The Water",the B-side "Into The Old Man's Shoes" (with its piano demo also included)and the never-before-released "Sisters Of The Cross".All which make this an essential purchase for Elton John fans.

"Tumbleweed Connection" is a fantastic re-imagining of the American West by a couple of brilliant young British songwriters who had never been there. Other reviewers here have described the album, and if you think you are interested in Elton's breakthrough years, you need to have this. The songs are inventive, poetic, and rockin', and Elton's vocals and piano playing are superb. It's beautifully arranged and recorded, but more of a piano-based rock album than the self-titled album that preceded it. There isn't a bad song on it, and it may be Elton's most thematically unified work. In addition, since it never had a hit single, it is not as well known as most of his early works, so it is easy to listen to it with a fresh appreciation. (The least known is his first album, "Empty Sky", which is so easily forgotten that the sticker on this new edition mistakenly says that "Tumbleweed" is his second studio album...which means his own CD company completely forgot about "Empty Sky" which preceded both "Tumbleweed" and the self-titled one!)

The 2008 Deluxe Edition has some nice extras, but falls short of being an essential upgrade. Disc One consists solely of the original running order of the album, and the mastering sounds identical to every CD version released since 1995 (including the Japanese imports). But that's fine...it sounds great and that may be the best mastering they can get out of the original masters. (Or maybe they can't find the original two-track masters...that happens more often than you want to know.)

Disc Two has some nice piano/vocal demos for the album, but there are several other demos from the album that have circulated in good sound quality on a bootleg called "Tumbleweed Collection", so it is too bad that Universal didn't track those down as well, to make it a more complete picture. The piano demos included here are fun to hear, played and sung extremely well by Elton (he would have had to have done them live, probably in his publisher Dick James' studio), but they don't have the spark that their final album versions have once they got input from the producer and fellow musicians. There are demos for a couple of songs which were later dropped from the lineup, but even though they are lovely, I think the album was stronger by not including them.

Also on Disc Two are some alternate versions of songs. The most surprising is a country rock version of "There Goes A Well-Known Gun". It sounds more like standard country rock of the early `70's, but ultimately Elton slowed it down a bit, gave it more of a Rolling Stones-type roughness with an aggressive piano-based rhythm section, and bluesier vocals.

Elton's instincts could occasionally go awry in the studio, but in live performance in the `70's he was electrifying. The last four tracks on Disc Two are BBC radio performances, three of which haven't been released before, and they're wonderful. Elton already knew how to lead a rock band with his pounding piano, but the band and vocalist always served the songs, and the songs are very, very good. The style and content are similar to Elton's first live album, "11-17-70", but with no audience present. These are tracks you are likely to listen to more than once or twice, unlike the rest of Disc Two.

The Deluxe Edition packaging is very nice, with original artwork, lyrics, musician credits, and a few new pictures from the period, but the included essay about the album is largely identical to the one in 1995. This comes across as kind of lazy. TC is a much loved album by musicians, so it would have been nice to hear from players who either worked on the original sessions or were influenced by it.

So I give this Deluxe edition four stars. It's a classic album that's a pleasure to listen to today, and this is the best release so far of it, but it could have been a better presentation with just a couple more days of work. (Actually, no reissue producer is listed, so maybe nobody was particularly motivated to push it to the next level.)

I bought the original vinyl for this "back in the day" and I'm still confused as my vinyl has "Madman" on it. Regardless - this version of Madman with Mick Ronson on guitar is my favorite.

While this might be the only EJ album without a hit single, it's my favorite work of his (and obviously Bernie). There isn't a weak song on this CD. My favorites include "Ballad of a Well Known Gun", "Where to Now St. Peter", "My Father's Gun", "Country Comfort", "Amoreena" and "Burn Down the Mission". If you don't have this - you should. It's essential "Classic Rock".

I can't imagine anyone who enjoys the music of Elton John on any level not already owning Tumbleweed Connection in some form. Not only is this the best record EJ ever made, it is one of the finest records of the 20th century! So the only thing that could possibly be keeping any fan from getting this Deluxe Edition is not knowing whether the "improved" sound of the remaster and the bonus disc are worth the twenty dollars or so that will have to be shelled out. After listening to both discs many times, my opinion is that it will be one of the best twenty-dollar purchases you've ever made.
Since most fans know Tumbleweed Connection very well, I don't need to spend a lot of time commenting on the original album except to note that it is one of those rare albums on which there is not a single weak song. My introduction to the album came back in 1971 through radio play of Come Down In Time and Love Song, both of which I still favor. But I can listen repeatedly and tirelessly to the entire album and remain amazed every time I hear it how ground-breaking it sounded when first issued and how great it still sounds today.
It is the quality of the bonus disc which should tip the balance in favor of purchase for any fan still wavering. As with the original, I like it all. But I do have my favorites. Those are: An excellent countrified rendition of Ballad of a Well-Known Gun (called There Goes A Well-Known Gun on the demo version); a stripped-down take on Come Down In Time; a hard-charging rendition of Son of Your Father; and the magnificent original "long" version of Madman Across the Water. Please note that many of the cuts on the bonus disc have an "unplugged" feeling to them due to their status as piano demos, but that gives you all the more reason to buy this.
Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition is handsomely packaged in double gate-fold style and comes with an informative booklet that features the lyrics of all songs on the original release, commentary about the album, pictures, and all pertinent song information. If you were allowed to purchase only one Elton John album, Tumbleweed Connection is about as close to perfect as you'll find.

Reginald Dwight's 3rd album proper was released in late 1970 and firmly established Elton John as one of the great singer-songwriters of the Seventies. This 2 June 2008 DELUXE EDITION 2CD set is a fully upgraded version of that breakthrough album and in my books is already up there as one of the REISSUES OF THE YEAR.

Here's the layout:
DISC 1 is the 10-track album originally released in the UK in October 1970 on DJM Records DJLPS 410 and in the USA on Uni Records 73096 (47:04 minutes)

DISC 2 is the BONUS DISC containing 13 tracks, 10 of which are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED and the other 3 are RARITIES with upgraded sound from their previous release in 1988 (1 track) and 1995 (2 tracks) (61:07 minutes)

PACKAGING:
The LP originally sported a textured gatefold sleeve with an attached 12-page booklet which has been faithfully reproduced in the excellent 28-page booklet that accompanies this set. Along with photos from the time of both Elton and Bernie, there's a very informative new essay by noted writer JOHN TOBLER, press adverts and billboard posters from 1970, session details and the fold-out flaps of the digipak even reflect the pictures on the left and right of the inner gatefold of the original album - all very nice touches indeed. However, if I was to nitpick, the outer plastic wrap in the UK lists no information of any kind, which means the casual buyer picking it up off a shelf can't tell what's inside this DELUXE EDITION - no album track list - nor any idea of what bonus tracks are on Disc 2? But that's a minor niggle that can be fixed on repressings, because the really big news is the SOUND....

SOUND:
Sourcing the first generation original masters tapes from the Universal Archives, the re-mastering has been carried out by GIOVANNI SCATOLA and TONY COUSINS at Metropolis Mastering in London - and surely a GRAMMY awaits each of them! As the owner of way too many re-issue CDs, this is simply one of the best remasters of an old album that I've ever heard! Twenty seconds into the opener and I was already writing a review and picking my jaw up off the table as I went!

So what's changed? When GUS DUDGEON replaced the useless 1980s CDs with the excellent 1995 remasters, he got the best sound out of the tapes that he could at the time (he sadly passed away a few years ago). But 13 years on to 2008 and that's a lifetime in remastering techniques. These 2008 versions BREATHE - you can hear everything - and clearly too. A good example is the quietly delicate duet with LESLEY DUNCAN on her own "Love Song" - as pretty a tune as you could hope to hear - it's BEAUTIFUL now - finally given the clarity that it has always deserved. (She later did her own superlative version on GM Records in 1974).

BAND/GUESTS:
Other vocal contributions come from DUSTY SPRINGFIELD, MADELINE BELL and Bronze Label Artist TONY HAZZARD on "My Father's Gun" and "Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun". UK folk duo SUE and SUNNY make a rare appearance on "Son Of Your Father" while IAN DUCK, the lead vocalist for HOOKFOOT puts in great harmonica work on one of the album standouts "Country Comfort". In fact, the majority of HOOKFOOT (his DJM label mates) make up the bulk of his band - and would stay with him for years afterwards.

DISC 2 gives us excellent PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Piano Demos along with two separate BBC sessions - the "Dave Lee Travis Show" from April 1970 and the "Sounds Of The Seventies Show" from July 1970. They vary in sound quality, but are more than pleasantly good. Having said that, there are THREE genuine sensations on Disc 2. When Sting was asked to do a cover for the all-star "Two Rooms" compilation in 1991, he wisely chose "Come Down In Time", which for me has always been the best track on the album. Well track 3 on Disc 2 is a recently found PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED PIANO DEMO of "Come Down In Time" and it's sensationally good - just beautiful. Stripped of clutter and intruding instrumentation, the melody shines though, and luckily this is one of those demos that is in TIP-TOP STUDIO QUALITY CONDITION - very little hiss - just him and his lovely song. It's truly fantastic stuff and will remind many a weary fan of why they loved Elton John in the first place - he was a bloody good songwriter.

Second up is the near 9-minute "Original Version" of "Madman Across The Water" with MICK RONSON on Lead Guitar instead of Chris Spedding (Spedding was the guitar player on the shorter album version finally released on the "Madman Across The Water" album in October 1971). Along with the next track discussed, it turned up on the 1995 re-issue CD as a bonus track. What makes this version better is the UPGRADED REMASTER, which gives his raunchy guitar work an in-your-face clarity that pummels real axe-power into the song. Ronson, Bowie and Mott fans will absolutely love it!

Last is a rare B-side. Although "Tumbleweed" produced no singles at all, "Your Song" from the previous album "Elton John" was given a belated UK release in January 1971 with a unique non-album B-side, "Into the Old Man's Shoes". It first turned up on the 1995 Gus Dudgeon remaster with good sound - but here its upgraded sound quality is STUNNING!

To sum up: I've loved coming back to this album - the great sound quality - actual tunes with thought-provoking lyrics - the attention to detail in the well-thought out packaging - the bonuses you'll play more than once - all of it...

For fans of this unduly forgotten gem of an album, this is an absolute MUST BUY!

A job well-done Universal - and roll on the same deluxe treatment for "Madman Across The Water" and "Honky Chateau".

The various labels that have had the rights to these tapes since 1971 made EJ fans wait 37 years before releasing this rare material, and STILL did not give up the goods. There are several demo versions of Tumbleweed Connection songs that have been available underground for years, yet are not included on this official release. And who knows how many demos lay in the vaults that have not been released as bootlegs and therefore the millions of fans still do not know of their existence? This should have been a bigger release; if not now, then when? After another 37 years when another two generations of fans have passed on and cannot enjoy the music? The bonus disk is certainly worth owning even at this price--the very first bonus track is an entirely different sound for EJ--but it is a disappointing release.

Another remaster,another addition to Universal's very successful "Deluxe Edition" series.Some of which have been excellent value.We have already seen "Captain Fantastic" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" given very lavish deluxe treatment.According to the extensive essay by John Tobler contained within the booklet of this double cd reissue of one of Sir Elton's career defining early 70's albums for DJM records,it has been released(along with his self titled second album)to commemerate 40 years of recording.And what a wealth of material it contains.It's not so much how good the album sounds,it's all the extra material contained on the second disc,most of which is previously unreleased,that make these new deluxe editions a must have for any fan of Mr.John!
It's not the first remaster of course.Almost all his classic 70's back catalogue was first given a clean up in 1995 by the late Gus Dudgeon,Elton's longtime producer and collaborator.The remainder of the 70's albums and most of the 80's and 90's were finished by 2003.
And for those us who were quick enough to snap them up,six of his classic 70's albums were reissued in Hybrid SACD 5.1 by Universal America's excellent "Chronicles" series a few years back.If you have an SACD player,they are pretty nice sounding surround remixes though the Stereo layer,I believe,is the 1995 remaster(track down the deluxe edition of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and you'll understand what I'm talking about).
So onto the 2008 clean up.The albums themselves sound like they were recorded yesterday,very nice indeed.Universal,along with Sony use single bit technology(DSD or direct steam digital)that they created for archiving all their aging analogue back catalogue,so any remasters they have released since 2001 sound as close to the original master as possible.
The bonus tracks that were on the 1995 remasters are included on the second disc along with almost all of the album in demo form or alternate versions and some previously unreleased live radio performances.Worth the price of admission for the second disc alone.
I hope that all his classic albums get the same treatment as each one passes the big 40 anniversary.

What a gem, I'm so glad I bought this. Initially I purchased for one song - Come Down in Time - but the entire 2 CDs are fabulous, a real treasure.