More than anything, Tumbleweed Connection is the child of Bernie Taupin, where he developed a mythical vision of America from his greatest influences at the time, The Band, along with Creedence Clearwater Revival and of course the movies of a bygone age, movies that around the edges featured the coming of the industrial age which would sweep all of these memories and visions aside, as if they’d never happened at all. Tumbleweed Connection is an oddly constructed album, often awkward, though with Elton John singing the lyrics, he manages to make them sound not only believable, but allows them to shine and resonate with a warmth and passion that had heretofore existed on a far too limited basis. It’s been said that the album is far more than interesting, and while the performances are grandiose at times, that somehow this album gets lost in the in the cracks, that it might have come off better with a simpler less complex production featuring down-home basics … though when this record is pulled from its sleeve, after languishing for far too long without a play, one can’t help but come face to face with the unmistakable brilliance and charm that’s been laid down here.Of all the Elton John albums, this is certainly my personal favorite, primarily because it’s such an engaging listenable experience, one that’s cohesive on every level, whether it be the story telling or the music, the package holds up as well today as when as when it was first dropped onto my turntable, filled with a pervasive richness and sense of haunting intimacy for something that feels so real, yet existed as truth only in the mind of the Bernie Taupin and his ability to make the listener believe in his vision … because after all, how could one make this up.This is another vinyl only experience, and a side of Elton John, the likes of which we would never see again. *** The Fun Facts: The wraparound cover photo for the album was taken at the Sheffield Park railway station, approximately 30 miles south of London on the Bluebell Railway in the County of Sussex. Photographer David Markham captured John (seated to the right in the photo but appearing to the left on the front cover, shown above) and Taupin (standing to the left, on the back cover) in front of the 1930’s era station to represent the album's Rural Americana concept, despite the English location. Additional photos were made from the interior of a train on the rail line for the album liner notes and libretto.Review by Jenell Kesler