Disc of the day
The Pop Group - Y
For connoisseurs of pop-as-rupture-in-the-space/time-continuum
Features Disc of the day
Elton John
Tumbleweed Connection
(DJM Records, 1970)
No tantrums. No tiaras. Just terrific, soulful country-rock...
Here's to Paul Buckmaster and Gus Dudgeon, the heroic sonic manipulators behind Elton John's 1970 Americana-infused classic. The bespectacled songwriter and his wordsmith pal Bernie Taupin may have been successfully mining the country heart of The Band's Music From Big Pink, but it was down to Buckmaster and Dudgeon to instil Tumbleweed with its endlessly inviting warmth. The counterpoint string arrangements that varnish Come Down In Time's delicate melodies are the perfect example of Buckmaster's canny knack for spacing and orchestration, while Amoreena, My Father's Gun and Burn Down The Mission are clear indications that Elton's tunes and Dudgeon's vintage production methods truly belonged together. That these prime cuts of country soul goodness came from a small town in South-East England only serves to make this record all the more startling.
Ross Bennett
Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 16/12/2007
Further Listening
Leon Russell – Leon Russell (Shelter, 1970)
Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker (Bloodshot, 2000)
Van Morrison – Moondance (Warner Bros. 1970)
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Of the early Elton (pre-I'm Only The Piano Player) this is a unqualified standout. Having heard the music (on a worn 8-track tape cartridge!)before I discovered who was responsible for it, I thought the artist had to be American since the album was all about the Wild West. And then I heard the line "The hedgehog's done in clay between the bricks" on Country Comfort and realised that it had to be a Brit since hedgehogs are not native to North America and the writer assumed they were. I later discovered the Band's "Music From Big Pink" and saw the influence on Elton/Bernie immediately. Ironic isn't it that the Band's landmark debut and this album remain two of the best invocations of Americana when the principle writers/composers weren't even American (Levon Helm being the sole exception with the Band.) Come Down In Time ranks as one of the top Elton John compositions ever, thanks to Paul Buckmaster's arrangements.
Posted by Frederick Harrison at 5:56 AM GMT 28/01/2008 Report Abuse
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