Editing Tumbleweed Connection (section)

==Background==
Co-writer [[Bernie Taupin]] said of the album, "Everybody thinks that I was influenced by [[Americana (culture)|Americana]] and by seeing America first hand, but we wrote and recorded the album before we'd even been to the States. It was totally influenced by [[The Band]]'s album ''[[Music from Big Pink|Music From Big Pink]]'' and [[Robbie Robertson]]'s songs. I've always loved Americana, and I loved American Westerns. I've always said that '[[El Paso (song)|El Paso]]' was the song that made me want to write songs, it was the perfect meshing of melody and storyline, and I thought that here was something that married rhythms and the written word completely." John has remarked, "Lyrically and melodically, that's probably one of our most perfect albums. I don't think there's any song on there that doesn't melodically fit the lyric."<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Tumbleweed Connection-Elton John |author=John Tobler |date=1995 |publisher=Rocket Records }}</ref>

Basic tracks for three of the album's titles, "[[Come Down in Time]]", "Country Comfort" and "Burn Down the Mission", were recorded at [[Trident Studios|Trident]] during the sessions for the previous LP, [[Elton John (album)|''Elton John'']], with overdubs completed for ''Tumbleweed Connection''. 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mickronson.com/mrsessions.shtml |title=Mick Ronson sessions |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |access-date=19 January 2015 |website=mickronson.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119212528/http://www.mickronson.com/mrsessions.shtml |archive-date=19 January 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[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 addition to several studio players who also performed on John's previous self-titled second album, several tracks feature backing musicians from the band [[Hookfoot]], who were also his [[DJM Records]] label mates. Hookfoot guitarist [[Caleb Quaye]] and drummer Roger Pope had also appeared on John's ''Empty Sky'' album.

No singles were released from the album in the US by either DJM or John's US distributor, [[Uni Records|Universal Records]], but "Country Comfort" ([[b/w]] "Love Song") was released as a single in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.<ref name="single_discogs">{{citation|url= https://www.discogs.com/Elton-John-Country-Comfort/release/13011187 |title= "Country Comfort" single|publisher=[[Discogs]]|access-date=2020-10-12
}}</ref> It peaked at No. 15 in New Zealand,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=801#n_view_location |title=flavour of new zealand – search listener |website=Flavourofnz.co.nz |access-date=8 October 2016 |archive-date=19 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819143817/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=801#n_view_location |url-status=dead }}</ref> and did not chart in the other two territories it was released in.