Tumbleweed Connection

When we want to explain what a maverick Elton John is in the world of pop music, we just point to Tumbleweed Connection. Eschewing the singer/songwriter pop sound of his first two records, he and writing partner Bernie Taupin create a loose concept album about the Old West, full of restrained emotion and ambling melodies—and it totally works. Meandering tunes like the bluesy "Amoreena" and bluegrass-inspired "Country Comfort" feel like the soundtrack to a perfect Western movie that exists only in our minds.