Tumbleweed Connection

1978-dated UNI Records early pressing of Elton John’s Tumbleweed Connection, the Gus Dudgeon-produced 1970 album presented here as a single stereo LP. The jacket and labels show the UNI 73096 stereo issue, with black vinyl, yellow UNI labels with the blue-green-magenta swirl, and the noted matrix number US 1192 2 2.

The gatefold sleeve retains the album’s distinctive visual world: a cream-and-black storefront photograph with vintage advertising signs, weathered boards, and the title set in heavy block lettering above the street scene. The back continues the wraparound façade with another lone figure near the edge, while the interior pairs a black-and-white portrait of Elton in hat, sunglasses, and leather jacket with a cream track-list panel and small oval image. A UNI-branded company inner sleeve is present.

Condition is graded Very Good for both the record and outer sleeve. The cover shows visible age and handling consistent with that grade, including edge and corner rubbing, light scuffing, and wear along the darker printed areas; the vinyl appears glossy in the photos, with no specific play defects noted. Tracks include Ballad of a Well-Known Gun, Come Down in Time, Country Comfort, Amoreena, and Burn Down the Mission, placing this copy in the early Elton John/Bernie Taupin period and its deliberately Americana-inflected atmosphere.