Desperado (Eagles album)

Desperado
Studio album by Eagles
Released	April 17, 1973 (1973-04-17)[1]
Recorded	1973 at Island Studios, London, England[2]
Genre	Rock, country rock
Length	35:40[1]
Label	Asylum
Producer	Glyn Johns[2]
Eagles chronology
Eagles (1972) Desperado (1973) On the Border (1974)
Singles from Desperado
"Tequila Sunrise" Released: April 17, 1973 "Outlaw Man" Released: August 6, 1973

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Robert Christgau	C[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]

Desperado is the second studio album by the Eagles. It was recorded at Island Studios in London, United Kingdom and released in 1973. Desperado is a concept album, based on the Dalton gang and the Old West.

The band members are featured on the album's cover dressed like an outlaw gang; Desperado remains the only Eagles album where the band members appear on the cover.

Although the title track is one of the Eagles' signature songs, it was never released as a single. The song "Desperado" was ranked #494 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The album did yield two singles, though: "Tequila Sunrise" and "Outlaw Man". Those two singles reached #64 and #59 respectively. The album reached #41 on the charts and sold 2 million copies. In 2014 it was covered by Jimmy Weston on BBC 1's The Voice.

Desperado was the last Asylum Records album to be distributed in North America by Atlantic Records (catalog no. SD 5068), prior to Asylum's mid-1973 merger with Elektra Records by Asylum's, Elektra's and Atlantic's parent company, Warner Communications.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Doolin-Dalton" (Glenn Frey, J. D. Souther, Don Henley, Jackson Browne) – 3:26
   • Lead vocals by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, Harmonica by Glenn Frey
2. "Twenty-One" (Bernie Leadon) – 2:11
   • Lead vocals, Dobro and Banjo by Bernie Leadon
3. "Out of Control" (Henley, Frey, Tom Nixon) – 3:04
   • Lead vocals and Lead Guitar by Glenn Frey
4. "Tequila Sunrise" (Henley, Frey) – 2:52
   • Lead vocals and Acoustic Guitar by Glenn Frey, Lead Guitar and Mandolin by Bernie Leadon
5. "Desperado" (Henley, Frey) – 3:36
   • Lead vocals by Don Henley, Piano by Glenn Frey

Side two

1. "Certain Kind of Fool" (Randy Meisner, Henley, Frey) – 3:02
   • Lead vocals by Randy Meisner, Acoustic guitar and Mandolin by Bernie Leadon, Lead guitar by Glenn Frey
2. "Doolin-Dalton (Instrumental)" (Frey, Souther, Henley, Browne) – 0:48
3. "Outlaw Man" (David Blue) – 3:34
   • Lead vocals, Acoustic guitar, and piano by Glenn Frey, Lead Guitar by Bernie Leadon
4. "Saturday Night" (Meisner, Henley, Frey, Leadon) – 3:20
   • Lead vocals Don Henley, acoustic guitar by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, second lead vocal by Randy Meisner, Mandolin by Bernie Leadon
5. "Bitter Creek" (Leadon) – 5:00
   • Lead vocals by Bernie Leadon
6. "Doolin-Dalton / Desperado (Reprise)" (Frey, Souther, Henley, Browne) – 4:50
   • Lead vocals by Don Henley, Banjo and Dobro by Bernie Leadon

Song information

Certain Kind of Fool

"Certain Kind of Fool" features bassist Randy Meisner on lead vocals, with Don Henley performing the main harmony vocal and Glenn Frey providing backing vocals. Frey also plays the electric guitar part and solo; Bernie Leadon plays the acoustic guitar. It was released as the b-side to Outlaw Man.

The song depicts the progression of a criminal from his meager beginnings as a "poor boy living in a small family", to his mastery of the gun as an adult, and ending with his stance as a "wanted man", constantly on the run from the law.

This song could also be taken as a view of the life of a musician. The phrase, "he saw it in a window" is unclear whether he is speaking of a gun or guitar, the same with "he took it to the country and practiced for days without rest," being a "wanted man" can also mean that he is wanted by his fans. "Running every day" can also mean either running from the law, or constantly being on the road, touring with the band.

Personnel

• Glenn Frey – guitars, keyboards, piano, harmonica, vocals
• Don Henley – drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, vocals
• Randy Meisner – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
• Bernie Leadon – guitars, mandolin, banjo, vocals

Production

• Glyn Johns – producer, engineer
• Howard Kilgour – assistant engineer
• Barry Diament – mastering
• Ted Jensen – remastering
• Jim Ed Norman – string arrangements
• Gary Burden – art direction, design
• Henry Diltz – lettering, photography

Charts

Album

Singles

• "Tequila Sunrise"/"Twenty-One" - released April 17, 1973
• "Outlaw Man"/"Certain Kind of Fool" - released August 6, 1973

References