Desperado (Eagles album)

This article is about the Eagles album. For the Pat Martino album, see Desperado (Pat Martino album). For the film soundtrack, see Desperado: The Soundtrack.

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)

Desperado is the second studio album by the American rock band 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.

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. Although the album wasn't a commercial hit at the time, over the years it has come to recognition of being a creative and artistic masterpiece.^{[citation needed]} It also serves as a perfect example of the Eagles early country sound with songs like "Twenty One" showcasing guitarist Bernie Leadon's abilities on the banjo. The album reached #41 on the charts and sold 2 million copies. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest country rock albums of all time.

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 Nexon) – 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 and acoustic guitar by Don Henley, 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

Personnel

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

Chart (1973)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[3]	41
Canada RPM 100 Albums[4]	35
UK (The Official Charts Company)[5]	39
New Zealand (Top 50 Albums)[6]	40

Singles

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

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1973	"Outlaw Man"	Billboard Pop Singles	59
1973	"Tequila Sunrise"	Billboard Pop Singles	64

References

1. ^ ^{a b} William Ruhlmann. "Desperado - Eagles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/desperado-r36196. Retrieved November 2, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} (1973) Album notes for Desperado by Eagles [CD liner]. Asylum Records (5068-2).
3. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/eagles-p4153/charts-awards/billboard-albums
4. ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4847&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3
5. ^ http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=3632
6. ^ http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Eagles&titel=Desperado&cat=a