Hardcore fans will undoubtedly disagree, but for my money, The Eagles absolutely nailed it with "Desperado," which ranks with The Byrds "Sweethard of the Rodeo" and Gram Parsons' "Return of the Grevious Angel" as a high-water mark for '70's country rock.
Containing songs rich with Western/outlaw imagery, singers Glen Frey and Don Henley's trademark vocals were never better in delivering classics like "Tequila Sunrise," "Saturday Night," and the title track - and with Bernie Leadon still in the band, the authenticity of the group's country underpinnings were never stronger.

Once Leadon left, The Eagles became more of an arena band that tried to capture more of the mainstream rock audience (while still delivering the occasional country-tinged classic like "Lyin' Eyes" and "Best of My Love"). Obviously, they were wildly successful, but with the possible exception of "Hotel California," the band never again approached the creative genius that produced "Desperado."

I know this is not the majority opinion, but in my view, "Desperado" is easily the Eagles' best album and their most enduring work. "Desperado" is the Eagles' only "concept" album, and one of the best concept albums ever.

Besides a lyrical cohesiveness that far exceeds most "concept" albums, the musicianship demonstrated in this album eclipses anything the Eagles did before or after. It shows how much was lost when Bernie Leadon left the band.

The album presents the story of an outlaw using a loose historical reference to a member of the Doolin-Dalton gang at the turn of the century. The main character begins as a relative innocent with a taste for the fast life. He follows that instinct and finds himself unable or unwilling to break away from it. He senses it will overwhelm him, and in the end, it does.

The songs on the album have a subtle appeal ... they take time to appreciate, but both the lyrics and the melodies are superb. "Twenty-One" and "Out of Control" are terrific depictions of the life. Musically and lyrically, "Out of Control" is just that ... out of control. "Tequila Sunrise" and "Desperado" reflect the reality of the choices he's made ... when the lights are off and everyone goes home he's still all alone. He knows he's headed for trouble:

"You better let somebody love you, before it's too late."

In "Certain Kind of Fool", he chooses the wild life, but why?

"It wasn't for the money, at least it didn't start that way It wasn't for the running, but now he's running every day."

The transformation is complete in "Outlaw Man," which reflects the lonely reality of the wild life:

"All my friends are strangers, they quickly come and go; and all my love's in danger, cause I steal hearts and souls."

In the end, the life destroys him, "all alone in the center ring" and "with no time left to borrow." Musically, the last song on the album reprises the first: "Doolin Dalton." Here, the epilogue of his life and the reasons for his untimely end are made clear:

"The Queen of Diamonds let you down, she was just an empty fable; the Queen of Hearts you say you never met. Your twisted fate has found you out, and it's finally turned the tables; stole your dreams and paid you with regret."

Great stuff.

Hey, I know. It's only an album. Maybe it's because I spent a similar period of my life like a "Desperado" -- in a room full of people, yet somehow still alone. But I think it's a great album. Nothing the Eagles did before or since can touch it.

I have, oh, I dunno. Maybe 550 LP records, some 200 casettes, and probably a like number of CD's. Of all of them, this record has been played more than any of them. In the early 70's I listened to it constantly. The concept, "modern rock and rollers as old west outlaws", was easily segued, by me, into my own life as a military elite.

The story of Bill Doolin and Bill Dalton was familiar to me. Seems that 3 Dalton brothers, Grat, Bob, and Emmitt, along with two others, tried to rob two banks at once in Coffeyville, Kansas. The attempt went horribly wrong, and 4 townspeople and 4 outlaws were killed, including Bob and Grat. Emmitt survived about 20 some wounds to live well into the 20th Century. Bill Dalton, another brother, then joined up with a gang member that didn't make the trip, Bill Doolin. The resulting Doolin-Dalton gang ran through the territory in a manner the original gang never imagined. It included members named Dynamite Dick, Tulsa Jack, Arkansas Tom, and a fellow named Bitter Creek Newcombe.

The Eagles used all this as an allegory to describe the life of a modern rock and roll star. Loneliness, uncertainty, fear, the road, wild times and hangovers, sudden death, love that is all too short. The feeling of being outside the mainstream. I loved it.

From the opening strains of "Doolin-Dalton", to the quiet, desperate "Saturday Night", the raucous full speed ahead of "Out of Control" followed by the painful "Tequila Sunrise", the Album explores all that. But the best song is the classic, "Desperado". It asks, is it all worth it, all this fast living on the edge, without love?

Bernie Leadon, Don Henley, Glen Frey and Randy Meisner are all good players, singers, and songwriters. This band does not have the virtuoso feel of the Joe Walsh/Don Felder bands on guitar, just good, solid country picking. Great singing on every song. A quiet, heartfelt classic, that really really speaks to me today, after all these years.

The Eagles didn't invent country-rock, although all of them were involved with groups that dove into those deep, turbulent waters early on. What they did was evolve and perfect the form, taking it to new levels. Desperado is the quintessential country-rock album, a true masterpiece based loosely around the Doolin-Dalton gang. The songs lead one to the next in a seamless blend of musical styles. Folk, country, bluegrass and rock are all churned together to form something altogether different and wonderful.

Don Henley's plaintive Doolin-Dalton sets the tone for the album. Bernie Leadon's Twenty-One gives the sense of youthful exuberence and invincibility a real kickin' edge. Glen Frey's Out Of Control rocks your socks off with the boys comin' to town for a night of raucous amusement which then leads to the morning after, Tequila Sunrise. Desperado is a masterful ballad beautifully sung by Henley. Randy Meisner's Certain Kind Of Fool is the definitive song in drawing parallels between outlaws and musicians. The Doolin-Dalton instrumental shows off their accomplished pickin' skills and leads into Outlaw Man, another rocker sung by Frey. Saturday Night is some of the most beautiful close harmony ballad work ever heard. Leadon's Bitter Creek is a brilliant ballad, its stark acoustic pathos a warning to those that would venture the outlaw path. The Reprise ending the album just keeps going through my head even after fading completely.

If you are a fan of Country-Rock, this album is a must for your collection. It shows what can be done when a group of highly talented musicians write some great songs and capture the magic on tape. They blazed a trail for so many new artists to walk.

The Eagles' second album, "Desperado", is a concept album, exploring the theme "rock musician as outlaw" and doing it very well. It's a mixture of rock `n' roll and country, some tracks mostly rock, some mostly country. The opening track, "Doolin-Dalton", is a beautiful ballad without being sappy, and the same thing goes for the famous title track. The tempo is sometimes slow, sometimes fast, and as usual, all the then-Eagles, Frey, Henley, Meisner and Leadon, do lead vocals on at least one track. The last song on the album is titled "Doolin-Dalton/Desperado reprise", and it is indeed just an added verse to both songs, but it is in no way superflous. The "Desperado" reprise in particular is a wonderful piece of music, sporting great vocal harmonies, beautiful lyrics and melodiousness like none other. On "Hotel California", The Eagles left no doubt as to who are the best bunch of musicians in the business, but although "Desperado" is three years older and a lot more simple, it is still the work of accomplished craftsmen, and that makes it all the more wonderful. The album is filled with superb vocal and instrumental harmonies and great solos from both Bernie Leadon and Glenn Frey. Sure, there are one or two sort of boring songs, but most of them are either "good" or "great", and none are actually bad. All in all, this is really very close to five stars, but since I can't give 4½, I'll have to settle for four. Enjoy!