The Eagles’ 1973 release Desperado was just their second album, but it secured the band’s position as ones to watch early on in their career. Across 11 tracks, the album presented to listeners a band with enticing harmonies, lush compositions, and expert songcraft.
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While the release only bore two lasting Eagles hits – the haunting title track and the dazzling “Tequila Sunrise” – the entire collection has endured as a fantastic example of an album. And fifty years after its release, we’ve revisited Desperado, ranking the songs on the band’s sophomore opus from worst to best.
11. “Doolin-Dalton (Instrumental)”
While it harbored Wild West themes and was peppered with tales of outlaws and vigilantes, Desperado wasn’t pushing a single concept or narrative but was instead weaving a collection of songs that all seemed to fit together perfectly, one flowing into the next.
The album’s seventh track “Doolin-Dalton (Instrumental)” was a tool used to facilitate that flow. It’s difficult to place a song from the album in the “worst” spot, but the instrumental merely, albeit skillfully, added a bridge to the next track, “Outlaw Man.”
10. “Out of Control”
The delicacy and intricacy of Desperado is thrown out the window with “Out of Control,” an aptly named full-throttle rocker. The band trade their calculated harmonies and instrumental prowess for the all-out rager of a song that is slightly jarring when fading out of a tune like the bluegrass-tinged “Twenty-One” and then into a subdued offering like “Tequila Sunrise.”
9. “Certain Kind of Fool”
It may lack that certain Eagles magic that turns songs into hits, but “Certain Kind of Fool” is a rich storyteller, one that should be celebrated for its vivid imagery and its unique narrative about someone coming into their own.
8. “Bitter Creek”
The tenth track on the album, “Bitter Creek” is another of Desperado‘s offerings that is stunning in its song-telling. Pairing bewitching vocals and a slithering arrangement with its searing lyrics, “Bitter Creek” is a beauty of a tune and it’s only our No. 8.
7. “Twenty-One”
“Twenty-One” is Desperado‘s left turn. A rambling foot-tapper, the bluegrass-textured tune comes alive directly off of the wistful opener “Doolin-Dalton,” and as the album’s second track, is an exciting taste of what will unfold over the following nine tunes.
6. “Doolin-Dalton / Desperado (Reprise)”
Desperado‘s closing track “Doolin-Dalton / Desperado (Reprise)” is a glorious medley of all of the album’s nuances. The song calls back to the rapturous harmonies, the wailing banjo, and the Old West imagery that makes an appearance throughout the collection for a striking bookend on the iconic release.
5. “Saturday Night”
The album’s ninth tune “Saturday Night” awakens with the fluttering of a mandolin and from there lopes along lackadaisically with a strum and a beat. Forlorn vocals punctuate the wistful tune and make for a beautifully emotive addition to the rough-and-tumble, outlaw-fueled album.
4. “Outlaw Man”
Fading in off of the twanging “Doolin-Dalton (Instrumental),” “Outlaw Man” is a dark country rocker full of strength and stubbornness. While a few strokes behind the album’s signatures, “Desperado” and “Tequila Sunrise,” it’s still one of the collection’s bests.
3. “Doolin-Dalton”
Bringing the album to life with a harmonica’s cry, “Doolin-Dalton” kicks off the release and sets a brutal scene. The song tells a story inspired by the real-life outlaw ring the Doolin-Dalton Gang. From gentle strums, the song erupts into a chilling crescendo, and an underrated hit is born.
2. “Tequila Sunrise”
Since its release, “Tequila Sunrise” has been an enduring classic in the band’s catalog, and for good reason. With an all-consuming melody and arresting harmonies, the song is impossible to skip, leaving ears eager for every liquored-up lyric.
1. “Desperado”
Desperado‘s title track, with its swelling arrangement, steadfast vocals, and heart-tugging sentiment, is a masterpiece. The album’s centerpiece, “Desperado” is the collection’s soft rock stalwart amid all its country-rock inflections, bluegrass flourishes, and ambitious narratives.
(Photo Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)
