Desperado (1973)
1. Doolin Dalton
2. Twenty-One
3. Out of Control
4. Tequilla Sunrise
5. Certain Kind of Fool
6. Doolin Dalton (Instrumental)
7. Outlaw Man
8. Saturday Night
9. Bitter Creek
10.Desperado
11.Doolin Dalton/Desperado (Reprise)
 
It was a bit funny seeing Don Henley
talk to his audiences in his later, successful solo days. He had a lot
of sympathy for many of the new up and coming teen idols that found
success so fast and became overnight sensations. He told the crowds
that these guys would have a very tough time replicating the massive
success that they first had, and they would probably have their
respective record companies get awful impatient if the massive success did not continue.
In his words, they would have to go through "a whole lot of
shit".
It was funny because this situation seemed to be exactly what happened
to The Eagles after their first album, yet none of that stress
seemed to affect them - at least commercially. Maybe the times were different? Anyway, it's
worth noting that their first album Eagles had
three top ten singles. So how to you follow up something like that?
Well, the guys wore their "country" label to the extreme by releasing
an album with sort of an "old west" theme. One need not look further
than the cover (front and back) of the album to see what one was in
store. It must be stated again that the early 1970's was a perfect
time to pull of an album such as this. It's very different in many
aspects than their first album, yet they manage to pull of another
masterpiece that has, like its predecessor, withheld the test of
time.
From the classic (overlooked) leadoff track Doolin Dalton, we
know we're in for a very fun, entertaining ride. This song simply
drips with western themes and styles, yet manages to stay
relevant to the popular music of the day. They pick up the beat a bit
on Twenty One with it's square dancing, toe tappin', horseshoe
pitchin' sound, yet manages to continue in a somewhat similar fashion. Of course, they
then deliver a huge curveball with Out of Control. This
song has nothing that resembles country and/or western and
radically throws us out of any reverie of the dusty trails and saloons
where we may have let our mind temporary reside. Not only is this pure
rock and roll, but it's arguably the hardest thing these guys
have ever done. Now, the irony here is that this song acutally
works. No fan seems to care that this song seems so misplaced.
Credit the guys for just being great musicians and know their craft so
well. Or maybe it could be that their harmonies and vocals are so
easily recognized that this detour becomes somewhat forgivable based on
the overall quality of the song and band in general? I mean, you can
never really take the entire "country" out of this band - especially
when Glenn Frey was at the mic.
And then, everyone knows Tequila Sunrise, and everyone knows the
song Desperado even better. So what can you really say
about those two classics that hasn't already been said? Maybe the irony
that Desperado was never released as a single? Thank goodness
everyone has heard it. I really wish the same could be said about a lot
more of their "non" single songs. They do a fun, little 45 second
quick instrumental version of Doolin Dalton that consists only
of a cupla banjos
going full force. You really wish they could have maybe just added
another minute or so to the fun little diversion.
I could go on and on about the rest of the songs and how awesome they
all are. It's a bit pointless and I would get repetitive in my
descriptions and cliches. Safe to say, the band lives up to their
"country rock" label much more on this record. Whereas their first
album found it's strength in its diversity, this album seems to focus mostly in
only one direction, yet you never miss any of the sounds from
that first album - probably because all of the songs here are just so
damn memorable and classy. I can't imagine anyone who is a fan of this
band, or a fan of this style of music not liking anything on this
record.
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