More of the Music of The Eagles

Hot Stamper Pressings of Especially Tubey Magical Recordings Available Now

Presenting another entry in our extensive Listening in Depth series. Here are some albums currently on our site with similar Track by Track breakdowns.

This is the second-best sounding Eagles record of all time, no doubt thanks to the engineering of our man Glyn Johns.

Of course, the best sound on any Eagles record is found on the first album. It’s a Top Ten Rock and Pop title and as Tubey Magical a rock record as you will ever hear.

You don’t need tube equipment to hear the prodigious amounts of Tubey Magic that exist on this recording. For those of you who’ve experienced top quality analog pressings of Meddle or Dark Side of the Moon, or practically any jazz album on Contemporary, whether played through tubes or transistors, that’s the luscious sound of Tubey Magic, and it is all over Desperado.

For whatever reason, the first Eagles album was left off the TAS Super Disc list, even though we feel that both musically and sonically it beats Desperado by a hair. And there is no need to buy the one Harry recommended back in the day, the original British on SYL.

TRACK LISTING

Side One

Doolin-Dalton

This wonderful song is a great test track for side one. Typical pressings of this album tend to be dark and lack extension up top. When you have no real top end, space, detail and resolution suffer greatly. You need to be able to appreciate each of the stringed instruments being played — guitar, banjo, dobro — and the top end needs to be extended and correct for you to be able to do that.

When the vocals on this track sound natural with lots of breathy texture, and the cymbal crashes ring cleanly, you know you’ve got a good copy on your hands.

Twenty-One

A fairly tough track to get right. This song can have superb sound, but on a lower resolution copy it will often sound a bit veiled and smeary. When the top end is correct, the clarity and detail usually fall right into place.

Out of Control
Tequila Sunrise
Desperado

Side Two

Certain Kind of Fool
Outlaw Man
Saturday Night

This song has sweet vocal harmonies that are reminiscent of CSNY. You’ll need a transparent copy to allow you to pick out the individual voices — when you’re able to, this track can be magical.

Bitter Creek
Doolin-Dalton/Desperado (Reprise)