Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of The Eagles Available Now
As we all know, the best sound on an Eagles record is found on the first album. For whatever reason, that record was left off the TAS Super Disc list, even though we feel that sonically it beats this one by a bit, and musically it beats it by a mile.
On the TAS Super Disc list, Harry Pearson recommends the British SYL pressings for this album. SYL pressings can sound very good; we’ve previously found one that rated a Double Plus on both sides.
But our champions for both sides were domestic, both this time and last time.
Does that mean the best domestics will always beat the best SYL pressings? Not at all. Only critical listening can separate the better pressings from the more typical ones. After playing more than a dozen copies of this album this week, we can definitively tell you that there are FAR more mediocre copies of this record — both domestic and import — than truly exceptional ones.
The typical pressing of this album, whether the domestic or SYL, falls far short of belonging on a Super Disc List.
There are killer domestic copies AND killer SYL imports out there, and the only way to know which ones sound good is to collect ’em, clean ’em, and play ’em.
Remember: TAS List doesn’t guarantee great sound, but Better Records does.
If you don’t think a record sounds as good as we’ve stated, we’ll always happily take that record back and refund your money. Good luck getting ol’ Harry to send you a check when the TAS-approved pressings you pick up don’t deliver.
Want to find your own killer copy?
Consider taking our moderately helpful advice concerning the pressings that usually win our shootouts.
As of 2024, shootouts for this album should be carried out:
How else can you expect to hear this record right?
Based on our experience, Desperado sounds its best:
Which means that, as of 2024, the domestic Asylum White Label pressings with the right stampers are a lock to win our shootouts.
Further Reading
- More reviews and commentaries for Desperado
- Do I already have some Hot Stamper pressings in my collection?
- The Asylum sound we love – great in the seventies, gone by the eighties
