Eagles – Desperado (CD)

Recorded in 1973, *Desperado* arrived as the Eagles were still finding their footing, leaning hard into a conceptual Western outlaw narrative that set them apart from the SoCal pack. The title track became one of the band's most enduring ballads, with Don Henley's vocal performance quietly establishing the emotional register the group would mine for the rest of the decade. A foundational document in the story of country-rock.