https://spoti.fi/3ysWSVa

Beginnings-Chicago Transit Authority

Baker Street-Gerry Rafferty

Kind of a Drag-the Buckinghams

One Fine Morning-Lighthouse

Suite for 20G-James Taylor

Jungleland-Bruce Springsteen

For No One-Beatles

Spanish Moon-Little Feat

I Can’t Stand the Rain

I Can’t Stand the Rain Ann Peebles

You Can’t Always Get What You Want-Rolling Stones

God Only Knows-the Beach Boys

Don’t Do It-The Band-Rock of Ages

Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag-James Brown

Tusk-Fleetwood Mac

Bend Me Shape Me-American Breed

Soul Finger-The Bar-Kays

Superfly-Curtis Mayfield

Domino-Van Morrison

Knock On Wood-Eddie Floyd

I’ll Take You There-Staples Singers

All the Way From Memphis-Mott the Hoople

I Want a New Drug-Huey Lewis & the News

Tears of a Clown-Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

Higher Love-Steve Winwood

Who Can It Be Now?-Men at Work

New York State of Mind-Billy Joel

She’s Gone-Hall & Oates

Late in the Evening Paul Simon

Uptight (Everything’s Alright) Stevie Wonder

Tequila-the Champs

It’s a Boy-the Who Tommy

So You WAnt to Be a Rock & Roll Star-the Byrds

Somebody Up There Likes Me-David Bowie

Sweet Caroline-Neil Diamond

Paperlate-Genesis

“Elon Musk says he would reverse Twitter’s Trump ban”: https://cnn.it/3M5i5bU

Don’t buy a new gasoline car unless you’re planning to get rid of it in just a few years, which is kind of dumb, because then you’re eating the depreciation. But if you hold on any longer, the value of a gasoline automobile will sink to nearly zero. What is your 35mm camera worth today?

The whole world is going electric, especially in China and Europe, the way things are going the USA will no longer be number one in so many categories. As for all the b.s. from “patriots” talking about how people are desirous of immigrating into the country…a true patriot would talk about solidifying systems, making America more just, but that doesn’t seem to be their goal.

So a car is one of the few signifiers we still have left. We all use the same smartphone, most youngsters don’t even bother with a watch, how are you going to evidence your identity in today’s world? Well, mostly on social media. But in the real world, it’s still about a car. And if you want to show you’re cutting edge, you drive an electric one, and Tesla dominates that sphere.

Now let’s be clear, electric automobiles were first embraced by the left. The “coastal elites.” They wanted to show they cared about climate change, the planet. They put up with inferior workmanship just to demonstrate their bona fides.

As for the right?

Holman Jenkins and the rest of his knee-jerk Republicans in the “Wall Street Journal” have not stopped decrying electric automobiles, endlessly bitching about subsidies, the lack of profit if clean air credits weren’t sold. They want the past to endure. They want jobs to maintain. They want the right to drive a bigger and bigger SUV, hopefully a Suburban, or maybe a full-sized pickup truck. That’s freedom according to them. As for the planet? Those they hate in Silicon Valley will come up with a solution or God will intervene, it’s not worth worrying about. As for the science? There are no facts in America anymore, didn’t you hear?

So, Tesla has burgeoned on the good will, the purchases of the educated classes, wanting to make a statement, raving about their automobiles, spreading the word. But now what are you going to say?

I don’t care if you’re left or right, what you believe in, but when a giant corporation, publicly traded, alienates its base…that’s a problem.

I used to be a fan of Elon Musk, no longer. The guy is irrational, and he believes the rules don’t apply to him. And he acts like he’s the only one who owns the truth, who can move us into the future, and that’s just hogwash.

As for Twitter…

Twitter is not a newspaper. It’s not even a television station. Twitter only works if it’s agnostic, if it’s the place everybody goes. Just ask Donald Trump and Devin Nunes, who left Congress to run Truth Social. It’s got no traction. Forget that platforms are hard to build, it’s nearly impossible to build traffic unless you’re a first mover or you’re significantly better than the established outfit, neither of which Truth Social is. We’ve learned that online one company dominates in every sphere. Amazon in retail… Especially when it’s consumer facing and depends on traffic.

So, do people on the left need to be on Twitter? Probably. For more than a decade we’ve heard about tech boycotts, but they’ve never worked, people don’t want to be left out, they want to be in on the action. So ignore the hype about Twitter resignations. Twitter is here until it’s superseded by… Well, it took a long time for TikTok and Snapchat to make inroads on Facebook, as for Instagram, the Zuck company bought it!

As for the content on Twitter… Misinformation is a major issue. All over social media, never mind “news” sites. Are we just gonna throw up our hands and say we can’t solve the problem, it will have to work itself out?

Twitter is not government-owned, it can regulate content, who can be on the service, all day long.

Just like the “New York Times” does its best not to print untruths.

Can’t say the same for Fox, which is kinda the point, but reputable news organizations are not propaganda outlets spewing falsehoods. They’re worried about their credibility. As for Musk’s credibility, he’s diminishing it each and every day. He sees his number of Twitter followers, he thinks everybody’s a fan, but that is not the case.

Misinformation has gotten us here, where democracy is in peril. Maybe you don’t agree with that, but as the old aphorism goes, you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.

As for the problem… You’ve got to read a couple of paragraphs of this article:

“As a ‘Seismic Shift’ Fractures Evangelicals, an Arkansas Pastor Leaves Home – Kevin Thompson thought he would lead his hometown church for the rest of his life. Then came Trump and everything after.”: https://nyti.ms/39f2SGM

I’ll make it simple, since clicking through is the hardest thing to get a person to do:

“So he was caught off guard when two church members expressed alarm about the passing reference to Mr. Hanks. A young woman texted him, concerned; another member suggested the reference to Mr. Hanks proved Mr. Thompson did not care about the issue of sex trafficking. Mr. Thompson soon realized that their worries sprung from the sprawling QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims that the movie star is part of a ring of Hollywood pedophiles.”

I believe the truth here  is self-evident.

But it’s not self-evident that women are entitled to control their own bodies. Huh?

So online is a huge cesspool of information that is misinforming the public. And it’s articles from the right that are shared most on Facebook. Not everything is equal folks.

And the truth is the Twitter deal may not close, and many analysts think it probably won’t.

You need to read all of the following article:

“The flawed math behind Elon Musk’s Twitter deal  – An overleveraged billionaire’s bid for an overvalued company may signal the last gasp in an age of magical thinking about markets”: https://wapo.st/3FNG3WV

You may be able to twist the facts of social issues, but when it comes to money…cash doesn’t care.

Once again, since most people don’t have the time or inclination to click through, here’s the essence:

“According to Tesla’s regulatory filings, Musk had already pledged about half of his 173 million shares of Tesla stock to fund other ventures and activities. He has now pledged an additional 40 percent to secure the new loans to buy Twitter. That leaves only 10 percent of his Tesla shares available as collateral. Because Tesla’s policies allow major shareholders to borrow only 25 percent of the value of each share that is pledged, that would appear to limit further borrowing against his Tesla shares to less than $5 billion.

All that borrowing might work out just dandy as long as the value of the collateral — Tesla stock (TSLA) — remains at or near the $1,000 per share it was trading at when the deal was announced last week. Yet in the week since the announcement, it dropped 15 percent, to $870, at least in part out of fear that the stock could get caught up in Musk’s Twitter misadventure. Should it fall below $750, Musk could run afoul of Tesla’s own leverage ratio. And if it were to fall much below $600, the banks could demand that Musk pony up additional collateral, requiring him to quickly sell some of his shares.

Should Tesla stock fall below $400, the banks would probably demand immediate repayment, triggering a massive, forced sale of Tesla shares, depressing the share price even further and prompting other investors to bail out of the stock.”

So Tesla’s stock has fallen. Expect Musk to declare victory and pull out of the deal, the breakup fee is de minimis, at least for Musk, only $1 billion.

But let’s say it goes through. And right wing propaganda comes flooding on to the site. Are you gonna feel good about buying a Tesla?

I won’t. Yes, Teslas are the best electric cars out there, primarily because the company is so far ahead on software, but beware of VW, which has a head start on the rest of the traditional manufacturers, and has made missteps, but is on its way, never mind having worldwide manufacturing and distribution.

And Rivian stock just tanked. So why do we believe the overvalued Tesla will stay high? To a bit it’s apples and oranges, but it’s hard to find almost anyone other than Cathie Wood who doesn’t believe Tesla is overvalued, that the fundamentals don’t make sense.

Now in the fifties and sixties and even into the seventies Jews wouldn’t buy German cars.

Are lefties, coastal liberals, wanting to demonstrate their beliefs, really gonna line up with Tesla? German cars were the best in the seventies, but people drove inferior products, Volvos and Saabs, because they just didn’t want to give Mercedes, BMW and Audi their money.

As for right wingers… They haven’t even gotten on the electric bandwagon, there are not enough of them to support Tesla, at least not at this point.

And this is not Disney. ELON MUSK CREATED THIS PROBLEM!

It’s not like he was reacting to an incursion upon his business. No, myopically trying to save the world he’s dented his cash cow, Tesla. If I was on the board I’d take disciplinary action. Or there should be a shareholder suit. This guy is single-handedly jeopardizing their investment in the car company, which has nothing to do with Twitter.

As for taking a stand…

Do it all day long, it bonds your acolytes to you. But unlike Twitter you don’t have to appeal to everybody. You can make a handsome living appealing to a small fraction of America. But a car company? It’s got to have broad reach, it’s got to have fans in every nook and cranny of the political spectrum.

I’d hesitate to buy a Tesla if I needed a new car right now. And sure, there may be waiting times in America, but there was a slowdown in China… Nothing is unavailable forever, unless it disappears from the market.

People are still buying Apple products because of Steve Jobs. They believed in him and his mission. That’s how important a figurehead is. I don’t know anybody who believes in Chrysler, other than gearheads.

Fandom smooths out the bumps in the road, provides a ready customer base eager to adopt your new products instantly. You never alienate your fans, at least not intentionally. This is rule one in show business.

And be clear, what’s going on with Elon Musk is show business. He loves the attention, the ink, the illusion of power. He believes he’s a rock star. And his underlying product, Tesla, is quite good.

But history is littered with acts who blew up their careers overnight. Billy Squier being the best example. Your image is key. And if your image takes a hit it doesn’t matter how good the underlying music is, people stop listening to it, maybe not all of them, but enough to put a significant dent in your business.

Poll Tesla owners how they feel about Musk. They used to testify, they’re not testifying now. Do you really want to align yourself with the Elon Musk brand?

I don’t.

Tune in today, May 10th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive

Loved this. I was blessed to do the second Eagles show in Nov of 1971 at my first club Tulagi in Boulder. They wanted a few out of the way  places to test out the songs they were going to record for their first album. They played a week in Aspen then for me in Boulder. Glyn Johns flew in from London to take notes and go over the songs after the show when  the audience left. I booked them because I loved the pedigree of the 4 members and thought without hearing them that they’d  be amazing and had a shot to get big. It was right before finals at University of Colorado and I told  Geffen Roberts management company that no one would come but they didn’t care. Plus there was a major snow storm and my club was freezing which made the audience even smaller. I remember Bernie playing guitar and banjo with gloves. I did watch history being made for the 20 people coming each night. I always thought they were great but Don always tells me how mediocre they were. (Being his worst critic made him the great artist that he was.) Lucky to watch history being made. Still my favorite band and manager(Irving) of all time.

Chuck Morris – Chairman Emeritus
AEG PRESENTS

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I got Desperado from MoFi that came out last year. The one-step vinyl, which was the purpose of the remastering you’re listening to.

It has always been the only Eagles album I ever bought and loved. Which is why, when they opened with “Saturday Night” in 2014, I could have left the concert right after and been happy.

After all I’m no fan-boy; I saw them twice – once in 1975… well not really the Eagles but a Joe Walsh Kirschner In Concert taping at Santa Monica Civic in late 1975, when Frey, Henley, and Felder sat in for Turn to Stone, etc. They had to do a few takes of some of these. It was super interesting to watch, and it wasn’t clear why these Eagles were there other than friendship – Walsh was not in the band then. But their harmonizing on Walsh tunes was a revelation, so it made sense when he joined.

He even opened with your theme song, which I loved.

But the MoFi One Step remastering of Desperado, which is where they got the new SACD remasters – from a digital feed that was tapped off the signal going to the lacquer – is shockingly great. After over 40 years of steady listening and relistening to this album, it actually sounded better. Suddenly it is a new thing.

Yes, I have a system that can highlight these improvements. If only for this record, I’m glad I built this setup.  And Johns can say what he wants, but he brought the best out of the Eagles.

So, thanks for this morning surprise Your description exactly mirrors what affects me about this recording and why I love it. I don’t care about the Eagles except for this album. If they did nothing else, they’d be great artists, for me.

Gary Lang

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Hello Bob,
Enjoy reading your posts, always.
Had to reply, as in my UBER on the way to LAX, my post-50-african-american driver was playing Desperado when I entered the car.  Told her it was one of my favorites, and she smiled and said:  If you don’t like the Eagles, you don’t have a soul.  I got a little teary, but that’s just me.

Be safe,
Marcia Hrichison

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Thanks for writing about one of the classic albums of all time. A lot of the reason I am in the music publishing/song business is because of this album, the title song in particular. I was a teen when it was released, and didn’t know much about song writing or songwriters, but I could tell on first listen that these guys had reached a new level for themselves, and maybe for the craft. I think it was a case of some pretty talented people getting together, inside and outside the band, and challenging themselves to be, (apologies to Steve Jobs) – “not good, not great, but insanely great”.

This was the moment they broke through the insanely great barrier,  and rest is history.

Best,

Michael McCarty

P.S. Desperado is my favorite song of all time. You could write a book about the genius craft/art behind it.

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I’ve been building my personal sound system since college days.  Seems every few years I upgrade to some new electronic devise to keep up with technology.  My current system probably cost me as much as a years tuition for my daughters college education. Maybe not, but chasing the sound is an obsession that I enjoy.  My speakers, ATC are north of $20k. WTF.

Most big rig owners will aways wonder…”It music sounds really good, but maybe it can sound better if I…”. Bottom line is we are never satisfied and the chase will always continue.  My girlfriend once asked me, “do you ever just sit down and really listen to the music without being critical?”  I do, but with a critical ear that music lovers in my/our generation just can’t suppress.

The latest Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced, from MoFi is as close to the master tapes as I’ll ever get.

The journey continues.

Thanks for what you do.

-Scott Kilian

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I worked at Tech Hifi on 8th Street — used whatever (little) money I made to buy (and buy and buy) stereo equipment at the employee discount price. It was the next best job to working at Alexanders Department Store on Queens Boulevard in the record department 🙂 Those were the days!

Peter Thea

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Hey, Bob thanks for the piece on Desperado.  It inspired me to take a 40
minute break from the insanity of the current world and take a deep inhale of Tequila Sunrise and the others…

I had a good laugh turning the album cover over and rediscovering the outrageous back cover photo—genius badass concept with the band hogtied, mangled and defeated at the feet of the vigilantes who look just like them:  long haired, scruffy and who could just as easily have been on the wrong side of the rope.  I wonder if any of your readers know the identities of the vigilantes?  The one on the far right looks like J.D. Souther…
Anyhow, thanks for the album break, I (we) all need one…

Darriel Arnott

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The 1st time I heard Desperado was Kenny Rogers singing it on Johnny Carson Late Show!

Pam Oliver

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Loved your take on Desperado. It’s my favorite Eagles’ album and Bitter Creek is my favorite track on that LP. However you failed to credit Bernie Leadon as both the writer and vocalist. In addition it’s Leadon’s great guitar outro that seals the deal on the song. I’m probably in the minority but I became less of a fan after Bernie left the band. He was the best musician in the original band. Go back and listen to Peaceful Easy Feeling. That’s Bernie’s guitar solo channeling Clarence White on the B-Bender. Obviously the Eagles went to whole nother level with Hotel California and Joe gave the band a more rocking sound but those first 4 albums represent my favorite period of the band.

Jay Rosenberg

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Desperado is what I keep coming back to year after year when I listen to the Eagles. I am not tired of any of the songs. Loved hearing them do “Saturday Night” on the 2015 tour when Bernie was back in the fold. That and “Train Leaves Here This Morning” where the highlights of the show for me. Really wish they had put out a DVD of that tour as most of the other Dvd’s just seem to be a rehash of what they have been doing the last 25 years.

Joe Sherfy

Austin, Tx

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One of my favourite albums of all time. The instrumental transition from Doolin Dalton reprise to Desperado Reprise at about 1.26 is perfection.

Interesting that the album cover features the 4 of them and with what happened later with Randy Meisner, the lyric “Four men ride out and only three ride back” seems prescient.

And Desperado I think is as perfect as a song can be. It’s got sadness, but it also has hope, something that seems to be waning these days.

Henley surely must go down as one of the finest lyricists of all time.

Greg Stroh

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I think my brother Bill bought Desperado, but I ended up knowing it…having it imprinted in my brain after listening to it many, many times. I always thought it was the pinnacle for the Eagles, everything after that was comercial pop, meh. All these years later, I haven’t changed my mind. Doolin-Dalton,Tequila Sunrise, Bitter Creek, Desperado, it didn’t get better from the Eagles (and I really like Lonesome Joe Walsh), Neil Young and Crazy Horse, well yeah, but the Eagles never again reached for that truth.

Alan Fenton

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Classic concept album, one of the few great ones.   Paul Lanning

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Thanks.  I’ve been reading you for more years than I can count now, and I really enjoyed this.

“Desperado” was always one of my favorite albums, from the day it came out in my sophomore year of college.  I agree with all your comments about specific songs, particularly “Certain Kind of Fool” and “Bitter Creek.”  I loved “Saturday Night,” the lead-in song to “Bitter Creek”, as well — the wistfulness matched my mood exactly that spring (I couldn’t find a girl).

I don’t have a MoFi system so I can’t hear what you’re talking about with the sound, but it doesn’t matter. What I can hear sounds fantastic.  The music carries the day, even without the high fidelity system.

Yours,

Andy Shaw
San Rafael CA

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No equipment to listen to the aural truth in the MoFi version of “Desperado.” But “Desperado” has always been my favourite Eagles Song and Album. In fact I still have and wear the promo whiteT for it as well.

Olie Kornelsen

ps. Henry Diltz is the best

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HOTEL CALIFORNIA gave us the hype-line “More hooks than the Russian fishing fleet”…

Barry Lyons / Rent A Label

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Hip today gone tomorrow. Whatever you say about The Eagles, they made the kind of impeccably crafted art that lasts. They managed to sell millions of records with intelligent lyrics, kind of like, er, Steely Dan.

Best

Michael Ross

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Vintage Lefsetz!  My favorite Eagles album by a country-rock mile.  I can still feel the texture of the original album cover.  In part because I still have it.

And in today’s reality, with so many people on antidepressants, I hear “you’re losing all your highs and lows” in a whole new light.

Scott Kauffman

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Just as an addendum, I want to point out that Linda Ronstadt’s version of “Desperado” was a major factor in helping to make the song one of the iconic works of its era. Both on her “Don’t Cry Now” album and in subsequent concerts where she used it as her encore, Linda’s version elevated the status of the song to a higher plane in the zeitgeist. Don Henley has acknowledged this in many interviews, and indeed, the song has been associated with her almost as much as with Eagles.

Best,
John Boylan

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My wife and I bought $300 plus tickets to see the Eagles in Nashville last Thursday. We have seen them at least once per decade since our first show in 1979. The last couple of times I saw the band before last week, I was bored out of my mind. I had grown into a hater. And, I really did not like the audience. At one show about 15 years ago I blew up at the guys behind me cutting a real estate deal all the way through “Desperado”. Once a yuppie……

So,  I went into the show last week, where they play “Hotel California” start to finish then the hits, with low expectations. I was really interested in what Vince Gill brought to the table. That guy could be the mayor of Nashville anytime he wants. He is so beloved in this town.

Ok, count me blown away. It was a real band. No tricks. No programming that I could hear. They almost went into the ditch a few times and pulled it out with some glances, like a rock band should. Everyone was in top form, especially Joe Walsh. The guitar playing (yes, I still love solos) was a clinic. And Henley’s voice was strong and forcefully delivered. Just under three hours of hits on top of more hits. The audience was all gray, but they were raging. And yes, Vince was incredibly special on the Frey songs. They had a full orchestra magically appear behind the band on those songs that had strings. They had the Fisk Jubilee Singers doing BGV’s on some songs.

Older acts are always a gamble and usually can’t hold a candle to their past. As a guy who sees multiple shows any given week let me advise that If you can afford it, this band is in top form and it made me happy.

Best,

Don VanCleave