the band were all on peyote when the gatefold picture of the band members was shot in Joshua Tree National Park. Critical reception Reviewing in 1972, Bud Scoppa of Rolling Stone believed the Eagles had "distinguished" country-rock backgrounds, and said the album is "right behind Jackson Browne's record as the best first album this year. And I could be persuaded to remove the word 'first' from that statement". In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau felt that the band wrote good songs, but he was unsure about the authenticity of their country roots so what they produced was "suave and synthetic-brilliant, but false". Allmusic's William Ruhlmann, in his retrospective review, sums up the album as balanced in terms of songwriting, but noting that the three hit singles were sung by Frey and Henley, who would later go on to dominate the band. Rolling Stone listed it as number 368 on their 2012 edition of the 500 greatest albums of all time list with the comment that the album "created a new template for laid-back L.A. country-rock style". It rose to number 207 in the 2020 edition of the list. It was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Ultimate Classic Rock critic Sterling Whitaker rated the non-single album track "Most of Us Are Sad" as being among the Eagles' 10 most underrated songs. Commercial performance The album debuted on the US Billboard 200 chart at number 102 in its first week of release, rising at number 22 in its sixth week on the chart. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 20, 2001 for shipment of 1 million copies in the United States. Track listing Personnel Eagles Glenn Frey – vocals, guitars, slide guitar Don Henley – vocals, drums Bernie Leadon – vocals, guitars, banjo Randy Meisner – vocals, bass guitar Production Gary Burden – art direction, design Henry Diltz – photography Glyn Johns – producer, engineer Charts Certifications References Eagles (band) albums 1972 debut albums Elektra Records albums Asylum Records albums Albums produced by Glyn Johns Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios