“A key album in the shift in Pat Martino's sound at the end of the 60s -- with one foot in the soul jazz camp in which he got his start, and the other in the freer, open-minded style he used a lot in the 70s!”[3] Jazz critic Scott Yanow described the album as “funky in spots, electric, and swinging when called for” and extols Martino's performance as “consistently inventive"[4] The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings wrote: "Desperado is a little-known stab at fusion: Martino plays electric 12-string against rumbling electric piano and bass, and the results are akin to a tighter, less violent Lifetime.

"[2] In an article for All About Jazz, Ian Patterson wrote: "Martino's inventiveness... seems inexhaustible...

Though Martino's soloing has the energy of rock, the language is unmistakably jazz, with a clear melodic logic.

There is also a gentler side to his playing, as witnessed on the caressing ballad 'A Portrait of Diana.'

"[5] “Even this difficult instrument doesn’t dampen his proficiency.”[6] Recorded at the legendary Rudy Van Gelder studios, Martino chose a 12-string guitar to define his interpretations of his own compositions and "Oleo" by Sonny Rollins.