45 years ago today (9/23/77), years before he became the musical voice of Pixar, Randy Newman released one of the most melodic albums of his career to date – Little Criminals. With help from most of The Eagles on selected tracks (Joe Walsh, Glen Frey, Timothy B Schmidt) along with Jim Keltner and Willie Weeks; Little Criminals packed big harmonies alongside Newman’s unique songwriting narrative songwriting approach. The album itself peaked at #9 on the US Billboard 200 chart and was Newman’s highest-charting album to date. Listen to the emotionally tinged “Baltimore” off Little Criminals, where Newman pleads “man its hard just to live, just to live..”
