Album of the Day

When the president of Bearsville Records asked Todd Rundgren for a live best-of collection, he delivered – and then some. BACK TO THE BARS includes such classics as “Hello It's Me,” “Couldn't I Just Tell You” and “I Saw the Light” but digs much deeper than the hits to capture the dizzying variety of Rundgren's solo releases. The 1978 album was drawn from shows at The Bottom Line in New York, The Roxy in L.A. and The Agora in Cleveland, and for a man thought of as a studio wizard, Todd proves a convincing concert performer. He's also sometimes thought of as a one-man show but here benefits from the support of bands Utopia and Hello People and such guests as Spencer Davis, Hall & Oates and Stevie Nicks. We'll wish Todd Rundgren a happy birthday by going BACK TO THE BARS.