Todd Rundgren - Greatest Hits Live (King Biscuit Flower Hour) (CD)

All Music Guide

The 2003 Todd Rundgren album Greatest Hits Live is a reissue of the 2000 album King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents in Concert with the exception of a sixminute interview segment that has been omitted. The album is split into three different sections three tracks recorded from 1985 in Chicago, three more from a '77 show in N.Y.C., and another six tracks from a different N.Y.C. show in '78. The songs from '85 were recorded during Rundgren's a cappella phase, featuring such highlights as a moving medley of "Lost Horizon/What's Going On/Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You," as well as a gospelesque reading of Rundgren's own "Real Man." The other two shows feature him rocking through such highlights as "Love of the Common Man" and another medley, this one consisting of "I'm So Proud/Ooh Baby Baby/La La Means I Love You/I Saw the Light." These late70's shows are heavy on Something/Anything? material, running through renditions of "Couldn't I Just Tell You," "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference," "Black Maria," and his biggest solo hit, "Hello It's Me" (as well as "I Saw the Light" as part of the aforementioned "I'm So Proud" medley). With a solid cross selection of material included, the set is pretty consistent listen from beginning to end (both sonically and performance wise). The new album title for this reissue reflects the inclusion of five of Rundgren's 11 singles chart entries, “I Saw the Light," “Couldn't I Just Tell You," “Hello It's Me," “Real Man" (performed twice), and “Can We Still Be Friends."

- Greg Prato William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide