Bread is seen as nothing but a wimp-pop band -- an impression which is justified, but it wipes out the fact that the group was quite good and rather slyly diverse in its early days, particularly on its debut, Bread.
This is effectively the birth of Californian soft rock, as David Gates and compatriots blend the folk-rock of the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield with a distinctly British melodicism and a streak of sentimentality borrowed from McCartney.
The result is a modest little gem, with more strange turns than you'd expect from their reputation -- including soaring falsettos, spiraling melodies, rough guitars, and, best of all, a set of tightly-written, appealing songs.
Only "It Don't Matter Me," which became a hit after the second album, ranks among their best-known material, but each of the songs illustrates the exceptional craftsmanship of not just Gates, but Robb Royer and James Griffin.
As such, this may not seem like the record for casual fans, if judged just on the track listing, but it will convince the pop fans that may have been doubters.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dismal DayDavid Gates | Bread | Play | 02:21 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 2 | London BridgeDavid Gates | Bread | Play | 02:32 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 3 | Could IJames Griffin, Robb Royer | Bread | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 4 | Look at MeDavid Gates | Bread | Play | 02:43 | 6 MB | 12 MB |
| 5 | The Last TimeJames Griffin, Robb Royer | Bread | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 6 | Any Way You Want MeJames Griffin, Cliff Owens, Robb Royer, Aaron Schroeder | Bread | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 7 | Move OverJames Griffin | Bread | Play | 02:36 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 8 | Don't Shut Me OutDavid Gates | Bread | Play | 02:39 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 9 | You Can't Measure the CostDavid Gates | Bread | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 10 | Family DoctorJames Griffin, Robb Royer | Bread | Play | 02:15 | 5 MB | 11 MB |
| 11 | It Don't Matter to MeDavid Gates | Bread | Play | 02:43 | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| 12 | Friends and LoversJames Griffin, Robb Royer | Bread | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 36 mins | 82 MB | |||||
| 36 mins | 202 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry Alfonso | Liner Notes |
| 2 | Bruce Botnick | Engineer |
| 3 | Bread | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 4 | Ed Caraeff | Photography |
| 5 | Ron Edgar | Drums |
| 6 | David Gates | Bass, Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Moog Synthesizer, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Piano (Electric), Viola, Violin, Vocals |
| 7 | Jim Gordon | Drums |
| 8 | Jim W. Gordon | Drums |
| 9 | James Griffin | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals |
| 10 | Abe Gurvin | Cover Art |
| 11 | William S. Harvey | Art Direction, Cover Art Concept |
| 12 | Jac Holzman | Production Supervisor |
| 13 | Bill Inglot | Remastering |
| 14 | Ted Myers | Reissue Coordination |
| 15 | Cliff Owens | Composer |
| 16 | Ken Perry | Remastering |
| 17 | Bryan Rackleff | Design |
| 18 | Robb Royer | Bass, Composer, Flute, Group Member, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Percussion, Piano, Piano (Electric), Recorder, Vocals |
| 19 | Aaron Schroeder | Composer |
| 20 | Coco Shinomiya | Art Direction |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |