The Best of Bread

Bread

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 19, 2001)
• Original Release Date: June 19, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B00005JGA4
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #752 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #43 in	Music > Pop > Soft Rock
  #78 in	Music > Pop > Oldies

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
If they are to believed, David Gates and the other members of Bread never intended to become the enduring icons of a subgenre they virtually invented: soft rock. Indeed, scattered throughout this expanded edition of a perennial bestselling catalog album are tuneful evidence of their original intent, as one band mate said, "to make the '60s last a little longer." But it's the familiar, largely Gates-penned and -sung hit singles that remain the band's legacy, from "Make It with You" through the reunited band's last hurrah, "Lost Without Your Love." Though they've become oft-mocked clichés, these are singles informed with a rare, often complex melodic sense, delivered with a deceptively breezy tone by one of pop's purest tenors. Gates and Bread clearly colored artists as diverse as '80s MOR icon Christopher Cross and nouveau singer-songwriter David Mead. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soft Rock Excellence, October 11, 2002

By	Lonnie E. Holder "The Review's the Thing" (Columbus, Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

One of the biggest problems I had with Bread was not with their music, but that my friends who liked Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath. Alice Cooper and others of various "more serious" rock genres, as did I, made fun of me any time I mentioned Bread. Well, the fact remains that I did like Bread and continue to like Bread from time to time, so much so that I own this CD.

David Gates has a great voice for the maudlin music he sings. The song I think of most is "Diary", a poignant song about the fear that all of us as young males had that the girl we love loves someone else. David Gates just rips your heart out with his soft mellow words as he reveals that the writings in the diary of his girlfriend weren't in fact about himself, but another guy. Talk about a gut-wrencher.

But of course the gut-wrenching emotion doesn't stop there. Here is a guy singing about himself and all of us and our dreams for the girls and women we love. "Lost Without Your Love", "Sweet Surrender", "Aubrey", "It Don't Matter to Me", "Make It With You", "Everything I Own", and more...David Gates just refuses to let you be anything other than morose about relationships. But somehow that doesn't matter. It seems like there are times when I just can't get enough of David Gates pouring out his heart, making me feel that he and I are one when it comes to how women can tear our hearts out. But that's okay, because it feels good to hear about it in David's songs.

Okay, I admit that maybe you have to be a little self-destructive in listening to this music. However, it can be a little cathartic too to listen to what you feel out loud. Just don't listen to this music while you are drinking a lot, you might feel too maudlin for your own good. On the other hand, if it makes you go sing a Bread song outside the window of your girlfriend's house, or apartment, maybe it's a good thing.

This CD is great stuff in small doses. Well performed mellow and soft rock, very romantic. Perfect for the right mood. I wish they still made music like this.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You'll be surprised by how many songs you recognize!, March 4, 2005

By	Beth Cholette "doctor_beth" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a great overview of music from a band that lives on through soft rock stations everywhere. Bread is known for their mellow, melodic, and often mournful tunes such as "If" and "Lost Without Your Love." At times, their songs take on a more upbeat feel (eg, "Guitar Man"), but they always retain that same soothing blend of soulful lyrics and gentle music. This is an ideal CD for listening to in your car at the end of a long work week or relaxing to at home with a glass of wine. If you recognize and like even one song on this album, buy it--you won't be disappointed.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Collection OF Bread's Best Hits!, July 25, 2002

By	Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Bread was likely the most improbable of seventies rock bands, one least likely to soar to the top and remain there with an unbelievable string of hits. Yet lead singer David Gates crooned his way into America's heart, and starting with "Make It With You" quickly spun off hits like "Everything I Own", "Diary", Baby I'm A Want You", "it Don't matter To Me" and "If". The trend continued with still more hits like "Look What You've Done", "Guitar Man", "Aubrey", "Sweet Surrender", and "The Last Time". All of these and more are here, including the reunited band's final hit, "Lost Without Your Love", as well as "Truckin'", "Friends And Lovers", and "Let Your Love Go". Yet as suddenly as they had materialized, so did they evaporate and disappear. Their music was formulaic but quite interesting and good, and while the material for the songs was a but limited, sometimes the lyrics were catchy and diverting, a perfect confection that Gates warbled onto the top ten list with almost monotonous regularity. And all of it is here for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!