Bread

Bread | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 18, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B000003470
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,609 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

CD reissue of the classic debut album from California soft-rockers Bread, led by the skilled songwriting of main man David Gates and masterful guitar playing of James Griffin. Originally released in 1969, the album reached #127 on the Billboard Pop Album charts and features the hit single 'It Don’t Matter To Me'. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1st album a stunning debut, February 23, 2001

By 

Timothy Cummings (Aurora, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bread (Audio CD)

This album by Bread is a definite plus for this group; a very strong debut for a band that I only wish wouldn't have gotten tagged with the "soft rock" label. I prefer the James Griffin-Robb Royer songs more than the Gates penned tunes here, although all of them have a certain amount of sentimental quality to me. Standout tracks are "Move Over", "Could I", which has Beatles all over it. "Friends and Lovers", is pretty sweet too. I like the original version of "It Don't Matter To Me" for it's demo-ish quality. It's nice to hear a different version than the one I grew up with. This music was a mainstay in my house when I was a small boy in the early-mid 70's, but it's only been within the last few years that I bought all the albums, vinyl of course. Great album, and highly recommeded, as are all of them! Buy it, mello out, and let your mind go back in time to when bands like Bread had stellar musicianship before the 90's came along and became boy band based!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great first album, June 24, 1999

By 

A. Butterfield (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bread (Audio CD)

Forget the compilations, this album is filled with great Bread songs, including the rarer (better perhaps) version of It Don't Matter to Me. Even the non David Gates songs on here are pretty good and the sound - this is 1969 remember - simply sparkles.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of Bread? That's how the group started out!, May 8, 2003

By 

CWC (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bread (Audio CD)

I remember my weekly jaunts to my favorite record store. While thumbing the record bins during the holidays in 1969, I happened on this album. I had never heard of "Bread" and actually decided to purchase it because of the band's name and the album cover design. I was pleasantly surprised with the selection of songs I found... fun, pensive, thoughtful, and a bit of rock punch. Although not a totally cohesive ensemble for a classic album concept, this vinyl got a lot of play on my ol' record player. Delving into the album and the songs that each of the three artisits, Gates, Griffin, and Royer, wrote, it is fun to piece each singer's tunes together. Each seemed to have their own individual style and creativity, but fit together very well for my tastes.

Some of my favorite on the album are "Dismal Day," "London Bridge," "The Last Time," "Don't Shut Me Out," and "Friends and Lovers." Listeners will have fun, too, with the original "It Don't Matter To Me." This version has a much faster, up-beat tempo than most fans remember when it was released as a single some four years later.

Critics loved the album, but for reasons I can't understand to this day, it did not sell very well... some 30,000+ albums. I have heard some reflection that this album was released the same time that Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young released their debut album. While that could be true, frankly I don't see a comparison to CSNY and Bread. Bread's initial outing was more rock-orientated and appealing to a wider audience to me while CSNY empahsised more folk-based music to me. Ultimately, the good news was that "the music didn't die" here (if I can borrow a classic line) with this first album and Bread went on to give us many more memorable songs and wonderful moments and memories.