Bread

by Bread

Product Description:

Bread: David Gates (vocals, guitar, violin, viola, acoustic & electric piano, organ, Moog synthesizer, bass, percussion); Robb Royer (vocals, guitar, flute, recorder, acoustic & electric pianos, bass, percussion), James Griffin (vocals, guitar, percussion).

Additional personnel: Jim Gordon (drums).

Recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, California. Originally released on Elektra (74044). Includes liner notes by Barry Alfonso.

Recording information: 1969.

Bread's self-titled 1969 debut is somewhat atypical, compared to its later albums. Beginning with 1970's ON THE WATERS, David Gates, Robb Royer and James Griffin (with new addition Mike Botts, who doesn't appear on this album) created a smoothly commercial blend of harmonies, folk-rock gentility, and slick studio arrangements that resulted in a seemingly endless string of hit singles.

BREAD is reminiscent of the chamber-folk sound Elektra Records pioneered in the '60s--think of Judy Collins' Joshua Rifkin period--mixed with a tinge of Buffalo Springfield-style country-pop. Flute, violin, viola, and recorder are integral to the band's arrangements, and songs such as "Dismal Day" and "You Can't Measure the Cost," while effective, don't have the shiny-smooth pop surfaces of later hits like "Make it With You." BREAD is an interesting debut, particularly for those who want to hear how the band changed on its way to the charts.