Bread

[greenfuzz]

So...I'm flipping through the current Ugly Things, which arrived in today's mail, and incredibly I spot an article on Bread. Yes...David Gates' Bread. I'm guessing this would have been unfathomable five or ten years ago...but I think we're all getting soft with age and now Bread is considered Ugly Things material.

I've always had a soft spot for 'Everything I Own' which, without question, contains one of the finest hooks in the history of recorded music. I'm looking forward to checking out some of the songs highlighted in the article that I'm not familiar with.

Anybody else willing to admit their admiration? Any must-hear songs I should seek out?

 

[MopTopMike]

I'm never ashamed to admit that a lot of the early to mid 1970s pop stuff I listened to and bought as a kid still sounds good to me.
Fave Bread tunes: "Let Your Love Go" ( we used to play this at band practice) "Sweet Surrender"; "Mother Freedom"; "Dismal Day"; "It Don't Matter to Me" (played this as a duet with a former co-worker in a set of 70's yacht rock tunes for a 'happy hour' pub crowd several years ago. Thankfully he could sing!

 

[Frantic]

Guitar Man
If :oops:

 

[Westex]

This is my jam.

And my jelly.

 

[Sebastian]

I haven't recieved the newest Ugly Things yet so it might all be covered in there, but the pre-Bread years in David Gates career are worthy of attention. Fantastic songwriter. That "The Early Years 1962-1967" CD that was released last year has been on constant rotation over here since it was issued. Geared towards a teen/r&b/girlgroup crowd, it misses out on some essential stuff (Captain Beefheart's "Moonchild" immediately springs to mind, but would've stuck out like a sore thumb on that CD...) but it's a fine compilation regardless.

 

[buckeyebeat]

As usual, I'm way ahead of the trend having already posted about "Let You Love Go" and a couple other mentioned songs on this forum before. I don't really care for most of their 'soft rock' output and would listen to the first Carpenters or Seals and Crofts LPs if I'm in the mood for well crafted, slightly edgy turn of the decade pop.

 

[bosshoss]

I dunno. I prefer REO Speedwagon. They just seem to have more....balls.

 

[Frantic]

I dunno. I prefer REO Speedwagon. They just seem to have more....balls.

reo two!!!! and I seen hookers dancin' thru Times Square with their heads held up so high.

 

[Heitkotter77]

I dunno. I prefer REO Speedwagon. They just seem to have more....balls.

I saw them live in '73 opening for Quicksilver.
QMS were awesome. REO sucked.

 

[buckeyebeat]

I take Leon Russell and J J Cale over David Gates (all members of the Tulsa Music Mafia). Speaking of Russell, here's one of the greatest pop records of all time

 

[buckeyebeat]

I remember a discussion about REO with Patrick the Lama (RIP), probably on a Yahoo group - pretty sure you were a part of that. He said he was a fan...

I saw them live in '73 opening for Quicksilver.
QMS were awesome. REO sucked.

 

[Frantic]

saw Reo in Milwaukee in '72, one of the best concerts ever. By '73 they had a new singer and were hit and miss.

 

[greenfuzz]

I take Leon Russell and J J Cale over David Gates (all members of the Tulsa Music Mafia). Speaking of Russell, here's one of the greatest pop records of all time

The hook/chorus in the song is great...but I can't help but thinking of Tommy Boy. That's an absolutely hilarious scene playing on the "guilty pleasure" status of this song.

 

[greenfuzz]

 

[MopTopMike]

Leon Russell singing "Lady Blue" always reminded me of the drunk character played on TV by Red Skelton....

 

[beccabear67]

I haven't recieved the newest Ugly Things yet so it might all be covered in there, but the pre-Bread years in David Gates career are worthy of attention. Fantastic songwriter. That "The Early Years 1962-1967" CD that was released last year has been on constant rotation over here since it was issued. Geared towards a teen/r&b/girlgroup crowd, it misses out on some essential stuff (Captain Beefheart's "Moonchild" immediately springs to mind, but would've stuck out like a sore thumb on that CD...) but it's a fine compilation regardless.

I remember doing a huge Tex Avery style double-take seeing David Gates name on some Beefheart record!

To be honest I really dug the other, often non-hit, Bread songs most with Royer, Griffin or whoever else in the credits. I always thought a lot of the Gates tracks were cynically constructed calculated for maximum airplay on MOR radio.

As someone who endured less developed peers mocking my love for REO's Hi-Infidelety LP back in the day (I thought it was really advanced) I'm not sure what to say about them at this time. Everyone else was grooving on AC-DC's Back In Black or Queen's The Game LPs and I was kind of frozen out of the mainstream with my Styx t-shirt and the guy that liked Devo a little too much.

 

[depravedskippy66]

The first Bread LP is well worth tracking down, and can still be had pretty cheaply. The version of "It Don't Matter To Me" here is different to the one that became a hit.

 

[HarvestmanMan]

Got a chance to see Leon Russell in concert last year and jumped on it - not something I regret by any means. He's marvelous behind the keyboard...but that's likely second to his talent as a producer (see Le Cirque's "Land of Oz").

"Little Hideaway" has quite the nice beat to it, "Can't Get Over Losing You" has great backing arrangements...lots of good material from Leon.

Oh, and as for David Gates, I haven't heard much non-Bread stuff from him apart from the great "Loving At Night". I'm sure it's quite good if that's any indicator.

 

[axel]

Funny thread. Finally it's: Soft Rock Time!
I admire David Gates most for producing the Pleasure Fair album and writing "Look At Me" on the marvelous Bergen White album. Introspective sunshine pop/soft rock at its best.

 

[bosshoss]

Seems we've forgotten Air Supply in all of this.