Bread Manna CD

lso out of print on CD on Rhino (73504) - D01.
Bread: David Gates, James Griffin, Robb Royer, Mike Botts.
Producers: David Gates, James Griffin, Robb Royer.
Recorded at Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California. Originally released on Elektra (74086). Includes liner notes by Barry Alfonso.
Bread's third album, Manna, isn't so much a step forward as it is a consolidation of strengths, as the group sharpens their skills and carves out their own identities. It's clear that the rift between David Gates and Robb Royer and James Griffin is beginning to take shape, as the album is evenly divided between Gates tunes and Royer/Griffin compositions. This benefits the album, since it spurs each member to greater heights, and they even tend to sequence the record in ways that support that sentiment -- Gates' "Let Your Love Go," complete with its rockin' harpsichords, is followed by the hard-driving verses of "Take Comfort," which, admittedly, is tempered by a dreamy chorus. And while some of the rougher edges present on Bread or On the Waters are sanded down slightly, they're still there, providing good contrast to such soft pop landmarks as "If." Yet, this is a record that is laid-back and even tempered, which isn't a bad thing -- it results in a fine listen, especially since the group's songwriting remains at the high standard instituted on that first Bread album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Bread's third album, 1971's MANNA, is in many ways similar to its predecessor, ON THE WATERS. Same production team, same Crosby Stills Nash and Young-meet-the Association musical style, even a similar bread-related pun for the title; in other words, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
David Gates, James Griffin, Robb Royer and Mike Botts had, by this point in their career, come up with a brilliant amalgam of folk-rock, Carpenters-style soft pop and glossy production that is a textbook example of the sort of soft rock which ruled the charts on the early-to-mid-'70s. MANNA's biggest hit, Gates' "If," is a classic of the style and one of the group's trademark songs. The rest of this solidly engaging record is equally enticing for those into this sort of thing, especially the opening "Let Your Love Go" and Griffiths' wistful "She Was My Lady."