Baby I'm A Want You - BREAD****

Mother Freedom/Baby I'm A Want You/Down On My Knees/Everything I Own/Nobody Like You/Diary/Dream Lady/Daughter/Games Of Magic/This Isn't What The Government/Just Like Yesterday/I Don't Love You

The soft-rock group Bread reached their commercial and artistic peak with the release of Baby I’m A Want You. The title track single reached No. 3 in the US but, given its quality, only a relatively disappointing UK No.14. (US:3 UK:9)

“Their first and only really solid album (that is, only about half is filler, and the hits are pretty strong). There's plenty of the sweet soft stuff that made them famous, plus the cool AM radio rocker Mother Freedom.”

“The first half is full of great, classic Gates and Griffin melodies, rockers and ballads which would have earned this album a coveted five stars if the second half was anywhere near as good. Unfortunately, it meanders into a bit of a snore-fest.”

“Down On My Knees has to be the finest moment, it's fast, jangly and features some rockin' stop-and-start interplay. The other tunes show what would become a Bread staple: sticky-slow heart-tugging ballads.”

“If you are a soft-rock fan then you cannot live without this album for another day. All of the music on it has a certain quality to that just calms you. Their music isn't too hardcore or heavy, it's just right for taking it easy.”

"Baby I'm A Want You could be the first time that soft rock made a true, unabashed masterpiece which can be held up as a standard for time immemorial. Bread were an inspired group who merged heart, beauty, tunefulness and perfection to create heavenly music of a type never heard before or since.”

“The strength of this album is the rockin' tunes, most by James Griffin. His grainy voice add life to what would have been a very good album anyway. David Gates' title track as well as his other contributions are great ballads, except for Mother Freedom which is his rocker contribution and very good also. If you are tired of all the music that has been released since the 90s, try out this album for a great chance of pace.”

“The grammatically challenged Bread were a pretty decent soft rock band, with the rare cool instrumental break. They were true professionals, and were a pretty diverse bunch musically speaking.”