June 4, 2005 | Posted by David B. at 1:00 PM

What a time, what a time

not crusty!There have been more than a few instances on Robots in which I've hesitated to post something because I don't know much about it. This was the case with today's post, which is a track off the new Bread tribute disc Friends and Lovers.

See, I know absolutely nothing about Bread, other than the bare essentials: Bread was a band in the seventies, Bread was pretty damn popular among the AM radio set, Bread was well-known for, well, cheese. I was drawn to this compilation because of its lineup, which includes Josh Rouse, Erlend Øye, Cake and Jon Auer (formerly of pop group extraordinaire the Posies; his former bandmate Ken Stringfellow is also here).

Not having heard any of the original Bread tracks, these songs are all excellent. There's been a run of great tribute discs in recent years, most notably ones for Gram Parsons, the Kinks and Elvis Costello (which, coincidentally, also features Jon Auer). Friends and Lovers is no exception; good things can be said about every track on this record.

My favorite is probably Cake's version of The Guitar Man, which you can find on their last release Pressure Chief, so I won't include it now. Instead, here's

Paula Frazer - Everything I Own

Frazer, formerly of eclectic rock band Tarnation, brings a certain heartbreak to this song. I also just love the production, with the ramshackle percussion and the faraway organ.

Recent talk about Bread is that they were lost amidst corny bands of the time, that their music was deceptively simple but actually ingeniously constructed. Like I said, I can't vouch for the original versions of these songs, but if they're half as lovely as the songs here, Bread should be known for more than cheese and corn. Just ask Cake. Hungry yet?

Er... anyway, you can get Friends and Lovers from the folks at Badman Records or from iTunes.

Comments

thanks for posting something from this.
I've looked at it several times
at my local record store used bin
but always ended up talking myself out of it

Posted by: chicagomonkey at June 4, 2005 1:54 PM

Yes, Bread was cheesy. Yes they were staples of the AM set. BUT damnit, when they were good, they were good. This track you posted isn't that different from the original, besides the fact that it's a female singer. The percussion is a lot more raw as well, but it's nice.

But you don't have to listen to me, I've got a soft spot for cheese/romanticism. It's the new romantic in me. Mrs. grapejuiceplus (me wife) calls it wimp rock. I guess that makes me a wimp.

And thanks for posting this, by the way.

Posted by: darren at June 4, 2005 10:44 PM

post erlend

Posted by: tom at June 5, 2005 11:22 AM

If you love this song (like I do), Ken Boothe recorded an absolutely wonderful reggae cover of it as well. It's on the Trojan Records "Originals" box set, as well as a variety of rocksteady compilations and a few of the "best of" Ken Boothe albums. It's friggin' fantastic.

word up.
-skannotto

Posted by: SKAnnotto at June 6, 2005 11:35 AM
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