Bread - Baby I'm-A Want You (1972/2019) [SACD / Hi-Res]

Baby I'm-a Want You is the fourth album by Bread, released in 1972. Its singles included the title cut (which reached #3 on the Billboard Top 100), "Everything I Own" (#5), "Mother Freedom" (#37), and "Diary" (#15). This was the first Bread album to feature keyboards player Larry Knechtel.

Baby I'm-A Want You is Bread's best album, showcasing its soft and hard sides (yes, Bread had a hard side) at their respective peaks. "Mother Freedom", with its crunchy James Griffin guitar solo, and the superb soft rocker "Baby I'm-A Want You" made a brilliant opening which the rest of the album had a hard time matching. The songs range from wistful sentimentality ("Diary") to spirited protest ("This Isn't What the Government," a poor man's "Taxman" with an anti-war slant). The high points outnumber the flat spots, and the playing is very polished (with unexpected hard rock flourishes on "Dream Lady"), but this is still a '70s period piece.

David Gates - vocals, guitars, bass, Moog, violin
James Griffin - vocals, guitars, piano
Larry Knechtel - piano, bass, Hammond organ, harmonica, guitars, miscellaneous keyboards
Mike Botts - drums, percussion
Robb Royer - bass on "1"