'I've got a very distinct memory of going to the public library when I was about 10 years old, and I would check out records. And when Badman Records asked Cake to contribute a cover to the 'Friends and Lovers: Songs of Bread' tribute album, McCrea knew just the tune he wanted to tinker with. We didn't hang out at Studio 54 or anything, but for me as a songwriter, it's all about the songs.' The same goes for the soft-rock stylings of Bread, the hit-making '70s trio led by Oklahoma-born singer-songwriter David Gates. I mean, I've said it a million times in interviews, is that we're not joking. 'I was being dead serious and sincere,' Cake front man McCrea said from his Sacramento, Calif., home this week. Some critics saw it as an ironic put-down of a mainstream genre from a band that waves it's freak flag high. By Gene Triplett Entertainment Editor - Oaklahoman He's no snob when it comes to music, solid proof of which is found in Cake's peculiarly pleasing alt-rock deconstruction of Gloria Gaynor's disco-era hit 'I Will Survive,' released in 1996. Friends is amazingly consistent throughout - there's a palpable feeling of the performers' affection toward these songs, minus the smug irony sometimes blighting 'tribute' sets.' - East Bay Express Covering Bread was a piece of Cake for eclectic singer-guitarist John McCrea. To re-create it, Friends and Lovers enlists a great deal of local talent: ex-Tarnation Paula Frazer's country-meets-Procol Harum 'Everything I Own,' the Moore Brothers' transformation of 'Look at Me' into an ache-laden ancient British Isles ballad, and Cake's rather straight-up 'The Guitar Man.' Elsewhere, Oranger decorates 'Make It with You' with 'A Day in the Life'-type freakout, and a Brazilian and drum 'n' bass-flavored 'Baby I'm a Want You' from Call and Response sounds like Karen Carpenter singing from beyond with the Thievery Corporation. The band's specialty was a very melancholy, limpid, romantic gentle-rock - Belle & Sebastian without the sarcasm, sort of. 'This time around, 1970s soft-rockers Bread receive props from indie-rock admirers and progeny. It makes each one of them shine that much brighter on their own. Reviews This tribute does it right by showcasing the songs and reminding fans what was so good about Bread to begin with. After the recent passing of founding member and co-writer James Griffin, this album perhaps has greater importance, and reverence, than when it was initially conceived. Each song was recorded specifically for this collection. With gems such as 'It Don't Matter to Me', and 'Make it with You' rising to the top of the charts, it became obvious that this 'soft rock' approach was going to be the sound that Bread would succeed and ultimately become identified with. Immediately after meeting, they decided to pool their talents to form a group. Formed in 1969 amidst the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles, the nucleus of Bread, consisting of Rob Royer, James Griffin, and David Gates met while recording in the studio. After assembling the ingredients for three years we hope you are ready to get a taste of the best baked goods you've had since you were a kid. Friends and Lovers: Songs of Bread, is packed with wake and bake versions of Bread classics from artists like Josh Rouse, Cake, Jon and Ken from The Posies, Paula, Rachel Goswell (Mojave 3), Frazer and Erlend Oye (Kings of Convenience). And so we learned to let the songs of Bread take us back. Right then we realized that most of the songs of Bread are as beautiful and moving as any other song that we'd ever heard. But a few of us were stopped in our tracks. Boom! Admittedly, we listened for nostalgia's sake and/or petty irony, with some dismissing Bread as merely a guilty pleasure. But then, when we least expected it, we would turn the corner and run right into a Bread song.
The music of the cool older kids was full of crazy love and escapades that we envisioned to be as dramatic and dangerous as it sounded. Mostly because our older brothers, sisters, and various baby sitters were leaving different kinds of records on the floor for us to pick up and put on. stations that continued to play songs of Bread. As we grew more toward adolescence, our parents were still listening to the A.M. Maybe we weren't listening, because back then our favorite music came out of the back of an ice cream truck, but we heard it. Those of us who grew up with songs of Bread might remember when 'The Guitar Man' or 'Make It With You' would randomly flow from the speakers of our parent's car.