The Best of Bread

The Best of Bread
Greatest hits album by Bread
Released	March 1973
Genre	Soft rock
Length	33:25 60:14 (2001 re-issue)
Label	Elektra
Producer	David Gates
Bread chronology
Guitar Man (1972) The Best of Bread (1973) The Best of Bread, Volume 2 (1974)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B[2]

The Best of Bread is a multi-platinum compilation album by the band Bread released in 1973 by Elektra Records. The original album contains 12 songs that were first released between 1969 and 1972.

Release history

In addition to the usual 2 channel stereo version the album was also released by Elektra in a 4 channel quadraphonic version in 1973. The quadraphonic version was released on LP record, 8-track tape and reel-to-reel tape. The quadraphonic LP was encoded using the Quadradisc system.

The 2001 CD re-issue by Rhino has eight additional tracks including several from the 1974 album The Best of Bread, Volume 2, along with the November 1976 single Lost Without Your Love.

In 2015 Audio Fidelity released the 12 song album on the Super Audio CD format. This edition contains both stereo and quadraphonic mixes.

Track listing

All songs written by David Gates except as noted.

Side one

1. "Make It with You" (from On the Waters, 1970) – 3:15
2. "Everything I Own" (from Baby I'm-a Want You, 1972) – 3:06
3. "Diary" (from Baby I'm-a Want You, 1972) – 3:05
4. "Baby I'm-a Want You" (from Baby I'm-a Want You, 1972) – 2:25
5. "It Don't Matter to Me" (from Bread, 1969) – 2:41
6. "If" (from Manna, 1971) – 2:33

Side two

7. "Mother Freedom" (from Baby I'm-a Want You, 1972) – 2:55
8. "Down on My Knees" (Gates, James Griffin) (from Baby I'm-a Want You, 1972) – 2:44
9. "Too Much Love" (Griffin, Robb Royer) (from Manna, 1971) – 2:45
10. "Let Your Love Go" (from Manna, 1971) – 2:25
11. "Look What You've Done" (Griffin, Royer) (from On the Waters, 1970) – 3:10
12. "Truckin'" (Griffin, Royer) (from Manna, 1971) – 2:31

Additional tracks (2001 re-issue)

13. "The Guitar Man" (from Guitar Man, 1972) – 3:42
14. "Aubrey" (from Guitar Man, 1972) – 3:36
15. "The Last Time" (Griffin, Royer) (from Bread, 1969) – 4:06
16. "Sweet Surrender" (from Guitar Man, 1972) – 2:33
17. "He's a Good Lad" (from Manna, 1971) – 2:53
18. "Daughter" (from Baby I'm-a Want You, 1972) – 3:17
19. "Friends and Lovers" (Griffin, Royer, Tim Hallinan) (from Bread, 1969) – 3:50
20. "Lost Without Your Love" (from Lost Without Your Love, 1977) – 2:52

Tracks 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, and 19 appeared on 1974's The Best of Bread, Volume 2.

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for The Best of Bread Chart Peak position Canadian RPM Albums Chart[3] 3 New Zealand Albums Chart[4] 15 UK Albums (OCC)[5] 7 US Billboard 200[6] 2

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for The Best of Bread Chart (1973) Position US Billboard Pop Albums[7] 18 Chart (1974) Position US Billboard Pop Albums[8] 28 Chart (1975) Position UK Albums (OCC)[9] 44

Certifications

Certifications for The Best of Bread

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[10]	Gold	20,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[11]	Silver	60,000^^
United States (RIAA)[12]	5× Platinum	5,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "The Best of Bread". AllMusic. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Bread: The Best of Bread". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0-89919-025-1. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
3. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2012-03-03
4. "charts.nz Bread – The Best of Bread" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
5. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
6. "Bread Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
7. "Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1973". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
8. "Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1974". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
9. "Top Selling Albums For 1975" (PDF). Music Week. 27 December 1975. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
10. "Gold Downunder" (PDF). Cash Box. June 4, 1977. p. 58. Retrieved November 25, 2021 – via World Radio History.
11. "British album certifications – Bread – Best of Bread". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
12. "American album certifications – Bread – Best of Bread". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-03-03.

• Elektra EKS-75056 (1973 LP)
• Rhino 74311 (2001 CD)
• Allmusic.com review of original 12 track LP (link)
• Allmusic.com review of 20 track CD re-issue (link)
• RIAA certifications of "Top 58 Best Selling (multi-platinum) Greatest Hits Albums 1955-2001" (link)