by Bruce EderBaby 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. Reissued in 1996.