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Of the six Bread albums, this one gets less air time with me than any of the others. There are some memorable tunes here- Gates' "If," which is one of the defining songs for this group, and "He's A Good Lad." Griffin and Royer's "Truckin," "Let Your Love Go," "Live In Your Love," and "Too Much Love" are also here. Other than these six songs, the album did not produce and memorable and influential songs to me. Not to say they are not enjoyable, but they don't leave a lasting impression on me. Gates and Griffin/Royer have some song styles here that are very different and not heard on any of the other group's recordings. It is interesting to listen to this album for that reason.

Overall, for the most part, this is a very subdued collection of songs. This grouping also continued to showcase the very different styles and influences between Gates and Griffin/Royer. This gives the album a very uneven flow. While that formula worked on the two prior albums, "Bread" and "On the Waters," it produced the least successful effort on "Manna" in my opinion.

In summary, I am not not recommending this album, but of the six Bread albums, this is the one I would least recommend. Things would change significantly for the better with Bread's next album "Baby I'm A Want You." Larry Knechtel would join the group for its remaining career and the band and future albums would become more cohesive with songs superior in lyric and orchestration quality.


One of their best   May 2, 2005
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Why did the other reviewer write 'I have to admit...' for his opinion of loving Bread- one should be proud to like this sort of music!
As for the album, it is excellent. Not one weak song on here. It opens with two songs, that give a false impression, this might be a heavier album. 'Let your love go' is one of their best rockers, showing Gates could do other styles, not just ballads. 'Take comfort' goes from really bluesy bits to ballady bits in the middle and it really works, showing Griffin and Royer were as talented as the genius Gates.
'If' is the most beautiful heart wrenching ballad and the end of the song, if you close your eyes, will make you feel you are flying. Incredible stuff. The best song on here just beats that though, 'Come again'. what an incredible classical arrangement and what a beautiful melody. Definitely shows what depth goes into their songs. Awesome.
Another of my favourites is one that Griffin has not rated in retrospect, 'Live in your love', but to me, this is another incredible ballad, with a soaring melody.
All the other songs are great also. Highly recommended from these geniuses I am proud to love.


The "Baroque" Bread; i.e. a true classic ...   June 4, 2006
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Okay, maybe I'm a little biased here as far as judging which Bread album was the best of their half-dozen stellar studio efforts, but there are many factors convincing me that "Manna" should have featured the subtitle "From Heaven."

The legendary love ballad "If" alone is almost enough to justify the album's "heavenly" appeal, but songs such as (among others) the harpsichord-driven rocker "Let Your Love Go" and the church-like organ solos on the ethereal "What A Change", as well as the album's centerpiece, "Come Again" (which, for all its melodrama, succeeds brilliantly in its shifts of tempo, mood, and overall dynamics that even most pop music craftsmen ignore) ultimately give this album a warm "Baroque" feel that makes the album a wonderful first choice if you were forced to choose among Bread's studio efforts instead of any of their numerous and sometimes notoriously repetitive best-of collections (with the notable exception of 1996's 2-CD "Retrospective" of course).

Sure, seasoned Wall-Of-Sound Veteran Larry Knechtel, who joined the band following the album's 1971 release, contributed a wealth of experience and his own subtle signature touches to succeeding (and also massively successful) Bread recordings, but the tensions that had just begun to brew within the previous lineup were likely a factor in producing an ultimately masterful 12-song body of work that no Bread album before or since could touch with a ten-foot, uh, loaf.

Enough already - just enjoy the album if you already own it ... if not, then get it post haste!!!