Wild Animal

Wild Animal is the 1984 debut studio album by Canadian singer Vanity. Released by Motown Records in November 1984, the album yielded two hit singles on the US R&B Songs chart, with "Pretty Mess" and "Mechanical Emotion". The album's third single, "Samuelle" scored minor radio play but failed to chart on either Hot 100 or R&B singles.

For other uses, see Wild Animals (disambiguation).
Wild Animal
Studio album by
Vanity
ReleasedNovember 10, 1984 (1984-11-10)
RecordedJanuary–February, 1984
StudioAllen Zentz Recording (Hollywood, California)
Genre
Length32:49
LabelMotown
Producer
Vanity chronology
''Wild Animal''
(1984)		 Skin on Skin
(1986)
Singles from Wild Animal
  1. "Pretty Mess"
    Released: September 7, 1984
  2. "Mechanical Emotion"
    Released: November 26, 1984
  3. "Samuelle"
    Released: February 12, 1985

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Village VoiceC [3]

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave Wild Animal a "C–" and compared the record to Vanity 6: "Where formerly she talked her way through bright, crisp, rocking high-end arrangements and kept the smut simple, here she "sings" verbose, amelodic fantasies rendered even duller by a dim, bassy mix. And anyone who dreamed that she'd liberated herself from pornographic role-playing should get a load of the electric dildos, cum-stained frocks, and psychedelic sex slavery she flaunts as she strikes out on her own.[3] AllMusic editor Alex Henderson was somewhat more enthusiastic in a retrospective review, giving the album three out of five stars while writing, "Wild Animal is essentially an R&B album, but Vanity laces her R&B with big doses of rock and pop. Despite her obvious limitations as a vocalist, Wild Animal is a respectable solo debut. But the public refused to take Vanity seriously as a solo artist, and this album's unimpressive sales reflected that."[2]

Track listing

All songs published by Jobete Music Co., Inc. & Wolftoons Music (ASCAP). All lyrics and melodies composed by Vanity. All music composed, performed, and arranged by Bill Wolfer, except † lyrics composed by Robert Bruce McCan (Vanity's former boyfriend at that time).[4]

Side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Flippin' Out" (featuring Ed Sanders) 5:00
2."Pretty Mess" 3:44
3."Samuelle" 4:14
4."Strap On "Robbie Baby""Robbie Bruce†4:12
Side 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Wild Animal" 4:39
6."Mechanical Emotion" (featuring Morris Day) 5:05
7."Crazy Maybe" (featuring Julian Jackson)Vanity, Bill Wolfer†5:00

Personnel
  • Vanity – lead vocals, background vocals, vocal arrangements
  • Bill Wolfer – keyboards, drum programming, synthesizers
  • David Williams – rhythm guitar on "Wild Animal"
  • Ed Sanders – recording, mixing, additional vocals on "Flippin' Out"
  • Robbie Bruce – writing, male vocals on "Strap On 'Robbie Baby'"
  • Julian Jackson – male vocals on "Crazy Maybe"
  • Morris Day – male vocals on "Mechanical Emotion"
  • Allen Zentz – mastering
  • Daniel Poulin – photography
  • The Buck – executive producer
  • Bill Wolfer – producer, composer, arranger, production
  • Vanity – producer, composer, arranger, production

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1984) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[5] 62
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[6] 14
  • "Wild Animal" spent 25 weeks on the R&B Albums chart.[7]

Singles
Year Title US
Pop[8][9]		 US
R&B		 US
Dance[10]
1984 "Pretty Mess" 75 15 13
1985 "Mechanical Emotion" 107 23 —

References
  1. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bill-wolfer-mn0000080681/credits Wild Animal - Producers
  2. Henderson, Alex. "Wild Animal - Vanity". AllMusic. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  3. Christgau, Robert (November 27, 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  4. Buchalter, Gail (1984-10-15). "Her Romance with Prince Hit the Rocks, but Vanity's Singing Career Is Going Grrr-Eat". People.com. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  5. Vanity Billboard Chart history. Retrieved January 5, 2015
  6. "Wild Animal". Allmusic. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  7. "Vanity Music News & Info". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  8. Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (10th ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 739. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
  9. Whitburn, Joel (2005). Bubbling Under The Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004 (2nd ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 277. ISBN 0-89820-162-4.
  10. ((( Vanity > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles ))). allmusic (1959-01-04). Retrieved on 2010-08-18.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.