Animal (Bar-Kays album)

Last updated
Animal
Animal (Bar-Kays album).jpg
Studio album by
the Bar-Kays
Released1989
StudioKiva Studios
Genre R&B [1]
Label Mercury [2]
Producer Kenni Hairston and Trevor Gale (tracks 1, 2 and 8), Harvey Henderson, Larry Dodson and Winston Stewart (co-producers on tracks 1, 2 and 8), James Mtume (tracks 3, 7 and 9), Jerry Goldstein (tracks 4-6 for Powder Horn Entertainment), Sly Stone (co-producer on track 7)
The Bar-Kays chronology
Contagious
(1987)		Animal
(1989)		48 Hours
(1994)

Animal is an album by the American R&B band the Bar-Kays, released in 1989. [3] [4]

Contents

The album peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard Top Black Albums chart. [5] Its first single was "Struck By You", which peaked at No. 11 on the Hot Black Singles chart. [6] [7] The title track was also released as a single. [8]

Production

Produced at Kiva Studios, in Memphis, the album was recorded by a three-member lineup. [9] [10] Joe Walsh played guitar on the title track. "Just Like a Teeter Totter" was cowritten and coproduced by Sly Stone. [6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]

The Orlando Sentinel concluded that, "although modern, metallic sounds shape the bouncing, bending rhythm of the title song, for instance, there's a touch of old- fashioned call-and-response interplay in the vocals." [12] USA Today opined that "what's nice about this album, though, is the band's mature, unfunky handling of slow tunes ... 'Leaving You' shows they can be true balladeers." [14] The New York Amsterdam News determined that although Animal "is thigh-high in funk-fortified R&B, the music is never dated." [1]

AllMusic wrote that "it's important to remember that the Bar-Kays never stopped being a good band—it was taste and fashion that twisted the knife and pushed them aside." [11] The Rolling Stone Album Guide thought that "their best cuts resemble lite pastiches of other bands' refinements." [13]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Animal"5:14
2."Struck by You"5:45
3."Stop! Look What You're Missing"5:15
4."Someone Else"4:49
5."Are U Available"5:37
6."Get Your Fingers Wet"5:45
7."Just Like a Teeter Totter"4:14
8."I Adore You"5:16
9."Leaving You"5:15

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References

  1. 1 2 Rogers, Charles E. (18 Feb 1989). "Different Stages". New York Amsterdam News. p. 27.
  2. ↑ "Jet's Top 20 Albums". Jet. Vol. 75, no. 25. Mar 27, 1989. p. 62.
  3. ↑ Vincent, Rickey (April 15, 1996). "Funk: The Music, the People, and the Rhythm of the One". Macmillan.
  4. ↑ Calloway, Earl (31 Jan 1989). "Mercury Records Releases Bar-Kays Trio's New LP". Chicago Defender. p. 15.
  5. ↑ Thompson, Dave (October 22, 2001). "Funk". Hal Leonard Corporation.
  6. 1 2 Persall, Steve (26 Feb 1989). "The latest Bar-Kays cook up a tasty, nostalgic party mix". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2F.
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 R&B and Hip-Hop Hits. Billboard Books. p. 30.
  8. ↑ Wynn, Ron (Aug 18, 1989). "Music: 3 videos finished". The Commercial Appeal. p. E5.
  9. ↑ Wynn, Ron (Feb 3, 1989). "Recordings". The Commercial Appeal. p. E19.
  10. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 413.
  11. 1 2 "Animal". AllMusic.
  12. 1 2 Duffy, Thom (15 Jan 1989). "Bar-Kays". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 6.
  13. 1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 36–37.
  14. ↑ Jones IV, James T. (8 Feb 1989). "The Listening Room". USA Today. p. 5D.
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