Wild Animal is the debut solo studio album by Canadian singer Vanity. It was released by Motown Records on November 10, 1984.
Critical reception
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, come-stained frocks, and psychedelic sex slavery she flaunts as she strikes out on her own."[1]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).[3]
^Whitburn, Joel (2005). Bubbling Under The Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004 (2nd ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 277. ISBN0-89820-162-4.
