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

Animal
Studio album by Bar-Kays
Released	1989
Genre	R&B[1]
Label	Mercury Records[2]
Bar-Kays chronology
Contagious (1987) Animal (1989) 48 Hours (1994)

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]

Production

The band recorded the album as a trio.[8] 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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
Orlando Sentinel	[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[11]

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."[10] 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."[12] 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."[9] The Rolling Stone Album Guide thought that "their best cuts resemble lite pastiches of other bands' refinements."[11]

Track listing

References

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