''Creatures of Leisure'' is the fourth studio album released by Australian band,

Mental As Anything Mental As Anything was an Australian new wave and pop rock band that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up (which lasted from 1977 to 1999, and recorded all of its charting singles and albums) was Martin Plaza (birth name Martin ...

. It was released in March 1983 and peaked at #8 on the Australian Album charts. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

created their own

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in mid-1988.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' called it the Mentals' "best album to date" saying "it is a must have for pure pop fans, new wave fans, rock & roll fans, and Aussie rock fans" and noted similarities with

Rockpile Rockpile were a British rock band of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Noted for their strong pub rock, rockabilly and power pop influences, they were a foundational influence on new wave. The band consisted of Dave Edmunds (vocals, guitar), ...

and Squeeze". '' Rip It Up'' said "Album number four and the cracks are beginning to show, just a little. Not that this is a bad record. It's just that it gets the slightest bit dull and workmanlike. I'm afraid the title of the first track sums it up: 'Spirit Got Lost'."

Track listing

Australian edition

International Edition

The version of ''Creatures of Leisure'' released in North America dropped the tracks "Space to Let" and "Country in the Concrete", and added "Working for the Man" and "Seems Alright to Me". Additionally, "Nothing's Going Right Today" appeared in remixed form. "Business & Pleasure", which was a completely unlisted track on the Australian release, was listed on the sleeve and on the label of the international edition, although it was not listed on the lyric sheet.

Personnel

Musicians

* Martin Plaza — lead vocals, guitar *

Greedy Smith Andrew McArthur "Greedy" Smith (16 January 1956 – 2 December 2019) was an Australian vocalist, keyboardist, harmonicist and songwriter with Australian pop/ new wave band Mental As Anything. Smith wrote many of their hit songs including " Liv ...

— lead vocals, keyboards, harmonica *

Reg Mombassa Christopher O'Doherty, also known by the pseudonym Reg Mombassa, is a New Zealand-born Australian artist and musician. He is a founding member of the band Mental As Anything and member of Dog Trumpet (alongside his brother Peter O'Doherty). Ea ...

— guitar, vocals * Peter O'Doherty — bass, guitar, vocals * Wayne de Lisle — drums

Recording details

* Bruce Brown — producer, engineer *

Russell Dunlop Russell James Dunlop (21 October 194516 May 2009) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer-engineer. From the late 1970s he collaborated with Bruce Brown in a production company for albums and singles by Australian perfo ...

— producer, engineer * David Hemming — assistant producer, assistant engineer * Frank DeLuna — mastering

Additional credits on international edition

* Mark Moffatt — producer (tracks: 7 & 9) *

Ricky Fataar Ricky Fataar (born 5 September 1952) is a South African musician of Malay descent who has performed as both a drummer and a guitarist. He gained fame as an actor in ''The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash'', a spoof on the Beatles, in which he per ...

— producer (tracks: 7 & 9) * Tim Kramer — engineer (tracks: 7 & 9) * Joe Raine — remix (track 6)

Art work

* Martin Plaza — artwork * Syd Shelton — cover design, photography * Reg Mombassa — drawings * Ken Smith — finished art * Jon Watkins — finished art * Melanie Nissen — finished art

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1983 albums Mental As Anything albums Regular Records albums Festival Records albums A&M Records albums CBS Records albums