Creatures of Leisure

Creatures of Leisure is the fourth studio album released by Mental As Anything. It was released in March 1983, produced by Bruce Brown and Russell Dunlop,[2] and peaked at #8 on the Australian Album charts.[3] The first single, "Close Again", written by Peter O'Doherty [4] was released in November 1982. Two further singles, the Smith and Mombassa collaboration, "Spirit Got Lost",[5] was released in March 1983, accompanied by an imaginative animated video clip, and Pete O'Doherty's "Brain Brain",[6] which was released in September 1983.

Creatures of Leisure
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1983
RecordedAlbert Studios, Sydney, Australia
GenrePop
Length39:24
LabelRegular Records
ProducerRussell Dunlop & Bruce Brown
(2 tracks on international version produced by Mark Moffatt & Ricky Fataar)
Mental As Anything chronology
Cats and Dogs
(1981)
Creatures of Leisure
(1983)
Fundamental
(1985)
Singles from Creatures of Leisure
  1. "Close Again"
    Released: November 1982
  2. "Spirit Got Lost"
    Released: March 1983
  3. "Brain Brain"
    Released: September 1983
  4. "Working for the Man"
    Released: November 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Their final 1983 single, a cover of Roy Orbison's "Working for the Man", produced by Mark Moffatt and Ricky Fataar, was not included on the original Australian release of the album.[2] Internationally, Creatures of Leisure was altered to drop two Australia-only tracks, and replacing them with both sides of the "Working for the Man" single.[2]

Reception

AllMusic said it was, "The Mentals' best album to date, it is a must have for pure pop fans, new wave fans, rock & roll fans, and Aussie rock fans" and noted similarities with Rockpile and Squeeze.[7]

Rip It Up disagreed, saying, "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'.[8]

Track listing

Australian edition

Creatures of Leisure
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Spirit Got Lost"Reg Mombassa, Andrew 'Greedy' Smith[9]2:59
2."Float Away"Reg Mombassa[9]2:43
3."Brain Brain"Peter O'Doherty[9]4:37
4."Bitter to Swallow"Andrew Smith[9]3:46
5."Close Again"Peter O'Doherty[9]2:57
6."Space to Let"Martin Plaza[9]2:47
7."Not Enough" (MC / CD only track not included on LP release)Martin Plaza, Reg Mombassa[9]2:52
8."Drinking of Her Lips"Reg Mombassa[9]3:28
9."Fiona"Andrew Smith[9]3:28
10."Nothing's Going Right Today"Martin Plaza[9]3:20
11."Red to Green"Peter O'Doherty, Victoria Campbell[9]3:25
12."Country in the Concrete"Reg Mombassa[9]3:25
13."Let's Not Get Sentimental" (Track timing includes unlisted track, below.)Martin Plaza[9]6:49
14."Business & Pleasure" (Unlisted track. A new recording of a track originally heard on Get Wet.)Martin Plaza[9] 

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.

Creatures of Leisure
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Spirit Got Lost"Reg Mombassa, Andrew 'Greedy' Smith[9]2:56
2."Float Away"Reg Mombassa[9]2:41
3."Brain Brain"Peter O'Doherty[9]4:35
4."Bitter to Swallow"Andrew Smith[9]3:43
5."Close Again"Peter O'Doherty[9]2:54
6."Nothing's Going Right Today" (Remixed by Joe Raine)Martin Plaza[9]3:15
7."Not Enough" (MC only track not included on LP release)Martin Plaza, Reg Mombassa[9]2:52
8."Working for the Man"Roy Orbison[9]3:31
9."Fiona"Andrew Smith[9]3:25
10."Seems Alright to Me"Martin Plaza[9]3:28
11."Drinking of Her Lips"Reg Mombassa[9]2:50
12."Red to Green"Peter O'Doherty, Victoria Campbell[9]3:27
13."Let's Not Get Sentimental"Martin Plaza[9]4:30
14."Business & Pleasure"Martin Plaza[9]2:20

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalogue
Australia & New Zealand March 1983 Regular Records Vinyl LP RRLP1205
Canada 1983 Solid Gold Records Vinyl LP SGR1018
United States 1983 A&M Records Vinyl LP SP4946
UK & Europe 1983 A&M Records Vinyl LP AMLH64946
Japan 1983 A&M Records Vinyl LP AMP28094
Australia 1998 Festival Records CD D20209

Chart positions

Year Chart Peak Position[3]
1983 ARIA Album Chart 8

Personnel

Musicians

Recording details

  • Bruce Brown — Producer, Engineer
  • Russell Dunlop — Producer, Engineer
  • David Hemming — Assistant Producer, Assistant Engineer
  • Frank DeLuna — Mastering

Additional credits on international edition

  • Mark Moffatt — Producer (tracks: 7 & 9)
  • Ricky Fataar — 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

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. Holmgren, Magnus; Johns, Shane; Warnqvist, Stefan. "Mental As Anything". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  4. ""Close Again" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  5. ""Spirit Got Lost" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  6. ""Brain Brain" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  7. Stephen Schnee. "Creatures of Leisure". AllMusic.
  8. Robert Eyres (1 May 1983). "Briefs". Rip It Up. No. 70.
  9. "APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 5 December 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
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