Biography
As the keyboardist and vocalist in Mental as Anything, Greedy Smith stood out as one of Australia’s most engaging performers. Sharing the spotlight with Martin Plaza on guitar and vocals, Reg Mombassa on guitar and vocals, Peter O'Doherty on bass and vocals, and David "Bird" Twohill on drums demanded both presence and timing, yet Smith delivered both through flair and sharp humor. Several of his compositions for the Mentals, among them “Too Many Times,” “Spirit Got Lost,” “You're So Strong,” and the major hit “Live It Up,” became some of the group’s most enduring successes. Still, he waited until 1997 before issuing his first solo album; an earlier side project called Greedy's on the Loose had produced nothing after its master tapes were destroyed in a fire. The debut solo record, Love Harmonica on TRW Records, stayed deliberately understated, with Smith performing nearly every part himself and spotlighting extended harmonica passages. Its smooth, refined tone arose because he had accumulated songs that did not suit the Mentals’ approach and therefore held them back for a separate release. He later assembled a touring unit named Greedy's People and took the new material on the road. Finding that the fresh songs gained strength when played with the band, he re-entered the studio, re-recorded every track from Love Harmonica, added two covers—“Close to You” and “Everybody's Talkin'”—and issued the updated album late in 1997. Once that tour ended, Smith returned to his Mentals bandmates to record the Garage album, which appeared in August 1998.