fbpx
Wikipedia

Mind Games (John Lennon album)

Mind Games is the fourth studio album by English musician John Lennon. It was recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York in summer 1973. The album was released in the US on 29 October 1973 and in the UK on 16 November 1973. It was Lennon's first self-produced recording without help from Phil Spector. Like his previous album, the politically topical and somewhat abrasive Some Time in New York City, Mind Games received mixed reviews upon release. It reached number 13 in the UK and number 9 in the US, where it was certified gold.

Mind Games
Studio album by
Released29 October 1973 (1973-10-29)
RecordedJuly–August 1973
StudioRecord Plant, New York City
GenreRock
Length40:41
LabelApple
ProducerJohn Lennon
John Lennon chronology
Some Time in New York City
(1972)
Mind Games
(1973)
Walls and Bridges
(1974)
Singles from Mind Games
  1. "Mind Games"
    Released: 29 October 1973 (US); 16 November 1973 (UK)

The album was recorded while Lennon was having difficulties with US immigration and at the beginning of his 18-month separation from Yoko Ono.[1] The title track was released as a single at the same time as the album. The album itself was later reissued several times throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Background

By the start of 1973, John Lennon began distancing himself from the political and social issues he had embraced in the previous 18 months.[2] It was also around this time that he and his wife, Yoko Ono, were going through marital problems.[2][3] As Ono was completing her fourth album, Feeling the Space, Lennon decided he also wanted to record a new album, and liked the studio musicians that their assistant and production coordinator May Pang had assembled for Ono's album.[2] Shortly thereafter, he asked Pang to book them for his sessions.[4] Wanting to produce an album that would be more accepted than his previous politically charged commercial flop Some Time in New York City, Lennon began writing and demoing a few songs for Mind Games in his Greenwich Village apartment.[2] He began composing after a period of almost a year of not writing any material.[3]

Amid frequent court appearances battling to stay in the United States, Lennon became stressed,[2] a situation that was only worsened by constant surveillance by the FBI,[2][3][5] due to his political activism.[2] Lennon said, "I just couldn't function, you know? I was so paranoid from them tappin' the phone and followin' me."[6] All this combined made Lennon begin to feel emotionally withdrawn.[6] Lennon put his suffering aside to write the songs for Mind Games,[6] writing all the songs for it in a week.[7]

Under the moniker of "The Plastic U.F.Ono Band", Lennon engaged the services of session drummer Jim Keltner, guitarist David Spinozza, Gordon Edwards on bass, Arthur Jenkins on percussion, Michael Brecker on saxophone, Ken Ascher on piano and organ, and the vocal backing of a group called Something Different.[8] Difficulties between Lennon and Ono became more and more noticeable around this time.[9] Just as the sessions were to get under way in June at New York's Record Plant Studios, John and Yoko separated.[1] At Ono's urging,[9] Pang became Lennon's companion and lover in what would become an 18-month relationship later renowned as Lennon's "lost weekend".[10]

Recording and content

Mind Games was recorded between July and August 1973 in Lennon's characteristic quick fashion, and was mixed over a two-week period.[6] Lennon produced the album by himself,[8][11] following his previous three-year partnership with Phil Spector.[12] When the album was remixed in 2002, many audio anomalies hidden in the original mixing were uncovered.[6] Some rough mixes appear on bootlegs and on 1997's John Lennon Anthology.[6]

The album continued Lennon's previous attempts to chronicle his life through his songs,[9] the tone of which displays a range of mixed feelings.[6] Among the sombre and melodic songs directed to Ono, "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" was originally titled "Call My Name",[11][13][14] a song in which Lennon was offering to comfort someone, whereas the final version sees him asking for forgiveness.[14][15][16] In "One Day (At a Time)", Lennon sings about his devotion to Ono.[17][nb 1] "Out the Blue" also reflects Lennon's devotion to his wife,[15] and reflects its author's self-doubt as a result of their separation.[16][18] "Out the Blue" incorporates several musical genres, starting with a gentle, melancholy acoustic guitar and moving through gospel, country and choral music portions.[19][20][21] Another love song, "You Are Here" took its title from Lennon's one-off art exhibition at the Robert Fraser Gallery.[22] By the time of the Mind Games sessions, the composition had gone through several different themes, before Lennon settled on the theme of love and peace.[22] The original master take of "You Are Here" featured an extra verse,[23] that was about Japan and England.[22]

Other songs on the album are more light-hearted and optimistic, marking the return of Lennon's humour and wit after the uncompromising doctrine espoused on Some Time in New York City.[24] These tracks include "Intuition", in which Lennon relates how life experience has honed his instincts and how it's good to have gotten through it.[25] While demoing the song on piano in early 1973, with the lyrics still incomplete, he added a few lines from two previously released tracks – "How?", from Imagine (1971), and "God", from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970).[25] "Only People" reflects his and Ono's personal philosophy.[26] Lennon later said that it failed as a song, however; in an interview with Playboy, he remarked: "It was a good lick, but I couldn't get the words to make sense."[26]

Also appearing on Mind Games are songs that indulged Lennon's affinity for pure rock 'n' roll, such as "Tight A$", the title of which was a pun on the expressions "tight as" and "tight ass".[27] The track is in the rockabilly style with a 1950s sound, along the lines of songs that inspired Lennon in his youth.[28][29] Another rock track, "Meat City" contains lyrics more in keeping with Lennon's earlier penchant for obscure imagery over the personal.[30] The song was a boogie piece until late in 1971, when it began to take its final form, although with improvised lyrics.[15][16] By late 1972, Lennon had rewritten the words and finished developing the melody.[16]

The song "Mind Games", with its "love is the answer" refrain and call to "make love not war", recalls Lennon's work with the Beatles in 1967.[24] He started writing the track during the band's Get Back sessions, in early 1969, with the title "Make Love, Not War". Lennon finished it after reading the book Mind Games: The Guide to Inner Space.[12][31][nb 2][32] Lennon had recorded demos of the retitled "Mind Games" on 28 and 29 December 1970, at his home studio, Ascot Sound Studios.[33]

"Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)" dated from late 1971, having started out as little more than a chorus, after Lennon acquired a National guitar.[17] Once he had worked on the lyrics, the song went from a simple political slogan to a full-blown statement that hints at his earlier work, such as "Imagine" and "Power to the People".[17] "Only People" and the three-second silent "Nutopian International Anthem" were the only political tracks on the album.[1] The latter referred to "Nutopia: The Country of Peace", a conceptual country which the Lennons had announced at a press conference in New York City on April Fool's Day 1973.[25][34][35][nb 3] "I Know (I Know)" features lyrics in which Lennon apologises for his thoughtlessness and discusses the causes of his insecurity.[22] On some of the rough mixes available on bootlegs, the time-consuming overdubbing on the song is apparent, as Lennon gradually refined the arrangement.[22] The final track on Mind Games, "Meat City" contains a Lennon curse, "Fuck a pig!",[36] sped up and backwards, while the mix used as the B-side to the "Mind Games" single gave the same treatment to the phrase "Check the album!"[12]

"Rock and Roll People" was also recorded during the album's sessions and given to Johnny Winter for his John Dawson Winter III album. Lennon's version remained unreleased until 1986's posthumous Menlove Ave. album.[6][11]

Release and promotion

Tony King, vice-president of Apple Records in Los Angeles at the time, convinced Lennon to promote Mind Games, arranging interviews for Lennon with Billboard and Record World.[6] He also persuaded Lennon to do a television commercial in which King dressed up as the Queen of the United Kingdom and waltzed with Lennon (the commercial session can be seen in the 1988 film Imagine: John Lennon).[37] King reprised his role as the Queen for two radio spots promoting the album.[38]

Lennon created the Mind Games album cover himself, hand-cutting the photos. The front and back covers are similar; on the back sleeve Lennon is more toward the foreground, representing his symbolic walking away from Ono and her apparent mountainous influence on him.[4][6]

Mind Games was released on 29 October in America[39] and 16 November in Britain,[2][nb 4] around the same time as Ono's Feeling the Space.[42] Apple Records issued the title track as a single, with the release dates matching those of the album in the US and UK.[32][nb 5] The single reached number 26 in the UK, and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.[32] The album charted at number 13 in the UK and peaked at number 9 on Billboard's Top LP's listings.[2] Although Mind Games sold better than Some Time in New York City,[10] its release "came and went with barely a ripple", according to Beatles biographer Chris Ingham.[43] Author Peter Doggett similarly writes that the album "did nothing to alter [Lennon's] status as the least commercially successful Beatle".[44]

Critical reception

Retrospective professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [45]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[46]
Mojo     [47]
The Music Box     [48]
MusicHound Rock3/5[49]
Paste     [50]
Rolling Stone     [51]
Uncut     [52]

Jon Landau of Rolling Stone magazine assessed the songs on Mind Games as "his worst writing yet" and considered that Lennon was "helplessly trying to impose his own gargantuan ego upon an audience ... [that] is waiting hopefully for him to chart a new course". While finding the music "listenable", Landau identified the album's lyrics as "misguided in so underrating his audience's intelligence" and added: "But then, perhaps Lennon's didacticism, preaching and banality are part of the mind game of the album's title ..."[53] More impressed, Melody Maker's Ray Coleman found that "The raw nerves of a Lennon battered by America's curious logic and sheer hard-heartedness seem to have spurred him to write incisively ..." Coleman concluded of Mind Games: "Musically or melodically this may not be a stand-out album, but if you warm to the rasping voice of Lennon and, like me, regard him as the true fulcrum of much of what came from his old group, then like any new Lennon album, it will be enjoyable and even important."[54] In Creem magazine, Robert Christgau described the album as "a step in the right direction ... but only a step. It sounds like out-takes from Imagine, which may not seem so bad but means that Lennon is falling back on ideas (intellectual and musical) that have lost their freshness for him: Still, the single works, and let's hope he keeps right on stepping."[55]

Writing in their 1975 book The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, NME journalists Roy Carr and Tony Tyler opined that Mind Games "bears all the hallmarks of being made without any definite objective in mind – other than to redeem the unpleasantness of Some Time In New York City". While noting the singer's attempts to re-create "the lyricism and melodic inventiveness" of Imagine, Carr and Tyler continued: "The reason the total album is not more effective can be laid at the door of Lennon's personal situation, and on his tendency to react to events, instead of initiating them."[56] In The Beatles Apart (1981), Bob Woffinden considered that, aside from the "excellent" title track and "Bring on the Lucie", Mind Games "consisted of so-so songs that hardly lodged in the memory", and that "The best one can say of the album is that it's exceptionally well produced."[57]

In a more recent review, for AllMusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes that "confusion ... lies at the heart of the album. Lennon doesn't know which way to go, so he tries everything." Erlewine adds: "While the best numbers are among Lennon's finest, there's only a handful of them, and the remainder of the record is simply pleasant."[45]

Lennon himself later said: "The Mind Games single is fine, but there's just no energy to sustain through the album and there's no clarity of vision. That cover says more than the record to me."[citation needed]

Reissues

The album was reissued in the US on Capitol Records in 1978 and 1980, with the latter being a budget reissue.[nb 6][6] In the UK, the album was reissued on EMI's budget label, Music for Pleasure (MFP), on 28 November 1980, featuring a different album cover.[nb 7][6] After Lennon's death in December 1980, the album, along with seven other Lennon albums, was reissued by EMI as part of a box set, which was released in the UK on 15 June 1981.[nb 8][58] It was first issued on CD on 3 August 1987, this time on the Parlophone label,[nb 9][11] and several months later on 22 March 1988 in the US on the Capitol label.[60]

In 2002, a remixing of Mind Games for its remastered reissue, containing three previously unreleased demo recordings,[nb 10] was overseen by Allan Rouse, which was released on 21 October 2002 in the UK,[nb 11][11] and almost a month later in the US, on 5 November 2002.[60] It was reissued again by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in 2004 on CD[nb 12] and LP.[nb 13] In 2010, the original mix was remastered as part of the re-release of Lennon's entire catalogue, the album was available separately[nb 14] or as part of the John Lennon Signature Box.[nb 15][11]

Track listing

All songs written by John Lennon.

Original release

Side one
  1. "Mind Games" – 4:13
  2. "Tight A$" – 3:37
  3. "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" – 4:44
  4. "One Day (At a Time)" – 3:09
  5. "Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)" – 4:12
  6. "Nutopian International Anthem" – 0:03
Side two
  1. "Intuition" – 3:08
  2. "Out the Blue" – 3:23
  3. "Only People" – 3:23
  4. "I Know (I Know)" – 3:49
  5. "You Are Here" – 4:08
  6. "Meat City" – 2:45

2002 reissue bonus tracks

  1. "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" (home version) – 3:35
  2. "Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)" (home version) – 1:02
  3. "Meat City" (home version) – 2:36

Personnel

Personnel per album sleeve[65] and Bruce Spizer.[66]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Mind Games
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[77] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[78] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ While he was recording the song, singing in his normal vocal register throughout the recording, Lennon adopted a falsetto when attempting a vocal overdub.[17]
  2. ^ He later encountered the author in a restaurant, and when the author asked about Lennon's reaction to the book, he replied: "I am one of your fans. You wrote Mind Games."[31]
  3. ^ The album's inner sleeve featured a "Declaration of Nutopia", in which people could become a citizen of Nutopia if they spoke about Nutopia.[25]
  4. ^ With the respective catalogue numbers: US Capitiol SW-3414[40] and UK Apple PCS 7165.[41]
  5. ^ While "Mind Games" was the single in other countries, "Bring on the Lucie (Freeda Peeple)", backed with "You Are Here", was a single in Venezuela.[25] (Venezuela Apple 4AP 1844)[25]
  6. ^ US Capitol SN-15968[6]
  7. ^ UK Music for Pleasure MFP 5058[6]
  8. ^ UK EMI JLB8[58]
  9. ^ UK Parlophone CDP 7 46769 2[59]
  10. ^ One of the demos, a home demo of "Meat City", features a lyric-less melody that would later be used as a countermelody for "Steel and Glass".[36]
  11. ^ Europe EMI 7243 5 42425 2 6[11]
  12. ^ US Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 761[61]
  13. ^ US Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab MFSL 1–293[62]
  14. ^ US Capitol 5099990650321[63]
  15. ^ Europe EMI 5099990650925[64]
Citations
  1. ^ a b c Cepeda, Adrian Ernesto. ""Bring on the Lucie": Lennon's Last Overtly Political Stand". PopMatters. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0.
  3. ^ a b c Edmondson, Jacqueline (2010). John Lennon: A Biography (illustrated ed.). Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-313-37938-3.
  4. ^ a b Pang, Loving John, Warner Books, 1983 ISBN 0-446-37916-6
  5. ^ Blaney 2005, pp. 127–28
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Blaney 2005, p. 128
  7. ^ Kane, Larry (2007). Lennon Revealed (1st pbk. ed. 2007. ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Running Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-7624-3404-6.
  8. ^ a b Noyer, Paul Du (2010). John Lennon: The Stories Behind Every Song 1970–1980 (Rev. ed.). London: Carlton Books. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-84732-665-2.
  9. ^ a b c Edmondson, Jacqueline (2010). John Lennon: A Biography (illustrated ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-313-37938-3.
  10. ^ a b Burlingame, Jeff (2010). John Lennon: "Imagine" (Library ed.). Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-7660-3675-8.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Calkin, Graham. "Mind Games (song)". Jpgr.co.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  12. ^ a b c Blaney 2005, p. 126
  13. ^ Rogan, Johnny (1997). The Complete Guide to the Music of John Lennon. Omnibus Press. p. 79. ISBN 0-7119-5599-9.
  14. ^ a b Urish, B. & Bielen, K. (2007). The Words and Music of John Lennon. Praeger. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-275-99180-7.
  15. ^ a b c du Noyer, P. (1999). John Lennon: Whatever Gets You Through the Night. Thunder's Mouth Press. p. 74. ISBN 1-56025-210-3.
  16. ^ a b c d Blaney, John (2007). Lennon and McCartney: Together Alone – A critical discography of their solo work. Jawbone Press. pp. 81, 83. ISBN 978-1-906002-02-2.
  17. ^ a b c d Blaney 2005, p. 131
  18. ^ Jackson, Andrew Grant (2012). Still the Greatest: The Essential Solo Beatles Songs. Scarecrow Press. pp. 105–06. ISBN 978-0-8108-8222-5.
  19. ^ Rogan 2007, p. 82
  20. ^ Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years 1970–1980. Hal Leonard. pp. 348–50. ISBN 978-0-87930-968-8.
  21. ^ Urish, B. & Bielen, K. 2007, p. 52
  22. ^ a b c d e Blaney 2005, p. 134
  23. ^ Urish, B. & Bielen, K. 2007, p. 53
  24. ^ a b Schaffner, Nicholas (1978). The Beatles Forever. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. p. 163. ISBN 0-07-055087-5.
  25. ^ a b c d e f Blaney 2005, p. 132
  26. ^ a b Blaney 2005, p. 133
  27. ^ Urish, B. & Bielen, K. 2007, pp. 48–49, 61
  28. ^ Giuliano, Geoffrey (2004). Lennon in America: Based in Part on the Lost Lennon Diaries, 1971–1980. University of Michigan. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-8154-1073-7.
  29. ^ Urish, B. & Bielen, K. 2007, p. 48
  30. ^ Spizer, p. 77.
  31. ^ a b Masters, Robert; Houston, Jean (1998). Mind Games: The Guide to Inner Space (1st Quest ed.). Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Pub. House. p. XII. ISBN 0-8356-0753-4. OCLC 375606.
  32. ^ a b c Blaney 2005, p. 123
  33. ^ Miles, Barry; Badman, Keith, eds. (2001). The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 (reprint ed.). London: Music Sales Group. ISBN 9780711983076.
  34. ^ Toy, Vivian S. "A Brush With a Beatle". The New York Times. 7 March 2010.
  35. ^ Urish, B. & Bielen, K. 2007, p. 51
  36. ^ a b Urish, B. & Bielen, K. 2007, p. 54
  37. ^ Pang, May (2008). Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-37741-0.
  38. ^ Madinger & Easter, p. 90
  39. ^ Madinger, Chip; Easter, Mark (2000). Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium. Chesterfield, MO: 44.1 Productions. p. 578. ISBN 0-615-11724-4.
  40. ^ "John Lennon - Mind Games (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  41. ^ "John Lennon – Mind Games (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  42. ^ Urish, B. & Bielen, K. 2007, p. 47
  43. ^ Hunt, Chris, ed. (2005). NME Originals: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980. London: IPC Ignite!. p. 14.
  44. ^ Doggett, Peter (2011). You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup. New York, NY: It Books. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-06-177418-8.
  45. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "John Lennon Mind Games". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  46. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "John Lennon: Mind Games". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  47. ^ Doyle, Tom (November 2010). "John Lennon Signature Box". Mojo. p. 114.
  48. ^ Metzger, John (17 October 2011). "John Lennon Mind Games". The Music Box (vol. 18, no. 7). Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  49. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 667. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  50. ^ Kemp, Mark (23 October 2007). "John Lennon – Reissues". Paste. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  51. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (30 December 2002). "Mind Games Reissue". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  52. ^ Mulholland, Garry (November 2010). . Uncut. p. 108. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  53. ^ Landau, Jon (2 January 1974). "Mind Games (song)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  54. ^ Hunt, Chris, ed. (2005). NME Originals: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980. London: IPC Ignite!. p. 75.
  55. ^ Christgau, Robert (March 1974). "The Christgau Consumer Guide". Creem. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  56. ^ Carr, Roy; Tyler, Tony (1978). The Beatles: An Illustrated Record. London: Trewin Copplestone Publishing. pp. 108–09. ISBN 0-450-04170-0.
  57. ^ Woffinden, Bob (1981). The Beatles Apart. London: Proteus. p. 60. ISBN 0-906071-89-5.
  58. ^ a b Blaney 2005, p. 203
  59. ^ "John Lennon – Mind Games (CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  60. ^ a b Blaney 2005, p. 130
  61. ^ "John Lennon – Mind Games (CD, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  62. ^ "John Lennon – Mind Games (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  63. ^ "John Lennon – Mind Games (CD, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  64. ^ "John Lennon – John Lennon Signature Box (Box Set, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  65. ^ Mind Games (song) (Inner sleeve). John Lennon. Apple Records. 1973.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  66. ^ Spizer, Bruce (2005). The Beatles Solo on Apple Records. New Orleans, LA: 498 Productions. pp. 74, 76–77. ISBN 0-9662649-5-9.
  67. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  68. ^ . RPM. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  69. ^ . RPM. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  70. ^ "dutchcharts.nl John Lennon – Mind Games". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  71. ^ "Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) – Albums Chart Daijiten – The Beatles" (in Japanese). 30 December 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2012.[permanent dead link]
  72. ^ "norwegiancharts.com John Lennon – Mind Games" (ASP). Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  73. ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (9 March 1974). "Billboard Hits of the World". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. p. 56. Retrieved 24 February 2012. mind Games. {{cite magazine}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  74. ^ "The Official Charts Company – John Lennon – Mind Games". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  75. ^ "allmusic ((( Mind Games > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  76. ^ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1973" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  77. ^ "British album certifications – John Lennon – Mind Games". British Phonographic Industry.
  78. ^ "American album certifications – John Lennon – Mind Games". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 24 February 2012.

External links

  • Mind Games at Discogs (list of releases)

mind, games, john, lennon, album, mind, games, fourth, studio, album, english, musician, john, lennon, recorded, record, plant, studios, york, summer, 1973, album, released, october, 1973, november, 1973, lennon, first, self, produced, recording, without, help. Mind Games is the fourth studio album by English musician John Lennon It was recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York in summer 1973 The album was released in the US on 29 October 1973 and in the UK on 16 November 1973 It was Lennon s first self produced recording without help from Phil Spector Like his previous album the politically topical and somewhat abrasive Some Time in New York City Mind Games received mixed reviews upon release It reached number 13 in the UK and number 9 in the US where it was certified gold Mind GamesStudio album by John LennonReleased29 October 1973 1973 10 29 RecordedJuly August 1973StudioRecord Plant New York CityGenreRockLength40 41LabelAppleProducerJohn LennonJohn Lennon chronologySome Time in New York City 1972 Mind Games 1973 Walls and Bridges 1974 Singles from Mind Games Mind Games Released 29 October 1973 US 16 November 1973 UK The album was recorded while Lennon was having difficulties with US immigration and at the beginning of his 18 month separation from Yoko Ono 1 The title track was released as a single at the same time as the album The album itself was later reissued several times throughout the 1970s and 1980s Contents 1 Background 2 Recording and content 3 Release and promotion 4 Critical reception 5 Reissues 6 Track listing 6 1 Original release 6 2 2002 reissue bonus tracks 7 Personnel 8 Charts 8 1 Weekly charts 8 2 Year end charts 9 Certifications 10 References 11 External linksBackground EditBy the start of 1973 John Lennon began distancing himself from the political and social issues he had embraced in the previous 18 months 2 It was also around this time that he and his wife Yoko Ono were going through marital problems 2 3 As Ono was completing her fourth album Feeling the Space Lennon decided he also wanted to record a new album and liked the studio musicians that their assistant and production coordinator May Pang had assembled for Ono s album 2 Shortly thereafter he asked Pang to book them for his sessions 4 Wanting to produce an album that would be more accepted than his previous politically charged commercial flop Some Time in New York City Lennon began writing and demoing a few songs for Mind Games in his Greenwich Village apartment 2 He began composing after a period of almost a year of not writing any material 3 Amid frequent court appearances battling to stay in the United States Lennon became stressed 2 a situation that was only worsened by constant surveillance by the FBI 2 3 5 due to his political activism 2 Lennon said I just couldn t function you know I was so paranoid from them tappin the phone and followin me 6 All this combined made Lennon begin to feel emotionally withdrawn 6 Lennon put his suffering aside to write the songs for Mind Games 6 writing all the songs for it in a week 7 Under the moniker of The Plastic U F Ono Band Lennon engaged the services of session drummer Jim Keltner guitarist David Spinozza Gordon Edwards on bass Arthur Jenkins on percussion Michael Brecker on saxophone Ken Ascher on piano and organ and the vocal backing of a group called Something Different 8 Difficulties between Lennon and Ono became more and more noticeable around this time 9 Just as the sessions were to get under way in June at New York s Record Plant Studios John and Yoko separated 1 At Ono s urging 9 Pang became Lennon s companion and lover in what would become an 18 month relationship later renowned as Lennon s lost weekend 10 Recording and content EditMind Games was recorded between July and August 1973 in Lennon s characteristic quick fashion and was mixed over a two week period 6 Lennon produced the album by himself 8 11 following his previous three year partnership with Phil Spector 12 When the album was remixed in 2002 many audio anomalies hidden in the original mixing were uncovered 6 Some rough mixes appear on bootlegs and on 1997 s John Lennon Anthology 6 The album continued Lennon s previous attempts to chronicle his life through his songs 9 the tone of which displays a range of mixed feelings 6 Among the sombre and melodic songs directed to Ono Aisumasen I m Sorry was originally titled Call My Name 11 13 14 a song in which Lennon was offering to comfort someone whereas the final version sees him asking for forgiveness 14 15 16 In One Day At a Time Lennon sings about his devotion to Ono 17 nb 1 Out the Blue also reflects Lennon s devotion to his wife 15 and reflects its author s self doubt as a result of their separation 16 18 Out the Blue incorporates several musical genres starting with a gentle melancholy acoustic guitar and moving through gospel country and choral music portions 19 20 21 Another love song You Are Here took its title from Lennon s one off art exhibition at the Robert Fraser Gallery 22 By the time of the Mind Games sessions the composition had gone through several different themes before Lennon settled on the theme of love and peace 22 The original master take of You Are Here featured an extra verse 23 that was about Japan and England 22 Other songs on the album are more light hearted and optimistic marking the return of Lennon s humour and wit after the uncompromising doctrine espoused on Some Time in New York City 24 These tracks include Intuition in which Lennon relates how life experience has honed his instincts and how it s good to have gotten through it 25 While demoing the song on piano in early 1973 with the lyrics still incomplete he added a few lines from two previously released tracks How from Imagine 1971 and God from John Lennon Plastic Ono Band 1970 25 Only People reflects his and Ono s personal philosophy 26 Lennon later said that it failed as a song however in an interview with Playboy he remarked It was a good lick but I couldn t get the words to make sense 26 Also appearing on Mind Games are songs that indulged Lennon s affinity for pure rock n roll such as Tight A the title of which was a pun on the expressions tight as and tight ass 27 The track is in the rockabilly style with a 1950s sound along the lines of songs that inspired Lennon in his youth 28 29 Another rock track Meat City contains lyrics more in keeping with Lennon s earlier penchant for obscure imagery over the personal 30 The song was a boogie piece until late in 1971 when it began to take its final form although with improvised lyrics 15 16 By late 1972 Lennon had rewritten the words and finished developing the melody 16 The song Mind Games with its love is the answer refrain and call to make love not war recalls Lennon s work with the Beatles in 1967 24 He started writing the track during the band s Get Back sessions in early 1969 with the title Make Love Not War Lennon finished it after reading the book Mind Games The Guide to Inner Space 12 31 nb 2 32 Lennon had recorded demos of the retitled Mind Games on 28 and 29 December 1970 at his home studio Ascot Sound Studios 33 Bring on the Lucie Freda Peeple dated from late 1971 having started out as little more than a chorus after Lennon acquired a National guitar 17 Once he had worked on the lyrics the song went from a simple political slogan to a full blown statement that hints at his earlier work such as Imagine and Power to the People 17 Only People and the three second silent Nutopian International Anthem were the only political tracks on the album 1 The latter referred to Nutopia The Country of Peace a conceptual country which the Lennons had announced at a press conference in New York City on April Fool s Day 1973 25 34 35 nb 3 I Know I Know features lyrics in which Lennon apologises for his thoughtlessness and discusses the causes of his insecurity 22 On some of the rough mixes available on bootlegs the time consuming overdubbing on the song is apparent as Lennon gradually refined the arrangement 22 The final track on Mind Games Meat City contains a Lennon curse Fuck a pig 36 sped up and backwards while the mix used as the B side to the Mind Games single gave the same treatment to the phrase Check the album 12 Rock and Roll People was also recorded during the album s sessions and given to Johnny Winter for his John Dawson Winter III album Lennon s version remained unreleased until 1986 s posthumous Menlove Ave album 6 11 Release and promotion EditTony King vice president of Apple Records in Los Angeles at the time convinced Lennon to promote Mind Games arranging interviews for Lennon with Billboard and Record World 6 He also persuaded Lennon to do a television commercial in which King dressed up as the Queen of the United Kingdom and waltzed with Lennon the commercial session can be seen in the 1988 film Imagine John Lennon 37 King reprised his role as the Queen for two radio spots promoting the album 38 Lennon created the Mind Games album cover himself hand cutting the photos The front and back covers are similar on the back sleeve Lennon is more toward the foreground representing his symbolic walking away from Ono and her apparent mountainous influence on him 4 6 Mind Games was released on 29 October in America 39 and 16 November in Britain 2 nb 4 around the same time as Ono s Feeling the Space 42 Apple Records issued the title track as a single with the release dates matching those of the album in the US and UK 32 nb 5 The single reached number 26 in the UK and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US 32 The album charted at number 13 in the UK and peaked at number 9 on Billboard s Top LP s listings 2 Although Mind Games sold better than Some Time in New York City 10 its release came and went with barely a ripple according to Beatles biographer Chris Ingham 43 Author Peter Doggett similarly writes that the album did nothing to alter Lennon s status as the least commercially successful Beatle 44 Critical reception EditRetrospective professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 45 Christgau s Record GuideC 46 Mojo 47 The Music Box 48 MusicHound Rock3 5 49 Paste 50 Rolling Stone 51 Uncut 52 Jon Landau of Rolling Stone magazine assessed the songs on Mind Games as his worst writing yet and considered that Lennon was helplessly trying to impose his own gargantuan ego upon an audience that is waiting hopefully for him to chart a new course While finding the music listenable Landau identified the album s lyrics as misguided in so underrating his audience s intelligence and added But then perhaps Lennon s didacticism preaching and banality are part of the mind game of the album s title 53 More impressed Melody Maker s Ray Coleman found that The raw nerves of a Lennon battered by America s curious logic and sheer hard heartedness seem to have spurred him to write incisively Coleman concluded of Mind Games Musically or melodically this may not be a stand out album but if you warm to the rasping voice of Lennon and like me regard him as the true fulcrum of much of what came from his old group then like any new Lennon album it will be enjoyable and even important 54 In Creem magazine Robert Christgau described the album as a step in the right direction but only a step It sounds like out takes from Imagine which may not seem so bad but means that Lennon is falling back on ideas intellectual and musical that have lost their freshness for him Still the single works and let s hope he keeps right on stepping 55 Writing in their 1975 book The Beatles An Illustrated Record NME journalists Roy Carr and Tony Tyler opined that Mind Games bears all the hallmarks of being made without any definite objective in mind other than to redeem the unpleasantness of Some Time In New York City While noting the singer s attempts to re create the lyricism and melodic inventiveness of Imagine Carr and Tyler continued The reason the total album is not more effective can be laid at the door of Lennon s personal situation and on his tendency to react to events instead of initiating them 56 In The Beatles Apart 1981 Bob Woffinden considered that aside from the excellent title track and Bring on the Lucie Mind Games consisted of so so songs that hardly lodged in the memory and that The best one can say of the album is that it s exceptionally well produced 57 In a more recent review for AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes that confusion lies at the heart of the album Lennon doesn t know which way to go so he tries everything Erlewine adds While the best numbers are among Lennon s finest there s only a handful of them and the remainder of the record is simply pleasant 45 Lennon himself later said The Mind Games single is fine but there s just no energy to sustain through the album and there s no clarity of vision That cover says more than the record to me citation needed Reissues EditThe album was reissued in the US on Capitol Records in 1978 and 1980 with the latter being a budget reissue nb 6 6 In the UK the album was reissued on EMI s budget label Music for Pleasure MFP on 28 November 1980 featuring a different album cover nb 7 6 After Lennon s death in December 1980 the album along with seven other Lennon albums was reissued by EMI as part of a box set which was released in the UK on 15 June 1981 nb 8 58 It was first issued on CD on 3 August 1987 this time on the Parlophone label nb 9 11 and several months later on 22 March 1988 in the US on the Capitol label 60 In 2002 a remixing of Mind Games for its remastered reissue containing three previously unreleased demo recordings nb 10 was overseen by Allan Rouse which was released on 21 October 2002 in the UK nb 11 11 and almost a month later in the US on 5 November 2002 60 It was reissued again by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in 2004 on CD nb 12 and LP nb 13 In 2010 the original mix was remastered as part of the re release of Lennon s entire catalogue the album was available separately nb 14 or as part of the John Lennon Signature Box nb 15 11 Track listing EditAll songs written by John Lennon Original release Edit Side one Mind Games 4 13 Tight A 3 37 Aisumasen I m Sorry 4 44 One Day At a Time 3 09 Bring on the Lucie Freda Peeple 4 12 Nutopian International Anthem 0 03Side two Intuition 3 08 Out the Blue 3 23 Only People 3 23 I Know I Know 3 49 You Are Here 4 08 Meat City 2 452002 reissue bonus tracks Edit Aisumasen I m Sorry home version 3 35 Bring on the Lucie Freda Peeple home version 1 02 Meat City home version 2 36Personnel EditPersonnel per album sleeve 65 and Bruce Spizer 66 John Lennon lead harmony and backing vocals rhythm guitar slide guitar acoustic guitar clavinet percussion Ken Ascher piano Hammond organ Mellotron David Spinozza lead guitar Gordon Edwards bass guitar Jim Keltner drums Rick Marotta drums on Bring on the Lucie and Meat City with Keltner Michael Brecker saxophone Sneaky Pete Kleinow pedal steel guitar Something Different backing vocals Roy Cicala Dan Barbiero engineers Tom Rabstanek masteringCharts EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1973 74 PositionAustralian Kent Music Report Chart 67 8Canadian RPM Albums Chart 68 69 28Dutch Mega Albums Chart 70 7Japanese Oricon LPs Chart 71 6Norwegian VG lista Albums Chart 72 7Spanish Albums Chart 73 9UK Albums Chart 74 13US Billboard 200 75 9 Year end charts Edit Chart 1974 PositionAustralian Albums Chart 67 34Dutch Albums Chart 76 51Certifications EditCertifications for Mind Games Region Certification Certified units salesUnited Kingdom BPI 77 Gold 100 000 United States RIAA 78 Gold 500 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone References EditFootnotes While he was recording the song singing in his normal vocal register throughout the recording Lennon adopted a falsetto when attempting a vocal overdub 17 He later encountered the author in a restaurant and when the author asked about Lennon s reaction to the book he replied I am one of your fans You wrote Mind Games 31 The album s inner sleeve featured a Declaration of Nutopia in which people could become a citizen of Nutopia if they spoke about Nutopia 25 With the respective catalogue numbers US Capitiol SW 3414 40 and UK Apple PCS 7165 41 While Mind Games was the single in other countries Bring on the Lucie Freeda Peeple backed with You Are Here was a single in Venezuela 25 Venezuela Apple 4AP 1844 25 US Capitol SN 15968 6 UK Music for Pleasure MFP 5058 6 UK EMI JLB8 58 UK Parlophone CDP 7 46769 2 59 One of the demos a home demo of Meat City features a lyric less melody that would later be used as a countermelody for Steel and Glass 36 Europe EMI 7243 5 42425 2 6 11 US Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 761 61 US Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab MFSL 1 293 62 US Capitol 5099990650321 63 Europe EMI 5099990650925 64 Citations a b c Cepeda Adrian Ernesto Bring on the Lucie Lennon s Last Overtly Political Stand PopMatters Retrieved 6 October 2011 a b c d e f g h i Blaney John 2005 John Lennon Listen to This Book illustrated ed S l Paper Jukebox p 127 ISBN 978 0 9544528 1 0 a b c Edmondson Jacqueline 2010 John Lennon A Biography illustrated ed Santa Barbara California Greenwood Press p 151 ISBN 978 0 313 37938 3 a b Pang Loving John Warner Books 1983 ISBN 0 446 37916 6 Blaney 2005 pp 127 28 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Blaney 2005 p 128 Kane Larry 2007 Lennon Revealed 1st pbk ed 2007 ed Philadelphia PA Running Press p 231 ISBN 978 0 7624 3404 6 a b Noyer Paul Du 2010 John Lennon The Stories Behind Every Song 1970 1980 Rev ed London Carlton Books p 82 ISBN 978 1 84732 665 2 a b c Edmondson Jacqueline 2010 John Lennon A Biography illustrated ed Santa Barbara Calif Greenwood p 152 ISBN 978 0 313 37938 3 a b Burlingame Jeff 2010 John Lennon Imagine Library ed Berkeley Heights NJ Enslow Publishers p 124 ISBN 978 0 7660 3675 8 a b c d e f g Calkin Graham Mind Games song Jpgr co uk Retrieved 27 January 2013 a b c Blaney 2005 p 126 Rogan Johnny 1997 The Complete Guide to the Music of John Lennon Omnibus Press p 79 ISBN 0 7119 5599 9 a b Urish B amp Bielen K 2007 The Words and Music of John Lennon Praeger p 49 ISBN 978 0 275 99180 7 a b c du Noyer P 1999 John Lennon Whatever Gets You Through the Night Thunder s Mouth Press p 74 ISBN 1 56025 210 3 a b c d Blaney John 2007 Lennon and McCartney Together Alone A critical discography of their solo work Jawbone Press pp 81 83 ISBN 978 1 906002 02 2 a b c d Blaney 2005 p 131 Jackson Andrew Grant 2012 Still the Greatest The Essential Solo Beatles Songs Scarecrow Press pp 105 06 ISBN 978 0 8108 8222 5 Rogan 2007 p 82 Rodriguez Robert 2010 Fab Four FAQ 2 0 The Beatles Solo Years 1970 1980 Hal Leonard pp 348 50 ISBN 978 0 87930 968 8 Urish B amp Bielen K 2007 p 52 a b c d e Blaney 2005 p 134 Urish B amp Bielen K 2007 p 53 a b Schaffner Nicholas 1978 The Beatles Forever New York NY McGraw Hill p 163 ISBN 0 07 055087 5 a b c d e f Blaney 2005 p 132 a b Blaney 2005 p 133 Urish B amp Bielen K 2007 pp 48 49 61 Giuliano Geoffrey 2004 Lennon in America Based in Part on the Lost Lennon Diaries 1971 1980 University of Michigan p 54 ISBN 978 0 8154 1073 7 Urish B amp Bielen K 2007 p 48 Spizer p 77 a b Masters Robert Houston Jean 1998 Mind Games The Guide to Inner Space 1st Quest ed Wheaton Ill Theosophical Pub House p XII ISBN 0 8356 0753 4 OCLC 375606 a b c Blaney 2005 p 123 Miles Barry Badman Keith eds 2001 The Beatles Diary After the Break Up 1970 2001 reprint ed London Music Sales Group ISBN 9780711983076 Toy Vivian S A Brush With a Beatle The New York Times 7 March 2010 Urish B amp Bielen K 2007 p 51 a b Urish B amp Bielen K 2007 p 54 Pang May 2008 Instamatic Karma Photographs of John Lennon St Martin s Press ISBN 978 0 312 37741 0 Madinger amp Easter p 90 Madinger Chip Easter Mark 2000 Eight Arms to Hold You The Solo Beatles Compendium Chesterfield MO 44 1 Productions p 578 ISBN 0 615 11724 4 John Lennon Mind Games Vinyl LP Album Discogs com Retrieved 30 January 2013 John Lennon Mind Games Vinyl LP Album Discogs com Retrieved 30 January 2013 Urish B amp Bielen K 2007 p 47 Hunt Chris ed 2005 NME Originals Beatles The Solo Years 1970 1980 London IPC Ignite p 14 Doggett Peter 2011 You Never Give Me Your Money The Beatles After the Breakup New York NY It Books p 207 ISBN 978 0 06 177418 8 a b Erlewine Stephen Thomas John Lennon Mind Games AllMusic Retrieved 15 October 2014 Christgau Robert 1981 John Lennon Mind Games Christgau s Record Guide Rock Albums of the Seventies Ticknor amp Fields ISBN 0899190251 Retrieved 5 November 2018 Doyle Tom November 2010 John Lennon Signature Box Mojo p 114 Metzger John 17 October 2011 John Lennon Mind Games The Music Box vol 18 no 7 Retrieved 16 August 2014 Graff Gary Durchholz Daniel eds 1999 MusicHound Rock The Essential Album Guide Farmington Hills MI Visible Ink Press p 667 ISBN 1 57859 061 2 Kemp Mark 23 October 2007 John Lennon Reissues Paste Retrieved 13 October 2014 DeCurtis Anthony 30 December 2002 Mind Games Reissue Rolling Stone Retrieved 10 May 2012 Mulholland Garry November 2010 John Lennon Remasters Uncut p 108 Archived from the original on 11 November 2014 Retrieved 11 November 2014 Landau Jon 2 January 1974 Mind Games song Rolling Stone Retrieved 21 December 2012 Hunt Chris ed 2005 NME Originals Beatles The Solo Years 1970 1980 London IPC Ignite p 75 Christgau Robert March 1974 The Christgau Consumer Guide Creem Retrieved 5 November 2018 Carr Roy Tyler Tony 1978 The Beatles An Illustrated Record London Trewin Copplestone Publishing pp 108 09 ISBN 0 450 04170 0 Woffinden Bob 1981 The Beatles Apart London Proteus p 60 ISBN 0 906071 89 5 a b Blaney 2005 p 203 John Lennon Mind Games CD Discogs com Retrieved 27 January 2013 a b Blaney 2005 p 130 John Lennon Mind Games CD Album Discogs com Retrieved 27 January 2013 John Lennon Mind Games Vinyl LP Album Discogs com Retrieved 27 January 2013 John Lennon Mind Games CD Album Discogs com Retrieved 27 January 2013 John Lennon John Lennon Signature Box Box Set Album Discogs com Retrieved 27 January 2013 Mind Games song Inner sleeve John Lennon Apple Records 1973 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Spizer Bruce 2005 The Beatles Solo on Apple Records New Orleans LA 498 Productions pp 74 76 77 ISBN 0 9662649 5 9 a b Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 St Ives NSW Australian Chart Book ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Top Albums CDs Volume 20 No 24 January 26 1974 RPM Archived from the original on 21 April 2014 Retrieved 7 February 2011 Top Albums CDs Volume 21 No 4 March 09 1974 RPM Archived from the original on 28 November 2011 Retrieved 7 February 2011 dutchcharts nl John Lennon Mind Games dutchcharts nl in Dutch MegaCharts Retrieved 24 February 2012 Yamachan Land Archives of the Japanese record charts Albums Chart Daijiten The Beatles in Japanese 30 December 2007 Retrieved 24 February 2012 permanent dead link norwegiancharts com John Lennon Mind Games ASP Retrieved 24 February 2012 Nielsen Business Media Inc 9 March 1974 Billboard Hits of the World Billboard Nielsen Business Media p 56 Retrieved 24 February 2012 mind Games a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a last1 has generic name help The Official Charts Company John Lennon Mind Games Official Charts Company Retrieved 24 February 2012 allmusic Mind Games gt Charts amp Awards gt Billboard Albums allmusic com Retrieved 24 February 2012 Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1973 ASP in Dutch Retrieved 2 April 2014 British album certifications John Lennon Mind Games British Phonographic Industry American album certifications John Lennon Mind Games Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved 24 February 2012 External links EditMind Games at Discogs list of releases Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mind Games John Lennon album amp oldid 1127187117, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.