John Lennon’s Mind Games album has always been ensconced at the back of his catalog in terms of quality for me. I never thought it was a horrible album; just a boring one. None of the songs really stood out from the pack the way many did on Plastic Ono Band, Imagine and Walls and Bridges. The production sounded dull, and the instrumentation seemed nothing special.
Then this July, Sean Lennon released the Ultimate Deluxe Edition of Mind Games, newly remixed and with lots of additional bonus material. It was a revelation. The fog that had hung over the record was gone, with John’s voice standing out in all its power and beauty. Similarly, the arrangements gained new definition, letting me hear what had been present all along. Even more so than the previous releases, the Ultimate Mix of Mind Games uncovered a brand new album, much better than the one Lennon had produced in 1973. I still wouldn’t call it John’s best record, but it’s definitely moved way up in my appreciation of its qualities.
Going track by track, I’ll try to explain what changed with the remix.
Mind Games: The title song may have been the single, but I think it’s one of the weakest songs on the album. The tune is too repetitious. It sounds as if John didn’t bother finishing it; he got a hook he liked and stuck with that. As far as the lyrics go, they have some nice imagery, but it’s awfully fuzzy compared with the directness of Imagine. The remix is an improvement, certainly; it brings out a lot of the detail in the instrumentation and puts John’s vocal at the forefront, while dialling down the annoying (to me) slide guitar. So it’s better, but still not one of Lennon’s classics.1
Tight A$: A fun little piece of rockabilly, with some naughty imagery. It’s a good rock and roll song. The remix brings a second guitar riff which I’d never even noticed in the old mix upfront, making a good tune even better.
Aisumusen (I’m Sorry): A beautiful ballad, and a heartfelt apology to Yoko from John. Given his recent behavior (fucking a woman in another room during a party held right after McGovern’s defeat while Yoko was stuck listening along with the other guests), he needed all the sympathy from her he could get.2 Apparently she accepted it at that time, since her voice is present from the control room on many of the outtakes. But I’m digressing. The remix took a song which I thought was lovely but minor and elevated it into a Lennon classic, with great detail on his vocal and the instrumentation, particularly David Spinozza’s guitar solo. It’s as if a fog had been lifted. This almost could have been on John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band.
One Day At A Time: A nice ballad, but nowhere near as heartbreaking as the song which precedes it. Again, the remix lifts it up from dullness into likability, at least. And they got rid of the cheesy saxophone, which to me is a plus, and dialed down the backing chorus.
Bring On The Lucie (Freda People): One of my favorites on the original album. A political tune which avoided all the dreadful clichés of Some Time In New York City. The slide guitar here draws me in, unlike on Mind Games, and John sounds a lot more lively. Again, the remix brings another guitar riff which had been buried in the production out to breathe and improve the arrangement. It also helps me hear John’s call of “Do it, do it, do it” in the background.
Nutopian International Anthem: One track which I can honestly say was NOT bettered by its remix.3
Intuition: A nice little bop about going with the flow. Minor, but fun. Even better with the remix taking off the fog of the original.4
Out The Blue: Another favorite ballad from the get-go, with gorgeous guitar work from Spinozza and equally lovely piano from Ken Ascher. His work is really highlighted in the new mixes, as is Gordon Edwards’ phenomenal bass riffing.
Only People: Sort of a peppier and less political rewrite of John’s previous single Power To The People. I like it better; it almost sounds like a McCartney song, which probably would’ve driven Lennon nuts had anyone told him as much. A keyboard driven pop number with some fun scatting from John at the end, brought out in the new mix.
I Know (I Know): Right up there with Out The Blue as far as classic status. Magnificent guitar and piano. The remix only makes it even better, like polishing a rough diamond. John’s backing vocals are brought out marvelously.
You Are Here: Another song which always struck me as dull. Pretty, but too slow; but with nice imagery. The remix improves it, but it’s still a track which I wait to be over most of the time.
Meat City: A great end to the album, it’s a marvelous chunk of rock and roll. This is the one song which I think was better in its original mix; it sounded a lot wilder. Somehow, the surprise of the transitions got lost in this remix. But it’s still a great song which seems just as relevant to today’s American political landscape as it did in Nixon’s day.
After finishing my first listen of this rediscovered Lennon album, I couldn’t wait for the other five discs of material. I, at least, was not disappointed. There’s too much to go into detail, but let me give you some idea of what each one attempted.
The Elemental Mixes: This took John’s vocal on each track and paired it with one or two instruments to highlight the interplay there. I loved this version of Mind Games far better than the original, with just Edwards’ bass, backing guitar and Ascher’s organ. Aisumasen, with John’s guitar and organ, is even more like a POB outtake. Intuition is almost like an entirely new tune. You Are Here really brings out the gorgeousness of Pete Kleinow’s steel guitar; again, I think I prefer it to the final version. Some great decisions made with these takes.
The Elements Mixes: These eliminate John’s voice entirely to focus on one or two instruments in the mix. There are some absolutely beautiful versions here, which is why I got so infuriated when one reviewer dismissed them as “the disc you’ll listen to the least”. Not me. The organ on Mind Games makes it sound like a Bach hymn. One Day At A Time sounds much better with just an electric piano playing the tune. The bass and bongos along with Something Different’s backing vocals on Bring On The Lucie make it sound like a reggae classic. Out The Blue shows what a great player Ken Ascher was, as good as the far better known Nicky Hopkins.
The Evolution Documentary Mixes: This takes each tune from its beginnings as a demo all the way through to its final take. If you’re interested in the recording process, these are invaluable. This is where Yoko’s input can be clearly heard, putting the lie to the claim that they’d already separated when this album was recorded. (It did happen shortly after its release.)
The Raw Studio Mixes: This showcases the final songs without overdubs or “sweetening”, illustrating what they sounded like as John sang and played in the studio. He sounded as if he was having a lot of fun, although it was all done in one week.5
The Out-Takes: Just what the title says. You can hear John singing One Day At A Time in his standard vocal rather than a falsetto, which is an improvement as far as I’m concerned. You can also hear John and Yoko’s press conference from April 1st, 1973, where they announce the creation of their conceptual country Nutopia. How much you enjoy this disc, again, depends on how polished you like your music and how involved you want to be with seeing the sausage made. I think it’s neat.
Mind Games was originally released October 29th, 1973, and suffered in comparison both to John’s previously released Imagine and Paul, George and Ringo’s solo albums of the year.6 I am so glad that this project has rescued it from the dustbin and highlighted how much beauty there was on the record.
(spoiler follows in the footnote, since I still don’t know how to do spoilers on WordPress)7