- Mind Games
-
This article is about the John Lennon album. For the title track, see Mind Games (song). For other uses, see Mind Games (disambiguation).
Mind Games 
Studio album by John Lennon Released 2 November 1973 (US)
16 November 1973 (UK)Recorded Record Plant Studios, New York, July – August 1973 Genre Rock Length 40:41 Label Apple/EMI Producer John Lennon John Lennon chronology Some Time in New York City
(1972)Mind Games
(1973)Walls and Bridges
(1974)Singles from Mind Games - "Mind Games"
Released: 16 November 1973
Mind Games is John Lennon's fourth post-Beatles album, and was recorded and released in 1973. Like his previous album, the politically topical and somewhat abrasive Some Time in New York City, Mind Games was poorly received by music critics. It reached #13 in the UK and #9 in the US, where it went gold.
The release of the album marked the beginning of Lennon's 18-month separation from Yoko Ono.[1]
Contents
Background
In mid-1973, as Yoko Ono was completing her fourth album, Feeling the Space, Lennon decided he also wanted to record a new album. He liked the musicians assembled for Ono's album by their assistant and production coordinator, May Pang, and he asked Pang to book them for his sessions. Lennon then quickly wrote the songs for Mind Games.
Just as the sessions were to get underway in June at New York's Record Plant Studios, the Lennons separated.[1] With Ono's approval, Pang would become Lennon's companion and lover in what would become an 18-month relationship known as Lennon's 'lost weekend'. Lennon's design for the Mind Games sleeve represented his symbolic walking away from Ono and her apparent mountainous influence on him.
Under the incarnation 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, and the vocal backing of a group called Something Different. Lennon produced the album without the aid of Phil Spector.[2]
Songs
The tone of this album ranges from somber and melodic songs directed to Ono ("Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)", "One Day at a Time", "Out The Blue", and "You Are Here"), to more light-hearted and optimistic tracks ("Intuition", "Only People") and a few that indulge Lennon's affinity for pure rock 'n' roll ("Tight A$" and "Meat City").
The title track (with its "love is the answer" refrain and call to "make love not war") was begun during the Beatles' Let It Be sessions, and became a Top 20 US hit.
"Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)", "Only People" and the three-second silent "Nutopian International Anthem" were the only political tracks on the album.[1] The latter referred to “Nutopia: The Country of Peace”, a conceptual country which the Lennons had announced at a press conference in New York City on April Fool's Day 1973.[3]
Mind Games's closer, "Meat City", contains a Lennon curse, ("Fuck a pig!"), sped up and backwards-masked, while the mix used as "Mind Games"'s single B-Side gives the same treatment to the phrase "Check the album!"
Reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[4]Rolling Stone (2002) [5]Rolling Stone magazine assessed the album as "his worst writing yet" and found Lennon to be "helplessly trying to impose his own gargantuan ego upon an audience ... waiting hopefully for him to chart a new course".[6]
Writing for Allmusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote of the album ; "While the best numbers are among Lennon's finest, there's only a handful of them, and the remainder of the record is simply pleasant."[4]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by John Lennon.
Side one No. Title Length 1. "Mind Games" 4:13 2. "Tight A$" 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 No. Title Length 7. "Intuition" 3:08 8. "Out the Blue" 3:23 9. "Only People" 3:23 10. "I Know (I Know)" 3:49 11. "You Are Here" 4:08 12. "Meat City" 2:45 Bonus tracks on 2002 re-issue No. Title Length 13. "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" (Home version) 3:49 14. "Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)" (Home version) 4:08 15. "Meat City" (Home version) 2:37 Personnel
- John Lennon: lead, harmony and background vocals; rhythm, slide and acoustic guitar; clavinet and percussion.
- Ken Ascher: piano, hammond organ and mellotron.
- Jim Keltner: drums.
- Rick Marotta: drums on "Meat City" with Jim Keltner.
- Gordon Edwards: bass.
- David Spinozza: lead guitar.
- Arthur Jenkins: percussion
- Sneaky Pete Kleinow: pedal steel guitar.
- Michael Brecker: saxophone.
- Something Different choir: background vocals.
Charts
Chart positions
Chart (1973/74) Position Australian Kent Music Report Chart[7] 8 Canadian RPM Albums Chart[8][9] 28 Dutch Mega Albums Chart[10] 7 Italian Albums Chart[11] 14 Japanese Oricon LP Chart[12] 6 Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[13] 7 UK Albums Chart [14] 13 U.S. Billboard 200 [15] 9 Year-end charts
Chart (1974) Position Italian Albums Chart[11] 30 Certifications
Region Certification United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Gold United States (RIAA)[17] Gold Aftermath
In 2002, Yoko Ono supervised a remixing of Mind Games for its remastered reissue with three previously unreleased demo recordings; it was reissued in 2005 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. In 2010, the original mix was remastered as part of the re-release of the entire John Lennon catalogue.
Notes
- ^ a b c Cepeda, Adrian Ernesto. ""Bring on the Lucie": Lennon's Last Overtly Political Stand". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/133566-bring-on-the-lucie-lennons-last-overtly-political-stand. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
- ^ John Lennon: The Complete Guide
- ^ Toy, Vivian S. "A Brush With a Beatle," New York Times. March 7, 2010.
- ^ a b Allmusic review
- ^ Rolling Stone (2002) review
- ^ Landau 1974.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176.
- ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 20, No. 24, January 26, 1974". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4961a&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
- ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 21, No. 4, March 09 1974". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4985b&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl John Lennon - Mind Games" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Lennon&titel=Mind+Games&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- ^ a b "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1974" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1974.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
- ^ a-ビートルズ "- Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) - Albums Chart Daijiten - The Beatles" (in Japanese). 2007-12-30. http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/album/al_beatles.html a-ビートルズ. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com John Lennon - Mind Games". http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Lennon&titel=Mind+Games&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- ^ "Chart Stats - John Lennon - Mind Games". UK Albums Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=37632. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Mind Games > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r11525/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
- ^ "British album certifications – John Lennon – Mind Games". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Enter Mind Games in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
- ^ "American album certifications – John Lennon – Mind Games". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Mind+Games%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
References
- Landau, Jon. Rolling Stone. Mind games; 3 January 1974 [cited 5 September 2011].
John Lennon Studio albums With Yoko Ono Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins · Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions · Wedding Album · Some Time in New York City · Double Fantasy · Milk and Honey · Double Fantasy Stripped DownLive albums Compilations Shaved Fish · The John Lennon Collection · Menlove Ave. · Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon · Wonsaponatime · Instant Karma: All-Time Greatest Hits · Acoustic · Peace, Love & Truth · Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon · Power to the People: The HitsSoundtracks Imagine: John Lennon · The U.S. vs. John LennonBox sets Books Films How I Won the War (1967) · Two Virgins (1968) · No. 5 (1968) · Honeymoon (1969) · Freedom (1970) · Fly (1970) · Legs (1970) · Apotheosis (1970) · Erection (1971) · Imagine (1972) · Dynamite Chicken (1972) · Oh! Calcutta! (1972) · John and Yoko: A Love Story (1985) · Imagine: John Lennon (1988) · In His Life: The John Lennon Story (2000) · The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006) · The Killing of John Lennon (2006) · Chapter 27 (2007) · I Met the Walrus (2007) · Nowhere Boy (2009) · Lennon Naked (2010)Family Alfred Lennon (father) · Julia Lennon (mother) · Mimi Smith (aunt) · George Smith (uncle) · Julia Baird (half-sister) · Cynthia Lennon (1st wife) · Julian Lennon (1st son) · Yoko Ono (2nd wife) · Sean Lennon (2nd son)Related PeopleThe Beatles · Lennon–McCartney · May Pang · Harry Nilsson · John Sinclair · Rosaura Lopez · Frederic Seaman · Plastic Ono Band · Mark David ChapmanMediaThe Lost Lennon Tapes · Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music (concert) · ROOTS: John Lennon Sings The Great Rock & Roll Hits · Pussy Cats · Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon · Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur · The 30th Annual John Lennon Tribute: Live from the Beacon Theatre, NYC · A Toot and a Snore in '74 · Lennon (musical) · Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon (DVD) · The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll CircusArticlesCategories:- Albums certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
- Albums certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
- John Lennon albums
- 1973 albums
- Apple Records albums
- Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab albums
- Albums arranged by John Lennon
- Albums produced by John Lennon
- EMI Records albums
- "Mind Games"
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
