John Lennon’s ‘Ultimate’ Mind Games

Looking into the new box set of a most underrated solo Beatle LP

September 10, 2024September 9, 2024 David Bash 1 Comment 1973, Box Set, Capitol Records, John Lennon, Mind Games, Paul Hicks, Sam Gannon, Sean Lennon, The Beatles, The Ultimate Collection

“I want you to make love, not war. I know, you’ve heard it before.”

So sings John Lennon in the refrain of the title track (which actually had been titled “Make Love, Not War”) to the album and this box set…and he’s not wrong there. We’d heard it ad nauseum from him on his past three albums, and although it’s still his credo, Mind Games is a much tamer album than its predecessors.

For the most part, gone are the acerbic, caustic attacks which were all over Imagine and Sometime In New York City, and in their place are more playful tunes like “Tight A$” and “Intuition,” and more odes to his love, Yoko, like “One Day (At A Time)” and “Out The Blue,” and lilting ballads like “You Are Here,” making the album an easier listen. The reason, however, to shell out big bucks for this box is the five discs of different mixes, taking the listener through each stage of life of every track on the album.

Disc 1 is the “Ultimate Mix,” and it’s without doubt the best CD mix this album has ever had, due to the efforts of Sean Lennon, Paul Hicks and Sam Gannon. The songs breathe a lot easier and with much less clutter than previous mixes.

John Lennon Mind Games, Capitol Records 1973

Disc 2 contains the “Elemental Mixes,” which were made specifically for this box, and display the tracks in their nascent form. The title track takes on a bit more of a reggae feel, as those guitar licks are now at the forefront, and most of the others emphasize sparse guitar licks and vocals.

Disc 3 houses the “Elements Mix,” which are instrumental versions of the albums, and are very revelatory, particularly on tracks like “Tight A$” and “I Know (I Know), which emphasizes the “I’ve Got A Feeling” guitar lines.

Most ingenious is Disc 4, the “Evolution Documentary,” which builds each track from their nascent beginnings to the step before the final mix, and this disc is probably the box set’s greatest selling point.

Disc 5 provides the “Raw Studio Mixes,” which, although not particularly “raw,” do provide the tracks shorn of their vocal effects, which is another different look, and Disc 6 is a series of the best alternate takes of each track, some of which, like “One Day (At A Time),” are in a different tempo, and also includes a fleshed out explanation of “Nutopian International Anthem” by John and Yoko!

VIDEO: John Lennon “Mind Games (The Evolution Documentary”

There are two “hidden tracks” on this box, one of which is John Lennon’s version of a song he penned for Ringo, “I’m The Greatest,” which is the opening track of the Ringo album. Lennon doesn’t sing it with quite as much “zeal,” but it’s difficult to imagine him self-aggrandizing, anyway.

Another strong selling point of Mind Games: The Ultimate Collection is the 132-page hard cover book, which is filled to the brim with previously unseen photos and studio notes from John Lennon and others involved with the project.

All in all, Mind Games: The Ultimate Collection is a brilliant look into an album which may not be the most noteworthy of Lennon’s career, but was certainly a breath of fresh air after what had come before.