John Lennon - Mind Games (The Ultimate Collection) (2024)

John Lennon’s 1973 album Mind Games will be reissued in July across numerous physical formats including a 6CD+2blu-ray deluxe edition and super deluxe edition which is limited to 1100 units worldwide.

Mind Games was John’s fourth solo album and was issued in late October 1973, about six weeks before McCartney’s Band on the Run, for some solo Beatles context. There was only one single from the album, its title track, which was a top 20 hit in America and a top 20 hit in the UK.

John was 33 at the time and found himself in personal and political upheaval. A years-long deportation battle with U.S. immigration continued to rage on while his anti-Vietnam war activism, and overtly political messages on 1972’s, Sometime in New York City (touted for a while as the next Lennon box set) made him a target of a newly elected Richard Nixon, leading to surveillance by the FBI.

Against this backdrop Lennon entered NYC’s Record Plant in August ’73 with musicians including drummer Jim Keltner, guitarist David Spinozza (who played on Macca’s Ram album), pianist Ken Ascher, bassist Gordon Edwards, pedal-steel player ‘Sneaky’ Pete Kleinow, saxophonist Michael Brecker, drummer Rick Marotta (he played on only a couple of tracks), and backing vocalists Jocelyn Brown, Christine Wiltshire, Angel Coakely and Kathy Mull.

If you have bought the Imagine, Gimme Some Truth or Plastic Ono Band reissues you’ll have an idea what to expect from the Mind Games reissue. It’s “fully authorised” by Yoko Ono Lennon and produced by Sean Ono Lennon, who oversaw the creative direction. In terms of audio, everything has been completely remixed (from the original two-inch multi-track session tapes) and expanded for a deep listening experience both for stereo and immersive Dolby Atmos. Engineer Paul Hicks and mixers/engineers Sam Gannon and Rob Stevens were the team that worked on the audio.

The reissue, in deluxe set guise, at least, explores the album’s 1973 recording sessions at the Record Plant in New York City, from inception to the final master, through scores of unreleased outtakes, unadulterated versions, instrumentals, stripped down mixes, studio chatter and more, revealing how the songs evolved and came to life.

Yoko Ono Lennon says: “John was trying to convey the message that we all play mind games. But if we can play mind games, why not make a positive future with it – to be a positive mind game? ‘Mind Games’ is such an incredibly strong song. At the time, people didn’t quite get the message because this was before its time. Now, people would understand it. I don’t think in those days people knew they were playing mind games anyway.”