John Lennon's Mind Games

For once, OTM.

Does anyone have any interviews in which he specfically praises Wire and Joy Division? I assumed this was urban legend (he did, however, cite The B-52's ["It sounds just like Yoko's music!"] and Lene Lovich).

btw I didn't know #9 dream was underrated? I've always liked it - it's definitely aimed at George, right?

I'm in a minority, but Watching the Wheels, always struck me as superior Lennon filler rather than a good song. I agree with Albert Goldman that I'm Losing You is the last good song he wrote.

There certain songs on Mind Games I like just fine, but there's too much filler and the production drains the life out of the good songs.

I think you have to give Lennon more credit for WOTI than simply guitar and keyboards. Jack Douglas said many years ago that whilst it was Yoko's song, he was the driving force behind it, and I think its a fairly clear pointer to where he wanted to go. Lets face it, you can draw a fairly direct line from from Cold Turkey and POB to a song like walking on Thin Ice...much more so than Double Fantasy which is the one album from his post Beatles work that doesn't really fit with the others.

If he had died in 1970, this might have seemed a natural progression. However, he lived for ten years more, and just prior to his death, he recorded the slick (but great) pop album "Double Fantasy", which doesn't give too many hints in that particular musical direction.

Dunno, there seem to be plenty of clues here and there that he was less than happy with the Double Fantasy sound, and perhaps would've liked a rawer sound..whether thats true or not, I guess we will never know.

By 1980, art rock was arguably at its critical height: Bowie was releasing Scary Monsters, Talking Heads with Remain In Light etc etc. It was very much in the air. But instead, Lennon put out an album that was almost the antithesis of all that.

And he had been doing for quite some time. Before his late 70s "housewife years", he released "Mind Games", "Walls And Bridges" and a contractual obligation album of old rock'n'roll covers, none of which were exactly avant garde. And, judging from the "Double Fantasy" album, his wife - which was the one who turned him into all that crazy stuff in the first place - was getting increasingly softer too.

Reminded again how much I like this album!

Listening to the clips of the 2010 remaster on iTunes - sounds OK but I wonder if it's clipping in spots (end of clip on "Only People")? Never heard the remixed version (the 2002 CD). New version is the original mix.

Anyone read Tim Riley's new bio? It's fantastic -- as magisterial and insightful as Tell Me Why.

"Aisumasen" sounds distorted, too...

this thread was pretty interesting until Geir showed up

This album's pretty awesome.

The Andy Peebles interviews and His Last Official Interview are all back on YouTube.

still waiting for the reissue of Live Peace In Toronto

I haven't seen this before. John & Yoko on the David Frost show in August 1968 discussing the You Are Here show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wVkgz9qCTZg#!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVkgz9qCTZg&feature=youtu.be

new mix too pretty
https://open.spotify.com/track/4LgPHW98WGoir4NVH4ewLF?si=HfxNvlC5T4myVDXPCo8l2w

https://storeuk.johnlennon.com/products/mind-games-the-ultimate-mixes-super-deluxe-box-set

a $1,700 deluxe edition housed in a reproduction of a 1968 Yoko art piece?

satisfying assembly video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDkE8U_adTE

but aah lol

lol i had to roll my eyes when it revealed it's just two CDs and two LPs ...

this is the only solo john i revisit with any regularity. love this record

kind of hilarious that the most elaborate box is for one of his least necessary and loved albums.

for such a middling album

take it back!

https://store.johnlennon.com/collections/apparel/products/the-great-seal-of-nutopia-t-shirt

I checked on Discogs and I don't think there's any version of the 2002 mix that's not at collector prices.

That shirt rules but look at this dumb marketing of mindfulness shit

https://store.johnlennon.com/products/mind-games-meditation-stones

Why would you need stones to meditate?

Some kind of category error for "stones" there, maybe it focuses the mind on the illusion of materiality.
https://store.johnlennon.com/cdn/shop/files/PRODUCT_JLEN24_ECOMM_MINDGAMES_STONES-2.png

John Lennon’s rogue-like trading card Games

I always loved the songwriting on this album, but disliked the arrangements and production. But the "Elemental Mix" from the big box (CD2), which strips the arrangements down to almost nothing, and keeps the focus on John's vocals, is gorgeous. I'd say it's exactly what I always hoped this album could be, but no, it's *cooler* than what I imagined. I'll keep around the original version of the title track for the organ riff (which, it turns out, you can excise from the song and still have an awesome song), but otherwise, this is all I'll need henceforth thanks very much.

It's funny how much it sounds like a more tropical/happy-go-lucky version of Roger Waters' solo work. I remember reading somewhere about Roger's love for Isolation from Plastic Ono Band, and then listening to Isolation with that in mind, and thinking, "Sure enough. The Wall and The Final Cut and Amused to Death, they're all right here." Getting that feeling again big-time with this Elemental Mix.

New favorite Lennon album.

Had the same problem, will need to listen to that.

Stripped down elemental makes it much more like Plastic Ono Band, albeit with a somewhat different vibe.

Never noticed all the reggae guitar in the release mix, is it even there at all, just buried?

What's the difference between Elemental and Elements?

elements removes most of the singing as well as everything else removed from the elemental mix, so it is more of a collection of chillout instrumentals

tear down this wall of sound!!

enjoyable listen indeed, and yeah had never noticed those guitars

it does sound more like (well what it is) the final product stripped stripped of a lot of channels that however noisy were pretty integral to how these versions of the songs worked, i don't really think one day at a time and fredapeople work this way

would probably prefer demo versions