John Lennon would have been 84 years old on October 9th. It’s hard to believe that the Mind Games album from John Lennon was only his fourth proper solo album at the time of its release in 1973 and he would only release two more studio albums of original music in his lifetime. Rock ‘n’ Roll was a cover album of oldies released in 1975 and Milk and Honey was a posthumous follow-up to Double Fantasy released in 1984. His last solo album, Double Fantasy, released in 1980, and Milk and Honey were actually collaboration albums with his wife Yoko Ono. Taking the point even further, the double-album Some Time in New York City, released in 1972, contains one album of original songs and one album of live material recorded with, among others, Ono, George Harrison, and Frank Zappa.
Mind Games was written and recorded very much in reaction to the poor reception the heavily political Some Time in New York City album received. That album was a ragged political broadside that read and looked like a newspaper. This was Lennon, and also Ono, at their most political. While Plastic Ono Band was more about the personal, Some Time in New York City was more outward looking, although it did have its personal moments.
The Mind Games album is more in the vein of Imagine, but without Phil Spector producing, and with Lennon primarily producing himself, it doesn’t quite have the weight or majesty of Imagine. It does, however, still have its political moments, is an album where Lennon was clearly enjoying himself, and contains songs of Lennon’s love for Ono that were filled with a sweet, often understated charm. While the key songs are the title track “Nutopian International Anthem” and even “Meat City,” which on the outtakes disc is presented as a long take, the love songs on the album offer another side of Lennon in this post-political period.
Previous boxes of the Plastic Ono Band and Imagine albums have already been released. The Lennon estate has chosen to skip over what was the next album in Lennon’s catalog—Some Time in New York City—and instead release at this time the more accessible Mind Games. While it is understandable from various perspectives to release Mind Games now, let’s hope Some Time In New York City at some point does receive a full deluxe-edition release.
This Mind Games reissue series is available in various formats. The deluxe edition covered here for Mind Games is formatted very much like the two previous boxes in the series. Like the Plastic Ono Band box, this sturdy, 10-inch, slipcase box contains 6 CDs (in a trifold folder, that also contains a poster, two postcards, and a numbered Citizen of Nutopia Identity Card that is really a nice touch) and two Blu-rays in a folder. It also included two Blu-rays and 4 CDs. The Imagine box contained a shorter hardcover book than the 132-page hardcover books that come with the Plastic Ono Band box and 136-page book that comes with this new box.
Like the previous boxes, this box contains music that is broken up by various mixes and offers up a dissection of the music, including a new mix of the album and outtakes. The music is divided up under six categories: The Ultimate Mixes, which is a new mix of the album by Paul Hicks at the Hit Factory, with additional stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes either by or assisted by Sam Gannon, Alex Wharton, and Rob Stevens; The Elemental Mixes, which eschews drums; The Elements Mixes, featuring primarily the musicians’ instruments from the sessions; The Evolution Documentary, which contains mini audio documentaries of each song; The Raw Studio Mixes, which is somewhat live takes, without any studio effects and The Out-takes.
Each of these six mixes is on individual CDs, as well as spread across two Blu-Rays. The Blu-rays also include a remastered “Mind Games” music video and what’s called “You Are Here,” an outtake with accompanying tape boxes, music video. The music is presented in High Definition 24-192 Stereo, 24-192 5.1 Surround, and Dolby Atmos formats.
Throughout this box set there is a variety of delightful surprises in the form of Easter eggs that are musical and/or visual. The visual Easter eggs can be uncovered by the simple use of an ultra-violet light source. Small ultra-violet flashlights can be purchased for as little as $10. These hidden visuals appear primarily on the label of the discs themselves, although there are a few in the book. The Easter eggs on the discs are a bit harder and trickier to find, but to avoid spoilers, discovering these treasures will be left to those who would like to seek them out.
These box sets offer a fully immersive experience. To be able to dive so deep into the music-making process and have access to information and visual material, including never-before-seen photos from the iconic photographic chronicler of the Lennons, Bob Gruen, that elucidates the personal, historical, artistic, and political context of the environment that gave birth to the music is an unprecedented boon for Lennon fans and scholars.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A+
