Mind Games
Encyclopedia
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
.
, 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. 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
.
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. 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.
Mind Gamess 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!"
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".
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."
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
'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
Some Time in New York City
Some Time in New York City was released in 1972 and is John Lennon's third post-Beatles album, fifth with Yoko Ono, and third with producer Phil Spector...
, Mind Games was poorly received by music critics. It reached #13 in the UK and #9 in the US, where it went gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
The release of the album marked the beginning of Lennon's 18-month separation from Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
.
Background
In mid-1973, as Yoko Ono was completing her fourth album, Feeling the SpaceFeeling the Space
Feeling the Space is Yoko Ono's fourth album, her last one on Apple Records and her last release of the 1970s. . The entire album adopts a feminist theme, focusing on the plights of women in the 1970s...
, 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
May Pang
May Fung Yee Pang is best known as the former girlfriend of John Lennon. She had previously worked as a personal assistant and production coordinator for Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono....
, 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
Record Plant Studios
The Record Plant was a series of three famous recording studios which were founded by Gary Kellgren and Chris Stone, beginning in New York City in 1968. The next year, Kellgren and Stone opened a second studio in Los Angeles. In 1972, the company expanded again with a third location in Sausalito,...
, the Lennons separated. 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
Jim Keltner
James Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...
, guitarist David Spinozza
David Spinozza
David Spinozza is an American musician , who worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album Walking Man....
, Gordon Edwards on bass, Arthur Jenkins
Arthur Jenkins (percussionist)
Arthur Eugene Jenkins, Jr. was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger and percussionist who worked with many popular music icons such as John Lennon, Harry Belafonte, Bob Marley and Chaka Khan....
on percussion, and the vocal backing of a group called Something Different. Lennon produced the album without the aid of Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
.
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. 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.
Mind Gamess 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
Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
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".
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."
Track listing
Personnel
- John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
: lead, harmony and background vocals; rhythm, slide and acoustic guitar; clavinet and percussion. - Ken AscherKenneth AscherKenneth "Kenny" Lee Ascher , is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger who is active in jazz, rock, classical, and musical theater genres — in live venues, recording studios, and cinema production. He is widely known for co-writing, with Paul Williams, The Rainbow Connection...
: piano, hammond organ and mellotron. - Jim KeltnerJim KeltnerJames Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...
: drums. - Rick MarottaRick MarottaRick Marotta is a US-based drummer and percussionist who appears on many recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Stevie Nicks, Wynonna, Roy Orbison, Todd Rundgren, Roberta Flack, Peter Frampton, Quincy...
: drums on "Meat City" with Jim Keltner. - Gordon Edwards: bass.
- David SpinozzaDavid SpinozzaDavid Spinozza is an American musician , who worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album Walking Man....
: lead guitar. - Arthur JenkinsArthur Jenkins (percussionist)Arthur Eugene Jenkins, Jr. was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger and percussionist who worked with many popular music icons such as John Lennon, Harry Belafonte, Bob Marley and Chaka Khan....
: percussion - Sneaky Pete KleinowSneaky Pete KleinowPeter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow was an American country-rock musician, songwriter, and a motion picture special effects artist...
: pedal steel guitar. - Michael BreckerMichael BreckerMichael Leonard Brecker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Acknowledged as "a quiet, gentle musician widely regarded as the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane," he has been awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer and was inducted into Down Beat Jazz...
: saxophone. - Something Different choir: background vocals.
Chart positions
| Chart (1973/74) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report Chart Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... |
8 |
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
28 |
| Dutch Mega Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
7 |
| Italian Albums Chart | 14 |
| Japanese Oricon LP Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
6 |
| Norwegian Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... VG-lista VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... Albums Chart |
7 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
13 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
9 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1974) | Position |
|---|---|
| Italian Albums Chart | 30 |