Mind Games -The Ultimate Collection Deluxe Box Set

Whether you count ‘Mind Games’ as being the eighth or fourth John Lennon ‘solo’ album doesn’t really matter. Whatever your thoughts on that should be put to one side, as we can all enjoy the third box set in the ‘Ultimate’ series. Available in a variety of releases, including a ‘Super Deluxe Box Set’ that is limited to 1,100 units and will empty your wallet of £1,350, this is the 6CD/2BDR version. Preceded by a 12” coloured vinyl EP taster in April, three of the songs here were also on the ‘Gimme Some Truth’ box set released back in 2020. You’ll need a UV light to discover the hidden songs (the 'mind games').CD1. Recorded in just 69 complete takes (from 187), the original 12 track album, though maybe it’s only 11 as one, ‘Nutopian International Anthem’, lasts just three seconds, puts his voice front and centre and sonically upgrades the sound. The hidden track here is ‘I’m The Greatest’.CD2. Elemental Mixes inhabit a world between the ultimate and element mixes that brings John’s vocal to the front, and it does show what a great singing voice he possessed. It errs towards an acoustic side by removing any drums. Take 4 of ‘You Are Here’ is a hidden track.CD3. The Elements Mix reduce the songs to as few instruments as possible that most of us didn’t realise were even there and just the heavenly sounding organ of ‘Mind Games’ will stun you. It won’t sound out of place walking down the aisle or, sadly, carried in a box. ‘Bring On The Lucie’ has female voices chanting the title over a rather funky backing of bass and bongos whilst the electric piano and bass of ‘Only People’ is rather jazzy. 'Meat City' is a forerunner of drum n bass, as that's all you hear here. Actually, sparse as it is, the Elements Mix would make one great instrumental disc. Also available, but hidden, is ‘Mellotron Magic/Weird Slide Guitar’.CD4. The Evolutionary Documentary explores the process of each song from its first demo state through to the fully-formed master via in-studio development, chat and out-takes. It’s interesting to listen to how Lennon knew how he wanted the finished track to sound even from its most embryonic state. What’s also interesting is a mostly unheard demo, ‘Sally and Billy’, evolved into the bridge of ‘Only People’ three years later.CD5. Raw Studio Mixes is before any vocal effects were added, just as if you were there in the studio. That one of the all time great singers didn’t like his voice and usually had it double tracked or layered with echo is truly surprising. Here, ‘Tight A$’ has the discarded third verse and additional guitar solo extant. An Ultimate Mix of ‘Rock N Roll People’ is the song you’ll have to find.CD6. The Out-Takes is just that. ‘Intuition’, for instance, had 26 takes, of which the master was Take 21 and the one here is Take 12. As a bonus, the single version of ‘Meat City’ is hidden whilst the out take heard here is twice as long.BR1/2. These contain High Definition 24/192 Stereo, 24/192 5.1 Surround, and 24/48 Dolby Atmos versions of all of the above tracks (including the hidden ones). In addition BR1 has a recently uncovered film of John in 1970 at the piano singing a nascent version of ‘Mind Games’ whilst an Evolution Documentary of ‘I’m The Greatest is also here, as is a jam of ‘Matchbox/That’s Alright/Heartbreak Hotel’ alongside advertising footage on BR2 All are hidden.BOOK. An edited version of the one due for release in September, it’s all about the writing and recording of the album with interviews from those involved (not all musicians) alongside previously unseen photos, lyrics, letters, original tape boxes and memorabilia from the John & Yoko archives. It also gives information on each take of each song.EXTRAS. There are always bits and pieces included in these sets. In this one, you’ll need that UV light to reveal surprises such as morse code messages and puzzles, extra text in the book and changing labels (and the eight discs here all have different designs). Also included is a reproduction of the original 1973 triptych marketing poster, postcard sized reproductions of 1973 advert artworks and a pot luck individually numbered Citizen of Nutopia ID Card (mine is #3766).VERDICT. It’s a much better listen than I thought, simply because the ‘muddiness’ from 1973 has been removed making everything sound much clearer. Also, thankfully, it doesn’t have the footprint of Phil Spector all over it. Okay, there are those who just want the original dozen songs, and they are catered for, but for hard-core Lennon fans like myself, this is the one to go for.

Nice package a must for any Lennon fan

I’ll admit that Mind Games has always been my favourite Lennon album so for me this collection is just brilliant. The reworked album is great with the little added bits where Lennon’s backing vocals are brought further forward into the mix on certain tracks but the different takes of all the songs I find fascinating. If like me you’ve always rated the Mind Games album I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. 👍🏻

Having never really connected with this album this boxset has opened up a whole new album to me. Great sound quality throughout with lots of bonus stuff on the Blu-rays.. interesting book and great music ….I Love itPSEveryone saying disc 1 is faulty it’s not those extra tracks are a mind game get it !

Did anyone else out there receive a copy with any missing discs?

Like other people have reported cd1 is defective which is very disappointing so back it goesHope they get it sorted

John Lennon's previous album before Mind Games - Some Time in New York City - led to a downturn in his fortunes commercially and artistically (despite a couple of highlights) because it was overly politicised, too ranting and even offensive. However, Mind Games - despite still not selling ubiquitously as his records as part of The Beatles - restored some of his musical pride. In a similar way to Imagine following the rawer but brilliant Plastic Ono Band, Mind Games sees Lennon settle into a mostly dreamy and tranquil groove with gorgeous keyboards/organs and heavenly backing vocals surrounding the songs. There is generally a much greater emphasis on melody than Some Time in New York City and it is richer and sweeter too. Thematically, the concept of mind games was prescient and anticipated the modern world we live in today further confirming that Lennon was a genius. However, the album was also recorded at around the start of his Lost Weekend (an 18-month separation from Yoko and affair with May Pang) so there is a personal feel to songs 3, 4, 8, 10 and 11 reflecting on the beginning of this break-up and maybe the Mind Games title is ambiguous as it could refer to not just people generally but also a relationship.The opener and title track Mind Games is a powerful message of peace and is easily up there with Lennon's best numbers and very much matches the quality of his most famous solo song Imagine. With its tuneful hook it is one of Lennon's greatest anthems and equals the brilliance of a lot of his Beatles work. Aisumasen (I'm Sorry), One Day (At a Time) and You are Here are reflective, atmospheric and pining for Yoko. Intuition is upbeat and for once optimistic about himself while Only People sees Lennon looking more outwardly at the world - both are poppy and add to the variety of Mind Games. Meanwhile, the scope and ambition of the record is realised further by the presence of two mainly acoustic, Yoko-themed ballads in Out the Blue and I Know (I Know) - the former continues the soothing ambience that mostly pervades the collection while the latter includes a mesmerising chord change.However, Mind Games is made a complete record by including three rockier songs in Tight A$, Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple) and Meat City. Tight A$ is fun and features a bluesy, rockabilly guitar riff - it is slightly reminiscent of Imagine's second track Crippled Inside too further increasing the comparisons between the two albums. The anti-war Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple) harks back to the more politicised Lennon tracks of his previous record, but it is much more successful as it represents superior songwriting and is one of the catchiest songs of his entire solo and Beatles career. The closer - about New York City - rounds off the album in a rousing way and is underrated.Although Mind Games is not totally as great as the similar Imagine it marked a considerable improvement from the disappointing Some Time in New York City. Tracks 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are all outstanding while the others are genuinely decent too. Some Beatles fanatics look down on Lennon's mid-1970s solo work and view the songs as no longer representing him at the top of his game but that only confirms how phenomenally talented he was given that even when not in his absolute peak form Mind Games is still truly very strong and well-rounded. However, as a box set re-release, the remixing on the Ultimate Mixes CD is poor, murky and flat like the original version and as there are so many extra tracks with around 20 seconds of silence after the last one perhaps that suggests that the disc is faulty. After listening to this box set, I then returned to the 2003 album re-mix and Sean Lennon's versions of 3 Mind Games songs on the 2020 compilation Gimme Some Truth and they sounded so much more sonically inviting with a greater vigour and airiness. They really extracted the full potential from the compositions while the first CD in this box set fails to at this present time. So, for now unless there is definitely a CD issue declared and a replacement disc issued, I will personally stick with the 2003 Mind Games CD. Additionally, including bonus songs from the Mind Games-era as hidden tracks is a silly gimmick and pointless because the Plastic Ono Band/Imagine box sets were great also because their extra material was more easily accessible. But including the Mind Games music video on the first Blu-ray was a true positive as it is beautifully restored and remastered with excellent visual clarity and this is impressive as it was filmed in the 1970s. Overall, the Mind Games album deserves 4 stars for the music but as the box set could be faulty given the lack of quality of the Ultimate Mixes CD in my copy anyway then as a re-release it ultimately warrants only 3 stars as it currently does not justify its hefty price.

After the breakup of The Beatles, John Lennon released two albums that were critically acclaimed and experienced strong sales. While Imagine was widely praised and regarded as up to his usual standards, Plastic Ono Band was considered too negative and too heavily influenced by Yoko. In 1972 , he released “Sometime in New York City.” Although the album sold fairly well in the United States, it received poor reception from everyone and deservedly so. It was perceived as nothing but a sellout to radical causes, and this was not an unfair assessment.In 1973 , Lennon arrived in Southern California and began recording with artists like David Bowie and Elton John. The Mind Games album was a vast improvement over anything he recorded since 1970. The lyrics as well as the tunes were original and sounded great. Most fans were thrilled because he was back on track with his music career.This box sent contains the remixed studio version of the album and several versions of the songs in their unfinished stages. It also contains a CD of music with no vocals. There are two Blue Ray CD’s and a DVD. The book and other memorabilia are interesting. Although pricey, it is worth owning.

Lennon, the best

Great package

Veramente interessante

Pour moi le meilleur de Lennon, certes imparfait mais tellement touchant.