John Lennon - Mind Games (The Ultimate Mixes)
After the hostile reaction to the politically charged Sometime in New York City, John Lennon moved away from explicit protest songs and returned to introspective songwriting with Mind Games. Lennon didn't leave politics behind -- he just tempered his opinions with humor on songs like "Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)," which happened to undercut the intention of the song. It also indicated the confusion that lies at the heart of the album. Lennon doesn't know which way to go, so he tries everything. There are lovely ballads like "Out of the Blue" and "One Day (At a Time)," forced, ham-fisted rockers like "Meat City" and "Tight A$," sweeping Spectoresque pop on "Mind Games," and many mid-tempo, indistinguishable pop/rockers. While the best numbers are among Lennon's finest, there's only a handful of them, and the remainder of the record is simply pleasant. But compared to Sometime in New York City, as well as the subsequent Walls and Bridges, Mind Games sounded like a return to form.
The Ultimate Mixes
A1 Mind Games 4:13
A2 Tight A$ 3:39
A3 Aisumasen (I'm Sorry) 4:40
A4 One Day (At A Time) 3:10
A5 Bring On The Lucie (Freda Peeple) 4:12
A6 Nuthopian International Anthem 0:04
B1 Intuition 3:11
B2 Out The Blue 3:23
B3 Only People 3:40
B4 I Know (I Know) 3:51
B5 You Are Here 4:13
B6 Meat City 2:52
The Out-Takes
C1 Mind Games (Take 7) 4:23
C2 Tight A$ (Take 6) 2:08
C3 Aisumasen (I'm Sorry) (Take 2) 4:40
C4 One Day (At A Time) (Take 18) 3:15
C5 Bring On The Lucie (Freda Peeple) (Take 15) 4:30
C6 Declaration Of Nutopia (Take 1) 1:47
D1 Intuition (Take 12) 3:31
D2 Out The Blue (Take 15) 3:03
D3 Only People (Take 12) 3:32
D4 I Know (I Know) (Take 22) 3:42
D5 You Are Here (Take 5) 10:54
D6 Meat City (Take 16) 6:03