Mind Games [Bonus Tracks]by Anonymous

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June 29, 2005: Considering how high the bar was set with his work with the Beatles, then with the 'Plastic Ono Band' and 'Imagine' albums (and the singles "Cold Turkey" and "Instant Karma!"), it isn't too surprising that 'Mind Games' isn't considered that great a John Lennon album. Especially coming after the still-hard-to-listen-to 'Some Time In New York City' (which is one of the more notable missteps of album rock history by a major artist), many Lennon fans probably didn't expect much from him, as it was the case also that the man himself once referred to the 'Mind Games' album as "dogs--t". Then again, Lennon was always hardest on himself (even once dismissing 'Abbey Road' as "bulls--t"). That said, 'Mind Games' surely isn't as gripping and compelling a listen as POB or Imagine, but does have some very good songs such as "Asumasen (I'm Sorry)", the title track, "Out the Blue" and "Freeda People" which to some degree retread musical waters (upon first hearing "Out the Blue" one might think of the chord changes to "Sexy Sadie"). But the arrangements and playing are all good, and make for a worthy Lennon album to get. The re-mastering is done very well, a big improvement over the original 1973 Apple LP sound.

This review was written about the CD edition.

Mind Games [Bonus Tracks]by Anonymous

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August 14, 2004: Following the sheer heart-rending brutality of "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" and the sincerely sensitive "Imagine," both qualities of which made them landmark LPs, John Lennon's third proper solo album, "Mind Games," was at the time, and still is, overlooked as a mediocre project that just serves as another addition to Lennon's legendary back catalogue. However, "Mind Games" is, in fact, an extraordinary piece of work. The production, by Lennon himself, is plain but effective, with mainly simple guitars and the odd jangling piano employed as musical aid. However, the title track features a lush string quartet much in the style of "Imagine" and "Out The Blue" boasts a heavenly choir. "Bring On The Lucie (Freda Peeple)" is a vicious, witty and hard-hitting attack on then-President Richard Nixon, one of Lennon's arch-nemeses. "Aisumasen" (which is 'I'm Sorry' in Japanese) is a tender apology to his wife Yoko, much in the style of "Jealous Guy" two years earlier. There's not much to be said for the album as a whole as it is not a definitive statement unlike either of its two predecessors and there's not much in the way of specially offensive or astounding lyrical content, it's just a great collection of songs.