John Lennon - "Mind Games" poll

this is one of the only solo albums of his I've never heard all the way through

Every time I play it I forget it's on.

not really a great fan of this one, tho i've come to love the title track after being indifferent for years.

Went with 'I Know (I Know)', but have a soft spot for both 'Out The Blue' and 'Bring On The Lucie', and of course the title track.

Overall, though, this is far from his best batch of songs, and the performances are kinda rote and anonymous. It doesn't have much spark or vibe.

^^^^ LOVE those tracks.

Not sure what I'll vote for yet. Wrote a little thing on "I Know" a couple of years ago:

http://thisiheard.blogspot.com/2012/01/john-lennon-i-know-i-know-1973.html

Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)

the bass on bring on the lucie is fuckin ACE

Really hear the production now as Spectorian. I don't know why that never occurred to me before.

Title track is such an unusual song with that circular chord progression and the three-note riff that's like a pedal point. The ambiguity of key (C or G major) is really nice.

Title track really terrific. Great tune with a bit of that eternal melancholy that's in a lot of his big solo songs. A few decent songs elsewhere, mostly the mid-paced stuff. Tight A$ and Meat City just embarrassing, so tired.

This album surprised me once I heard the whole thing. Some of this stuff is really great! Yeah I voted Bring on the Lucie cos it's the catchiest, most exciting, and flat out best Lennon political song since "Instant Karma".

"Out the Blue" is really nice. "Tight A$" is a great nod back to POB-style minimalist rock. Title track should win though.

agreed that Tight A$ really fucking sucks

ONE DAY (AT A TIME) though, is so so so so so so beautiful though, i really hope it doesn't get shut out, but i couldn't vote for anything but Bring on the Lucie

Listening to this shitty album now.

Mind Games sounds great, so it fits in with Happy Xmas and Instant Karma on greatest hits albums, but it is a pretty weak song. Take away the strings etc and the guy's just growling.

Tight A$ is bar-band schlock.

Aisumasen is kinda nice, but these Yoko songs are a bit of a drag. I feel like I myself, and millions of others, have written a zillion songs exactly like this when we're feeling drunk and lazy. Just drunk chord changes. The "All that I know" middle-eight is the best bit - that's probably the difference between a drunk legend and drunk me.

One Day At A Time is pleasant in a way but you wouldn't waste your time listening to this shit if it wasn't a Beatle.

When I listen to Bring on the Lucie I can only think about how Jarvis Cocker ripped it off for his solo/Nancy Sinatra single Don't Let Him Waste Your Time. All of these things are boring.

Intuition is a cute song. I like the fast-fingered keyboard stuff.

Out The Blue is proper Beatles stuff. If George and Paul were around it could be really great, but it's nice enough anyway.

Only People is mostly a bad way to spend a few minutes. The lead up to "We... don't... need... no... big brother scene" promises excitement but it doesn't arrive.

I Know is another proper Beatles one. That intro's from Two of Us, isn't it? Maybe something else. This "Today I love you more than yesterday" stuff makes me sick.

You Are Here is nice! But more Yoko lyrics. It's sort of fucked up. The guy's only 33 or something but he sounds about 60, totally defeated.

Meat City is total garbage.

Haven't listened to this album in two decades but that last breakdown seems close to what I remember.

I Know is another proper Beatles one. That intro's from Two of Us, isn't it? Maybe something else.

"i've got a feeling." and they're in the same key, which makes it even more obvious.

Oh man, "Only People" totally delivers in my book. Forgot about that one.

Tight A$ and Meat City just embarrassing, so tired.

― Eyeball Kicks, Saturday, May 24, 2014 5:28 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, totally agree. They're the kind of "rockers" that Lennon could have written in his sleep, especially the former. There's nothing that particularly makes them stand out from other tracks that he did in this mould... at least you could say on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band that tracks like 'I Found Out' and 'Well Well Well' had an edge to them. In spite of the 'tight as'/'tight ass' pun on the former, and the backwards "fuck a pig" moment on the latter, these "rockers" are so damn toothless.

I find 'Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)' to be a bit of a tuneless dirge as well, and find it more annoying rather than affecting. If we're talking about Lennon's "temporary separation from Yoko" songs, then 'What You Got' from Walls and Bridges is undoubtedly his most effective for me... at least you can feel the desperation and passion in Lennon's vocal on that one. 'Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)' comes across as a bit half-hearted to me.

Really hear the production now as Spectorian. I don't know why that never occurred to me before.

― timellison, Saturday, May 24, 2014 5:11 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh, this was one of the most obvious things about the album to me when I first heard it. It's almost an attempt to make Imagine again, in order to regain some ground he lost with Some Time In New York City.

Actually, I'd like to retract my vote for "Aisumasen" - I was confusing it with "Bless You" off Walls & Bridges. I get Mind Games and the W&B mixed up all of the time.

Gonna repeat that I "Tight A$" since it seems to be getting a bunch of hate. But "Only People" is pure drivel.

I mean I like "Tight A$".

'alright team, lennon says he wants it to be him standing in a field with yoko as the mountain. and oh yeah there are two suns.'

-5 minutes later-

http://www.beatlesbible.com/wp/media/john-lennon-mind-games.jpg

The version I was listening to is the 70s cheapo vinyl reissue with the rejigged cover, even worse:

http://i.imgur.com/83z7rAC.png

music for pleasure! never seen that before.

i like the original cover. however, I don't like this album at all bar the title track.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Going with the title track, can't be bothered to sift through the others.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

you guys really think this album sucks that much?

Haha! Two votes for 'Nutopian International Anthem'!

lol...touche

also Meat City fucking rules it's one of the best songs on here

"check .. the .. b .. side .. "

is that written in the runoff groove? or just super quiet? i played the nutopian international anthem last night at 4am, stereo full blast, heard nothing, then had a heart attack when Intuition thundered out of my speakers

War on Drugs does a big crowd-pleasing cover of Mind Games live these days

yes this album is not very good. walls and bridges stomps all over it.

Meat city has a backward message on it. The version on the b-side of the single is different to the album version.

*cookie*

wrong album!

This is great and I’m surprised it isn’t better known. New (?) footage looks good too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuCTkJOJRsQ

That's a nice and full mix!