John Lennon
Mind Games
(Capitol)
First Appeared in The Music Box, October 2011, Volume 18, #7
Written by John Metzger
Mon October 17, 2011, 05:30 AM CDT
When he began working on Mind Games, John Lennon had no idea that the completed project would serve as the starting point for a storyline that eventually would span three albums. At the time, he really wasn’t focused on anything. On the eve of recording the endeavor, Yoko Ono sent Lennon packing with the hope that he would sort through his demons and return a better man. Lennon documented his loneliness on Walls and Bridges, and he highlighted his reconciliation with Ono on Double Fantasy. Although both endeavors are more cohesive than Mind Games, the latter set truly is where his lengthy narrative began.
Yoko Ono’s Feeling the Space served as the impetus for Mind Games. Lennon liked the supporting cast that Ono had assembled to help create her feminist manifesto. Some of the songs he wrote served as a response to her angry words. They sound like desperate pleas to rebuild a relationship that not only had begun to crumble, but also might have been beyond repair. Aisumasen (I’m Sorry) is, of course, a blatant apology for his misdeeds, but cuts like One Day (At a Time) and Out of the Blue feel like attempts to whitewash the emotional pain and suffering that he and Ono had endured.
After taking a lot of flak for the politically-charged discourse of Sometime in New York City, Lennon pared back his insights into the external world, burying them inside the playfulness of Bring on the Lucie (Freda People) and the melodic generalizations of Mind Games’ title tune. Elsewhere, he simply reveled in the lighthearted rock of Tight A$ and Meat City. The end result, however, was that Mind Games felt scattered and unfocused. This likely was a byproduct not only of Ono’s disappearance, but also of Lennon’s deportation battle as well as the absence of an outside producer.
Lennon took full control over the creation of Mind Games. Although the act of plunging headfirst into the project served as a much-needed distraction from his problems, it clearly was more responsibility than he was ready to handle. The supporting cast of musicians did the best they could with Lennon’s material — mirroring the sonic substance of Phil Spector’s work on the title track and augmenting the gentle sorrow that flows through One Day (At a Time). Nevertheless, the distance that had crept between Lennon and Ono is reflected in the musical arrangements. The accompaniments never really elevate his lyrics; instead, they remain coldly detached from them.
Even so, as the opening salvo in a three-part opus, Mind Games has
since carved out a space that is more favorable within Lennon’s canon. At the
time, the former Beatles’ troubles were just beginning to weigh heavily upon
him, and not surprisingly, he hadn’t yet grappled with them enough to put them
into perspective. Walls and Bridges and Double Fantasy helped to
accomplish this feat. In the process, they also highlighted some of the
vulnerability that lurked within Mind Games’ ballads. Lennon hit rock-bottom during the long, lost weekend that followed the release of Mind
Games. In retrospect, the precipice on which he stood becomes apparent
within the album’s flaws. 
½
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2011 The Music Box