The 9th October would have marked John Lennon’s 84th birthday. It has been celebrated by Sean and Yoko Ono with the release of a series of alternate mixes, derived from his 1973 LP – and fourth solo work – Mind Games.
I used this occasion to re-visit the album – the first Lennon ever self-produced, with the help of Yoko Ono and the genius wall-of-sound creator (and murderer) Phil Spector. This LP was to mark the start of Ono’s increasing creative involvement, who by late 1980 had graduated to a singing role, on ‘Double Fantasy’.
Following its release, Mind Games suffered mixed reviews, and peaked at number 9 in the US, where Lennon was living at the time. It did not enter the top 10 in the UK. With the advantage of perspective, it is clear now how politically poignant Mind Games was, it lamenting the end of the Flower Power movement – “now we are hipper, we’ve been through the trip, we can fly right on through” – and casting a hopeful eye over the choppy waters ahead.
As it invariably does, the political proved personal, and Lennon used the album to work through his famed, 18-month, outwardly painful, schism from Ono – which he later dubbed “the lost weekend.” His heartbreak and regret is masterfully injected into cuts such as One Day at A Time, Out Of The Blue, You Are Here, and Aisumasen: “When I hurt you and cause you pain, darling I promise I won't do it again. Aisumasen Yoko.”
There’s commentary on the outside world, too, and the year ‘73 did not leave Lennon wanting for material. There was Nixon’s ceasefire in Vietnam, the stoppage of Cambodia’s bombing by the US Senate, the holding of diplomats in Sudan by Palestinian gunmen, Watergate, northern Ireland’s vote for union, the sunset of British empire over the Bahamas, the Chile coup, IRA bombings in London, the assassination of the Spanish prime minister, and the deposition of the Greek president. These flavours of turmoil and release can be tasted on tracks such as Meat City, Only People, and Bring On The Lucy: “You slip and you slide down the hill, on the blood of the people you kill.” In some cases, Lennon’s calls to “make love, not war”, were heeded, in some, they were not. He was present at the marches – hand in hand with Ono – anyway.
Nutopian International Anthem, nestled at the very centre of the album, goes a long way to encapsulate the underlying, albeit nebulous, philosophy – in just a few seconds of silence. “Nutopia”, translating literally to no place, is a conceptual country unveiled by Lennon and Ono to the press in the spring of ‘73. Its flag is white, its anthem empty; it lacks land, leaders, and boundaries. Depending on one’s perspective, Nutopia is either a much-needed rallying cry for neutrality, non-intervention, and pacifism, or a thinly-veiled attempt to win Lennon and his wife American citizenship. Before he died, Lennon proclaimed “We put the [Nutopia] thought out, and we’ll react to whatever the reaction is.” I like to imagine the operative prefix to be “Nut”, rather than “Nu” – but slice it as you will.
Brushing the logistics of economic organisation aside, we come to the sound of Mind Games. Lennon’s writing remains as satisfyingly simple as it was on ‘Plastic Ono Band’, and – thanks to the authenticity of the delivery and lyrics – is unencumbered by shelf-life. The vocal is charmingly untrained, the arrangements are novel, and the production – gladly forgetting the original, messy mix by Lennon himself – is colourful. During the 41-minute run-time, we are treated to a salad of sonics, from gospel choirs, to tremoloed laughter, lapsteels, uprights, slap-back snares, clavinets, sax, and wicked guitar solos. Where would Bowie’s Sound and Vision be without Intuition? Where would the new Alex Turner be without Aisumasen? Where would Richard Ashcroft be without Freda People?
In the wake of Lennon’s 84th birthday, and the re-launch of Mind Games into the zeitgeist, I find myself asking: What is Lennon’s legacy? Like many of the greats’, it’s chequered. In private circles, there’s every reason to believe he was a bigot and, by his own admission in an interview two days before his assassination in ‘80, “a hitter”. In public spheres, however, he was a transcendentally gifted and prolific songwriter, of a class hardly surpassed since.
The endless series of covers and mixes that have proceeded and graced this great, overlooked album, reveal it to be a work that is exquisitely honest, undyingly dynamic and limitlessly relevant.
For a glance at Lennon’s studio craft, listen to Mind Games, The Out-Takes: https://open.spotify.com/album/7siv5Sj2hLQDly4iWBht4A?si=MBr11S2PTFS-c6nt7zEUAw
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