Is it me, or is Mind Games Lennon's blandest album?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Psychsound, Apr 6, 2019.

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  1. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    Very good analysis. My only real problem with some of the songs (in fact, only parts of them) is the lyrical "blandness". Freda People, Only People...those are two that come to mind in which some of the words and phrases were very dated by the time the album came out. Far as the rest of what you say, I agree, totally. the album is filled with basically good songs (a couple border on excellent, IMO)which were mixed very "thinly" and I'm not too crazy about the players (exempting David Spinoza who turns in one of the best guitar solos on a post-Beatles album on Aisumasen).
     
  2. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    I've had various friends who didn't like Mind Games. I think it's because it is criticized quite a bit. Every single one of them that I say that it might be my favorite and it's just a pop album, they tend to go back and wind up liking it much more than they did before. Sometimes the critics get in the way of people's attitudes of what they like and don't like. If you go into the album with a critical ear (any album), it's not going to be very good or you're just thinking about it too much. Mind Games shouldn't be thought about so much and it was probably John's intention to just make something that sounded okay while doing the dishes as opposed to going out with a blowhorn and knocking down government buildings.
     
  3. Crimson Witch

    Crimson Witch Roll across the floor thru the hole & out the door

    Location:
    Lower Michigan
    I agree with previous suggestions that Mind
    Games suffers somewhat from lackluster
    production (I suspect George Harrison isn't
    the only one whose hearing was damaged
    when Phil Spector discharged that gun inside
    the studio during sessions for 'All Things
    Must Pass'; Spector had also fired a gun in the presence of Lennon in October '73 during recording
    sessions for the latter's 'Rock 'n' Roll album), choice of session musicians,
    and John's personal difficulties in his
    marriage. I still like the album a lot in
    spite of it not being a particular favourite
    in the Lennon discography. One of the things
    it does have going for it is that it is all his
    own and not a jarring Ono-obtrusion project.
     
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2019
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  4. MPLRecords

    MPLRecords Owner of eleven copies of Tug of War

    Location:
    Lake Ontario
    Mind Games and Walls and Bridges are the only studio Lennon albums that don't feature Yoko Ono or Phil Spector.
    Make of that what you will.
     
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  5. Diamond Star Halo

    Diamond Star Halo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver
    Yes, I should have also mentioned that although the session players turned in bland, generic performances, Spinozza’s solo on Aisumasen is emotive and powerful. Credit where credit is due....

    Also, I’ve always wondered who plays the fingerpicking- style acoustic on Out of the Blue...anyone know? If it’s Lennon, I’m impressed. I love playing the song on guitar, as it has a really interesting chord progression, and some nice flourishes.
     
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  6. Bern

    Bern JC4Me

    Location:
    Allegan, Michigan
    The song "Mind Games" is one of my favorites..have never gotten tired of it. The only other song I really care for is Aisumasen. Part of it is the production...and that's on John. Sort of a snooze fest of an LP.
     
  7. Cheepnik

    Cheepnik Overfed long-haired leaping gnome

    As others have said, that dubious title goes to Double Fantasy. Some Time in New York City sucked, but it wasn't dull.
     
  8. PNeski@aol.com

    [email protected] Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I was very disappointed with most of it ,like most lps after Plastic and Imagine
    Walls is very good,and half of Double Fantasy is also excellent
     
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  9. PNeski@aol.com

    [email protected] Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I don't agree at all with that last part, Imagine is a must have
     
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  10. Spinozza would soon be Yoko's lover, the fact that he plays an emotional, brilliant solo on a song where JL is pleading for forgiveness gives the song an added frisson.

    In terms, of the players I've always thought Gordon Edwards' bass playing was slightly unhinged...there are some crazy basslines on this album
     
  11. Mr-Beagle

    Mr-Beagle Ah, but the song carries on, so holy

    Location:
    Kent
    I like a couple of tracks but it's next to the bottom of the pile for me, with STINYC occupying that spot.
     
  12. Bruce M.

    Bruce M. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hilo, HI, USA
    It's a generally weak album. It's a paint-by-numbers Lennon album. It has its moments -- Like McCartney, even Lennon's worst albums have flashes of brilliance -- but overall it's pretty underwhelming.
     
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  13. antonkk

    antonkk Senior Member

    Location:
    moscow
    My favorite Lennon album. Pure genius start to finish. And btw there is no such thing as bland Lennon album. There is nothing bland about John Lennon. If you want bland there's always Paul McCartney and at least 80 percent of his output.
     
  14. a customer

    a customer Forum Resident

    Location:
    virginia
    Mind games is just as good as living in the material world. Imo
     
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  15. johnny moondog 909

    johnny moondog 909 Beatles-Lennon & Classic rock fan

    I'm glad to hear some folks here love the Mind Games LP as is, wish I did, but I agree with the OP's premise, overall its bland.

    On the other hand i'm reading lots of posts, kinda bashing Mind Games & most or all of his post Beatles career.

    Now i'm critical of the generic & bland feel of the album, i'm lamenting about it, because i'm a Lennon fan & I know there's a great album in there somewhere, but they blew it down the stretch with the mediocre mix, the sameness of all the arrangements, instrumentation, tempo's etc. But i'm a Lennon fan & hear lots of great things, which is quite different than somebody knocking nearly everything he's done.

    It's still a good album, Lennon recording & writing on a bad day is still light years ahead of most folks on their best day.

    Someone asked about "what remix" some years ago, guessing 2000-2004 somewhere around that time frame, Yoko had all of Mind Games & parts of Walls & Bridges remixed & reissued, but subsequently went back to pushing the original mixes & deleted them, or at least they're now out of print.

    The Mind Games album remix, pushed up the vocals a bit, added a little punch & crispness, definitely a 20% improvement, but a bit too similar to the original mix imo.

    Using everything available from Mind Games, I think a more radical remix could improve it a lot more, poor John didin't live to fix it, but I wish someone else would.

    Really remix it, get rid of the bland sameness of all the tracks, strip a few down, somewhat, mix each song for what it could use, its good for albums to have stylistic & sonic continuity, but Mind Games has too much of it.
     
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  16. tages

    tages Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Completely agree with your first four sentences.

    Disagree with your last sentence which is inaccurate and unnecessary.
     
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  17. a customer

    a customer Forum Resident

    Location:
    virginia
    This album is as great as living in the material world. Imo.
     
  18. a customer

    a customer Forum Resident

    Location:
    virginia
    When you worship the beatles which I do. You worship their solo albums which i dont.
     
  19. DavidP

    DavidP Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton, Alberta
    I disagree. McCartney's body of work has been quite eclectic. He rarely does the same album twice. And often dabbles with experimental pieces while straddling the outer reaches of MOR. A highly creative artist that has always been willing to explore the entire spectrum of musical styles and has more often than not, been very successful.
     
  20. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    My only issue with it are the flower power tunes (Bring On The Lucie, Only People). They just sound preachy and a bit childlike.

    But other than that, I think there is some very good work here. Catchy tunes that you whistle the melody to later, great arrangements, the beauty of Aisumasen and the grit of Meat City. I put Double Fantasy and SINYC far below it.

    The production hasn't aged well (John was always mixing for AM radio) and I hate, hate, HATE the remix. It has John worship written all over by raising his voice too loud, negatively affecting the grooves and emotion, ESPECIALLY on Meat City. For me, I go with a contemporary US vinyl pressing to enjoy the album. Yes the bass is boxey, but these are John's mixes, in the media format he was targeting.
    Maybe yet another remix attempt will set things right...
     
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  21. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    You picked out the same songs i did for the same reason.:agree:
     
  22. rmath84

    rmath84 Forum Resident

    For me John's albums were pretty much downhill after POB. I'm surprised people are saying he never made a good solo album. I'll rely on the standard old guy response of you had to be there but POB was stunning 49 years ago. I also like Yoko, if John found love more power to him, so I found Double Fantasy a somewhat return to form.
     
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  23. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    Yea, this particular album could definitely benefit from a remix overhaul..sort of like what Steven Wilson did for Aqualung. I think the peter Cobbin remix is good for what it is...it *does* add some aural dimension to the thin flatness of the original mix..and some instrumental bits are brought out nicer..but the album honestly needs some "beefing up".
     
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  24. johnny moondog 909

    johnny moondog 909 Beatles-Lennon & Classic rock fan


    I don't know if its reasonable to compare 4 solo & 3 duet studio albums done actively over 6 years, during a 10 year period 1970-1980, versus McCartney's 26 studio albums + another dozen albums of classical, sound collage, ambient music over a 49 year period.

    Five times as much work over a span thats 5 times longer, including all the changes in recording technology, styles, society & what not.

    Maybe its reasonable to compare them between 1970-80, but even then Lennon 'retired' for at least 4 perhaps 5+ of those years. I'm not knocking you or your views, i'm saying in my world I grapple how to compare 10 years of Lennon output & nearly 50 years of McCartney fairly.
     
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  25. Bill Cormier

    Bill Cormier Forum Resident

    Location:
    Malta, New York
    I have been trying to get into since it came out! Has no spark but i do love the title cut and Meat City. The bassist always bugged me for some reason too (i am a bassist-full disclosure).
     
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