Mind Games - JOHN LENNON***

Mind Games/Tight A$/Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)/One Day (At A Time)/Bring On The Lucie (Freeda Peeple)/Nutopian International Anthem/Intuition/Out Of The Blue/Only People/I Know (I Know)/You Are Here/Meat City

Mind Games was a disappointing release from John Lennon with only the title track up to his usual standard. The final comment below draws attention to the decline in songwriting that was now becoming more apparent. (US:9 UK:13)

“Good, solid album from Lennon but off the pace of the two that preceded it. Not too many great songs here but plenty of this more than hits the spot. Definitely aimed at the mainstream.”

“Mind Games is a low key charmer that plays to Lennon's strength as a songwriter, using early rock 'n' roll forms as a launch pad for songs that feature his familiar socio-political and deeply personal lyrics. The towering title track is an instant highlight but shouldn't overshadow other great stuff like the simple beauty of One Day (At a Time).”

“Take away the magnificent title track, and I'd be thinking how could such a talented artist put together such a boring release.”

“Not a very good album from John Lennon. This album is littered with filler and really only a few tracks worth listening to. This release is a testament to the fact that in the mid 70s John Lennon was out of song ideas.”

“This album marks the fall of Lennon, with only the title track Mind Games making the grade. Things get worse when you learn that it's actually an old track he's had lying around for a few years.”

“To be totally honest, Mind Games is not one of John's most inspired efforts. But something the listener should keep in mind is that this album was recorded during a very unsettled time for Lennon. As a result, the drain on his energies caused the whole process of making music to become a chore.”

“1973 was the year in which it suddenly became all too clear that the great artists of the 1960s counterculture were not impervious or capable of keeping the masterpieces coming. A year that saw the arrival John Lennon's Mind Games is not a particularly hopeful year; it's a year where the hard truth officially dawned: the dream was over.”