"Mind Games" is a great album! I've got a vinyl 1984-reissue, and I can play it over and over and over again...

"Mind Games" got a lot of critisism. But why? Just listen to "Some Time In NY City". Is "Mind Games" not an enormous improvement? Firtst of all, there's no Yoko Ono. I certainly don't hate her (some of her songs like "Who Has Seen The Wind" are very nice) but John Lennon on a record should be just John Lennon and no one else. Secondly, the instrumentation is great on "Mind Games": no folksy guitars like on "Some Time" and no 'wall of sound' like on "Imagine" but wonderful and well-produced instruments, backing vocals, choirs... Then there are Lennon's compositions. "I Know (I Know)" is one of Lennon's most beautiful songs ever. (Though, I prefer the "Anthology"-version.) But just listen to it. IT'S MUCH, MUCH BETTER THAN "IMAGINE"!!! "Out The Blue" is very beautiful too. "Only People" is a great tune, and so is "Freeda Peeple (Bring In The Lucie)". And of course, "Mind Games" is a true gem. "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" has got a great piano bit, but it is - just like the 'throwaways' "Intuition", "Tight A$" and "You Are Here" - a weak, but acceptable song. The only really 'bad' song on "Mind Games" is "One Day At A Time". But what the heck! When you buy this record, you get 5 wonderful - great - fantastic songs!!! And who cares about the rest... Critics judged this album on the lyrics, that are - I agree - below Lennon's level. But that doesn't give them the right to turn the whole album into some piece of junk! Is "Walls And Bridges" so much better? Certainly not, but critics just like EVERY album with so called 'intellectual' song titles like "Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox)"...

So, all I am saying is "give mind games a chance"! ;-)

I'd actually give Mind Games two and a half stars if I could. This disk is worth buying, if only because "Mind Games", "Out the Blue", "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)", and "I Know (I Know)" rank up there with Lennon's greatest songs. The rest is an occasionally harsh, muddy-sounding curiosity(the cover is also garish and unappealing). Drugs and drinking, as well as John and Yoko's personal problems, were taking their toll, and the result was this overproduced album dominated by weak songs. "Freda Peeple (Bring on the Lucie)" is not only a dumb title, but it had one of John's most inane choruses ("Free da people nooooowwww/ Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it noooow")and is only partly saved by some good slide-guitar work. "Intuition", "Only People" etc., are barely recognizable as John Lennon songs, considering his classic work of the then-recent past (see "Imagine" 2 years earlier). Overall, a disappointment, but worth it if only to have those 4 great songs mentioned at the top of this review.

If not a masterwork like "Plastic Ono Band" or as heartfelt as "Imagine," John Lennon's "Mind Games" is nonetheless a thoroughly enjoyable album that does not deserve its inferior reputation. The title track is as memorable as anything he's done, and even such featherweight songs as "Intuition" and "One Day at a Time" are almost as catchy and still a little deeper than most of what Mr. McCartney was doing in the same period. The ballads like "Out the Blue" and "I Know (I Know)" are touching, and the main rocker, "Meat City," rocks as only Lennon could. A very worthwhile album to own.

Being a longtime Beatle fan, like most I find it a shame the band broke up when it did. Lennon himself said that for all those who still want the Beatles, just get their solo albums and play a song from each back to back.

Well one of the best listening pleasures I have ever found, and I could just listen to continuously... and if you have a cd player with a 3-disc changer you have got to try it.

McCartney's Red Rose Speedway, Lennon's Mindgames, Harrison's Living in the Material World cds in a 3 disc changer on shuffle play! All three discs are from 1973 and almost sound as if they were made to fit together... they are albums a bit more obscure (than say Imagine, or Band on the Run for example) and seem fresher because of it. But these 3 discs fit together so well it really is amazing! By this time, the 3 of them were acheiving their own individual sound and style musically and lyrically (the Paul songs are very Paul, George songs are very George, and Lennon's are very Lennon), but the songs are also still Beatle-esque in their own way.

It is like having a new triple CD of the Beatles from 1973... has enough top quality hits like Mindgames, Hi Hi Hi, Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth), and My Love. And has some great songs that would be given more weight if Beatle records, to add to the arsenal such as Meat City, That Is All, You Are Here, Mess (Live), Out The Blue, Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite, Be Here Now, Only People, When The Night, Get on the Right Thing, The Light That Has Lighted The World ...

It is just so awesome... with the shuffle play you never know what is coming next. The songs sound great together, and hearing a John song, followed by a Paul, then a George makes them sound even so much better and fresh.

Coming after the, shall we say, dissappoinment that was called "Sometime in New York City," if Lennon had farted on his next album it would have been a welcome relief. He made "Mind Games" and herein lies the problem. The album is a true return to melody and lyrics worthy of Lennon, with several outstanding songs as good or better than anything on "Imagine." The problem is the album is plagued with mediocre production and a few substandard songs that once you've finished the album, leave you with a feeling of....dissapointment.
"Mind Games"--the song, shows just how brillant John can be lyrically. The backing is perfect for his wordplay. "Tight As" is a song where the production lets Lennon down. The backing thunders along but you really can't distinguish anything. There's a solo in here somewhere but its barely audible in this mix. This kind of aborts any power this track could have had. "Aisumasen" is one of those love it or hate it kind of songs. It's long and slow and most people might not have the patience to really listen to it but I think its phenomenal. The clear sound, good singing, great feeling and maybe the best guitar solo on an individual Beatles record, make this a killer track. It's followed by "One Day at a Time." This is a nothing song. This is the kind of song they play in hospitals to keep patients sedated. It's that bad and totally out of character for Lennon. Maybe he stole it from McCartney. "Bring on the Freda" is supposed to be a rocker but it doesn't go anywhere. Also, the steel pedal guitar is prominent in the mix--did someone forget to tell Lennon the steel pedal guitar is not a rock 'n roll instrument? It's too prevelant on this album to its detriment. "Intution" has some really good words although they are wasted with music that is way to poppy. "Out of the Blue" is a just a good song, period. "Only People" is one of those let's-all-sing-this-together type of song and like "Lucie" it doesn't have the force it should. "I Know, I Know" while having some interesting work by bassist Gordon Edwards is another underrated Lennon classic. Its just a superb song. "You Are Here" is a nice acoustic, insignificant filler track with very little going for it. "Meat City," the closing song, would probably be my choice for highlight of the album. John just cuts loose. The songs is a balls-out rocker the way "Lucie" and "Only People" tried(and failed) to be. I would give it 4 stars but I have to deduct one star for poor judgement and mediocre production. If you want to buy this album, buy "Imagine," first.