THE ANGELS.- The new remixed and expanded Mind Games: The Ultimate Collection It is for those fans of John Lennon who really love their inconsistent disk from 1973.
The problem is that many fans Lennon would classify the Mind Games original in fourth or fifth place among his most beloved albums. It’s not that John Lennon’s fourth best album is bad or anything, it’s just that Mind Games must have a special place in your heart to be worth the new Ultimate Collectionwhich is available in two- or six-disc editions.
Most Lennon fans will be more than satisfied with the two-disc version that offers the remastered original album plus a disc of outtakes.
And for those few who prefer Mind Games Instead of, say, Imagine either Plastic Ono Band As his favorite Lennon album, there is the Super Deluxe Edition which was limited to just 1,100 copies for $1,350. It includes extras such as a hologram-engraved EP and custom-made I-Ching coins.
Are you thinking of buying that one? Too late, it’s long sold out.
But for the rest of us, there are the more affordable six- or two-disc collections. The six-disc version has all the music included in the two-disc version, with additional CDs offering listeners multiple ways to experience the music. Mind Games, including an audio documentary and an extensive book that delves into the songs and what was happening in Lennon’s life and the world at the time.
There is the original recording remixed from scratch by Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, called The Ultimate Mixes. The Elemental Mixes presents the songs stripped of post-production enhancements, but with Lennon’s voice front and center.
The best album of the group is Raw Studio Mixes that offers Mind Games as it was recorded in the studio before overdubs and other post-production effects. This one, more than any of the others, really puts the listener on the studio floor with Lennon and the other musicians.
Disc three, titled The Elements Mixeswhich should not be confused with The Elemental Mixes, goes in the opposite direction and removes Lennon’s voice entirely. It’s a bold move, to put it kindly, that will likely become the least played of this collection for most.
The Evolution Documentary delivers just what it promises: mini-audio documentaries showing how each song evolved. That’s great, especially for those who like to hear how songs changed during recording without listening to every single take. The studio banter between Lennon and Yoko Ono is a fun bonus.
To complete the set, on disc six, or disc two of the reduced version, there are, of course, the outtakes. Wow.
All of this can make the most casual fan throw up their hands and shout Lennon’s lyrics: “Give me some truth!”
It is unlikely that anyone who listens to the more than five hours of The Ultimate Collection I shouted: “Give me more ‘Mind Games’!”
