It's been quite a while since the last John Lennon "Ultimate" box set.  Imagine arrived in 2018, followed by Plastic Ono Band in 2021; the multi-disc solo anthology Gimme Some Truth: The Ultimate Mixes was released in between, in 2020.  Anticipation justly ran high for this year's Mind Games: The Ultimate Collection, a 6CD/2BD set exploring every aspect of the solo Beatle's 1974 fourth album.  (The politically-charged Some Time in New York City, a hybrid live/studio LP from John and Yoko, has been overlooked in the series.)  With five different presentations of the album's twelve songs and one disc of outtakes - but not the original 1974 mix - it's an exhaustive but happily not exhausting experience.

Mind Games was the work of an artist in personal and professional transition.  Imagine had topped the charts in the U.S. and U.K.; the far more abrasive and challenging Some Time notched a No. 11 berth in the U.K. but didn't get any higher than No. 48 on the U.S. albums chart.  By early 1973, Lennon had begun to distance himself from political commentary.  Meanwhile, any solo effort was competing not only with his former bandmates - Paul, George, and Ringo were all riding high - but with that band itself.  The "red" and "blue" albums had affirmed the public's unquenchable appetite for all things Beatles, with the former reaching No.  3 in the U.S. and the latter hitting No. 1.  Lennon, Harrison, and Starr had all extricated themselves from the managerial clutches of Allen Klein, but John had bigger problems when the United States under the Richard M. Nixon administration began attempts to deport him from the country.  His marriage to Yoko Ono was also going through a rough patch, and he would enter the studio to begin recording Mind Games as their separation began.

Upon the LP's October 1973 release, critics would note the mixed-bag quality of Mind Games, but many of its compositions have aged well, whether the anthemic title track, the rollicking "Tight A$," dreamy "One Day (At a Time)," heartfelt "Out the Blue," or easygoing, bouncy "Intuition."  (Lennon hadn't abandoned his autobiographical muse; many of these songs were directed at Ono.)  So has the clean production by Lennon - his first solo flight in the producer's chair - and the musicianship of such A-listers as drummers Jim Keltner and Rick Marotta, guitarist David Spinozza, bassist Gordon Edwards, keyboardist Kenny Ascher, saxophonist Michael Brecker, and pedal steel guitarist "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, a.k.a. The Plastic U.F. Ono Band.

The core presentation of the songs is The Ultimate Mixes, newly constructed by Paul Hicks in stereo and 5.1 and Sam Gannon in Dolby Atmos spatial audio.  Each of the three mixes is distinct, with different instrumental placement and overall feel, but what they share is a newfound clarity that will be familiar to those well-acquainted with the Imagine and Plastic Ono Band Ultimate Editions.  Hicks' work in stereo isn't radical, but instead gives the soundscape breathing room so individual instrumental contributions are more in evidence (more on that later); those elements are more discrete in the surround formats.  In stereo, reggae influence in "Mind Games" is a bit more pronounced, as is the country-bluegrass-rockabilly swagger of "Tight A$."  The mellow "You Are Here" is a bit mellower even as "Meat City" rocks a bit harder.

The Elements Mixes (sequenced on the third disc, though the second might even be a better choice for listening order) make a stark contrast to The Ultimate Mixes.  These are stripped down to the bare instrumental minimum, removing all vocals (except on "Bring on the Lucie (Freeda People)" on which the choir remains), and including one to three instruments at maximum.  Drums are only heard on one track ("Meat City," in a very stereo spread).  The compilers note that "[there] were no set rules for any of the selections, really.  It was just per song - what did we feel would be nice to isolate or show off, that might have escaped people's initial listening experience."

Four of the takes are extended to their original endings, sans fades ("Tight A$," "Out the Blue," "You Are Here," "Meat City").  It's possible that you might reasonably find yourself singing along to some of these tracks - others barely hint at the melody and production of the finished songs - but it's certain that you'll hear something you've never heard before, whether Sneaky Pete's virtuoso, double-tracked pedal steel on "Tight A$" or Kenny Ascher's haunting solo organ on "Mind Games."  (Ascher's alternately stately and loose acoustic pianos are also isolated on "Out the Blue.")  A delicate music box quality emerges on "One Day (At a Time)" while the softer, earthier underpinning of "I Know (I Know)" rises to the surface.  Gordon Edwards' funky bass propels "Bring on the Lucie" while he, David Spinozza on electric guitar, and Lennon on tambourine prove to be "in the pocket" with their relaxed "Intuition" groove.

The Elemental Mixes "rebuild" all of the tracks but in a spare, demo-like fashion - again sans drums but this time with an emphasis on John's vocals and mainly acoustic instrumentation.  "Tight A$" is a bit more laconic and twangier.  "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" becomes a duet between John and Sneaky Pete, with a dash of Ascher on the organ; "One Day (At a Time)" is solo Lennon with an assist from the background singers.  These are deliberately less punchy than the original versions; even the rocking closer "Meat City" features just Lennon and Spinozza's searing guitars while "I Know (I Know)" completes its transition to folk song mode.  The lovely "Out the Blue" gains an additional piano solo from Ascher in its Elemental Mix.

Even a 6CD/2BD box set can't present everything, so the compilers have opted to sample what couldn't be included in full on the Evolution Documentaries disc.  Once again following the sequence of the album, these twelve tracks trace the development of each song with excerpts from all of the recordings along the way.  These miniature audio documentaries have been sourced and mixed from the original 16-track tapes, demo cassettes, and other existing tapes.  For instance, "Mind Games" opens with Lennon's solo piano demo presenting the basic melody and embryonic lyrics before moving to segments of the raw Take 3 of the studio recording.

Completists may well find this disc frustrating: why can't we hear all of the alternate takes in full?  Rather than that everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach, though, the compilers have excerpted what they feel are the most interesting parts of each song's journey including copious chatter from John and the band members.  There are unused parts a-plenty (Sneaky Pete on "Tight A$," a saxophone part on "One Day at a Time" and a solo on "Intuition"), alternate lyrics (the original guitar demo of "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)"), discarded harmonies ("Bring on the Lucie (Freeda Peeple)"), quite a bit of studio playfulness, and numerous musical variations that will be of most interest to those intimately familiar with the original album...and any listener will be, after experiencing the six different presentations here.  Among the many fascinating snippets here, "One Day at a Time" is presented in its original speed (it was sped up for the final version) and John's original demo of "Sally and Billy" is heard.  The melody would be adapted into the bridge of "Only People."

Rob Stevens' Raw Studio Mixes and Paul Hicks' The Out-Takes are similarly drawn from full alternate takes of each song on Mind Games.  The approach on the Raw Studio Mixes is exactly as the title describes: raw mixes as the band might have been heard playing in the studio - or, as Stevens puts it in his annotations, "unadorned by 'gear' that, until this recent series of releases, obfuscated John's raw emotion and all its nuances."  If you've wanted to hear Lennon's vocals without their famous double tracking, and in as natural a state as possible, this is the disc for you.  Overdubs are absent, and some parts, such as his guitar on "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)," have been removed throughout to keep the focus squarely on his voice. Since these alternate takes capture the band as they played, some of the songs are longer than the final versions: "Tight A$," "Intuition," "Out the Blue," and "You Are Here."

In a sense, The Out-Takes fleshes out the Evolution Documentaries with one full alternative take for each of the album's twelve songs.  Once again, these takes are raw, without overdubs or studio wizardry; this gives the likes of "Mind Games" and "One Day at a Time" a very different character than the final versions.  (John sounds rather sleepy on this "One Day" vocal!)  So they're certainly similar to the Raw Studio Mixes, if a bit more balanced to spotlight all of the band members as they played in the studio.  They're more "produced" than The Elemental Mixes, but far less than The Ultimate Mixes.  There are some surprises - the inclusion of the "Declaration of Nutopia" is a nice touch - and the overall impression is that of (another) fresh way to hear these familiar songs.

As if six discs and six unique presentations of the same dozen songs wasn't enough, seven hidden tracks are peppered throughout the set, on both the CDs and Blu-rays.  Pop the first disc into your CD player, for instance, and you'll see 90 tracks (!) pop up.  But you'll actually have to "rewind" Track 1 to be rewarded with the Ultimate Mix of "I'm the Greatest," which John gifted to his pal Ringo.  You can access the bonus tracks on the Blu-rays, too, by hitting the "back" button on the first track of each program.

The packaging is on par with previous releases in this series, meaning it's all lavish and luxe.  The slipcase contains two folders (one with the Blu-rays and one with the CDs) and a 136-page hardcover book and essential companion.  There's plenty of reading material here to accompany and enrich a listen, including commentary from the personnel both living and deceased.  The text isn't presented as one linear essay but rather in smaller, compact text pieces about every song, every musician, and every mix.  Lyrics are also included along with dozens and dozens of photos, tape box scans, memorabilia images, and a preface from Yoko.

Mind Games had the misfortune of following John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, not to mention the added expectation of returning the artist to a so-called pop milieu after the agitprop of Some Time in New York City.  If it doesn't have the fire of Plastic Ono Band or power of Imagine, it's hard to argue with any record boasting "Mind Games," "One Day at a Time," and "Intuition."  Reissue producers Sean Ono Lennon and Simon Hilton have done an admirable job in making the best possible case for Mind Games, presenting it in full context of the era and Lennon's oeuvre.  It's a worthy addition to the Ultimate series.  "I want you to make love, not war," Lennon sang on the title track.  "I know you've heard it before..."  With the sentiment as sadly relevant as ever, there couldn't be a better time to revisit Mind Games.

Mind Games: The Ultimate Collection is available in various formats.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

6CD/2BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
9LP/6CD/2BD Super Deluxe Box: Official Store
2CD (includes contents of CD 1 and 6, below): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP (includes contents of CD 1 and 6, below): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Looking to explore still more mixes for Mind Games?  On October 11, Capitol/UMe will release Mind Games: The Meditation Mixes on 3 LPs and digital platforms.  Nine mixes have been crafted by Sean Ono Lennon, who comments in the press release, "You might say meditation is the ultimate mind game. These very abstract interpretations will hopefully assist you in exploring your 'Innerverse.' I was both thrilled and surprised when UMG said they wanted to make a vinyl edition. This part of the Mind Games project evolved spontaneously and feels like it is sprinkled with just the right amount of good vibes and fairy dust. (Effects may vary)."

Mind Games - The Meditation Mixes premiered exclusively on the Lumenate app in May in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month. On Lumenate, each of the nine Meditation Mixes is accompanied by an immersive light sequence to aid in meditation and relaxation.  The 3LP edition is pressed on 180-gram crystal clear vinyl and packaged in a triple gatefold mirrorboard sleeve. Side B on LP3 offers nine unique 1.8 second mantras that play continually in the vinyl's run out grooves to create infinite loops.  This one-of-a-kind reimagining of Mind Games can be ordered at Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada now.