John Lennon's Mind Games - The Ultimate Collection Arrives

07-13-2024 4:47 PM EDT

(UMe) The definitive, deep dive into John Lennon's oft-overlooked and underappreciated 1973 album, Mind Games - The Ultimate Collection, is out now digitally, on vinyl, CD, and in two lavish box sets - a Standard Deluxe Edition and Super Deluxe Edition, which is part art piece, part time capsule and part puzzle.

Sean Ono Lennon says: We've been working on the box sets of Mind Games for years now. Initially I thought 'Mind Games... game... What if we 'gamified' Mind Games? So that's all I'll say for now, but there are many levels to this release, including the box sets and far beyond - that will slowly unravel - and I hope will potentially entertain and engage everyone for possibly years to come.

My main goal was to just do something different. To blow people's minds, so to speak. I think when people actually see how far we went with it, they will understand how it all fits together, and why they are as they are. The websites. The meditations. The box sets. The music. They all intertwine in a way that is waiting to be discovered.

My favorite part is mixing. I love getting to be that intimate with my dad's music. It feels like an honor. I've spent my whole life getting good at that type of thing and it's a great feeling to be able to put those skills to work while spending time in my father's world. I really enjoy it and feel very lucky and delighted to be able to share it with you.

I hope you enjoy these Mind Games for many years to come, and as my Mom says in the intro to the book, let's see how we can make a positive future with it - to play a positive mind game with one another.

See you in Nutopia.

PLASTIC U.F.ONO BAND REUNITES FOR FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN 50 YEARS
Earlier this week, on Wednesday, July 10 in New York City, The John Lennon Estate, UMe and Dolby hosted a special listening event where the new Ultimate Mixes of Mind Games were played in immersive Dolby Atmos® for a select audience followed by a special reunion fifty years in the making of many of the musicians from The Plastic U.F.Ono Band that made Mind Games with John, including David Spinozza (guitar), Gordon Edwards (bass), Jim Keltner (drums), Ken Ascher (keys), Rick Marotta (drums), as well as original album engineer Daniel Barbiero. The event also featured legendary photographer, Bob Gruen. Photos of the event available for publication by request.

SIRIUSXM's THE BEATLES CHANNEL CELEBRATES MIND GAMES WITH EXCLUSIVE NEW DOCUSERIES - SiriusXM just launched "LENNON 360," a four-part documentary to commemorate the release of Mind Games - The Ultimate Collection. This new, exclusive docuseries is available for a limited time on The Beatles Channel (Ch. 18) and the SiriusXM app beginning Friday, July 12.

Presented by Chris Hawkins, "LENNON 360" is a series of immersive biographical music documentaries celebrating the life and work of John Lennon as told by the people who knew him best. Featuring brand new in-depth interviews, plus rare and previously unheard music and studio out-takes directly from the Lenono Estate. The first show is about the making of the Mind Games album, featuring John, Yoko, and brand new interviews with all the musicians involved. The next three shows are deep-dive immersive biographies of Bob Gruen, Elliot Mintz, and Klaus Voormann.

"LENNON 360" is a Lenono Music Production in conjunction with Universal Music Group for The Beatles Channel. The series was developed and produced by Simon Hilton and Chris Hawkins; edited, mixed, and mastered by Sam Gannon; and Executive Produced by Sean Ono Lennon.

MIND GAMES - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION - Fully authorized by Yoko Ono Lennon and produced by Sean Ono Lennon, who oversaw the production and creative direction, Mind Games - The Ultimate Collection is from the same audio team that worked on the critically acclaimed Imagine and John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band Ultimate Collections, including the aforementioned Paul Hicks, and mixers/engineers Sam Gannon and Rob Stevens, with production researched and managed by Simon Hilton.
The definitive Ultimate Collection puts listeners in the center of the studio and explores the album's 1973 recording sessions at the Record Plant in New York City, from inception to the final master, through scores of unreleased outtakes, unadulterated versions, instrumentals, stripped down mixes, studio chatter and more, revealing how these fan favorite songs evolved and came to life.

Mind Games - The Ultimate Collection offers six different unique listening experiences that are at once immersive and intimate, ranging from the brand new Ultimate Mixes of the timeless album, which put John's vocals front and center and sonically upgrade the sound, to the Elements Mixes, which isolate and bring forth certain instruments from the multitrack recordings to highlight playing previously buried in the original mix, and the Raw Studio Mixes, which allows listeners to hear the recording that John and The Plastic U.F.Ono Band laid to tape, mixed raw and live without vocals effects, tape delays or reverbs.

The Evolutionary Documentary is a unique track-by-track audio montage that details the evolution of each song from demo to master recording via demos, rehearsals, out-takes, multitrack exploration, and studio conversations. The Out-Takes allow listeners to hear compelling different takes of each song while the Elemental Mixes, a new set created especially for the Mind Games - Ultimate Collection, inhabit a world between the minimalism of the Elements Mixes and the Ultimate Mixes, stripping the songs back to simpler, lean-back arrangements with John's voice to the fore, and without drums. An array of listening options, including High-Definition, studio quality 192kHz/24bit audio in stereo and enveloping 5.1 Surround and Dolby Atmos mixes, are available on Blu-ray.

All of the tracks have been completely remixed from scratch from the 15 original two-inch multitrack session tapes using brand new 192-24 digital transfers. The Ultimate Collection includes previously unreleased out-takes and stems plus additional never-heard-before audio from archive ¼" reel-to-reels, cassettes, and videotapes.

Truly a work of art and in a class of its own, the Super Deluxe Edition box set is, in essence, a time capsule into John and Yoko's world around the writing and recording of Mind Games, including the times leading up to and after its release in 1973. As innovative as it is elaborate, the Super Deluxe is presented in a 13-inch cube, a perspex reproduction of Yoko's 1966 artwork "Danger Box." Once lifted, four sides, featuring artwork from Mind Games on shiny Mirror Board, fall to reveal nine individual boxes of various shapes and sizes interlocked together, each with its own look and focus. Hidden throughout the comprehensive and creative set are many Easter Eggs, some of which can only be revealed by using other items in the box to see them, along with loads of other hidden secrets, surprises, puzzles, and "mind games". The box is housed inside a striking 13" packing container cube adorned with custom art.

Among many of the unique elements included in the Super Deluxe Edition is a limited edition, 12-inch circular canvas reproduction of John's artwork, You Are Here, 1968, with a Certificate of Authenticity, as well as a replica "You Are Here" badge.