"MIND" EXPANDING LENNON REISSUE DUE IN JULY

Mind Games, the 1973 album John Lennon recorded just before his infamous Lost Weekend period of separation from wife Yoko Ono, is being celebrated with a massive Ultimate Collection reissue campaign due 7/12 from the Lennon estate and Capitol/UMe.

Produced by Lennon and Ono's son Sean, the project will be available in six different forms: Ultimate Mixes, with Lennon's vocals "front and center"; Elements Mixes, which isolate material previously hidden in the original mix; Raw Studio Mixes, which strip out post-production effects to reveal the unadorned music actually put to tape; Evolutionary Documentary, a track-by-track audio montage tracing the assembly of songs from demo to final form; The Out-Takes, comprising different versions of each song; and the Elemental Mixes, which retool the original arrangements to feature Lennon's voice against a drum-less musical backdrop.

Meanwhile, a Super Deluxe Edition of Mind Games is limited to 1,100 copies worldwide and will set fans back $1,350. It includes limited reproduction artwork from Lennon and Ono, a hologram-engraved EP, nine LPs, six CDs, two Blu-rays, two books, four posters, four postcards, two maps, three badges and even I-Ching coins. Not to mention a partridge in a pear tree.

Click here for all the details and to pre-order, and click here to sample the Evolutionary Documentary mix of "Mind Games."

Mind Games was the follow-up to Lennon's poorly received 1972 album Sometime in New York City. It was recorded in the Big Apple at the Record Plant with musicians including drummer Jim Keltner, guitarist David Spinozza and bassist Gordon Edwards and is best known for its title track, which was a Top 20 Pop hit in the U.S.

"John was trying to convey the message that we all play mind games," Ono said. "But if we can play mind games, why not make a positive future with it—to be a positive mind game? ‘Mind Games’ is such an incredibly strong song. At the time, people didn't quite get the message because this was before its time. Now, people would understand it. I don't think in those days people knew they were playing mind games anyway."