John Lennon - Listen to This & Absolute Elsewhere '1998/2020

Tracks list

:: TRACKLIST ::

Disc One

RECORD PLANT REHEARSAL (13TH JULY 1974)
01.Steel And Glass
02.Going Down On Love
03.Move Over Ms L
04.Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox)
05.Beef Jerky
06.Scared
07.Old Dirt Road
08.Bless You
09.Whatever Gets You Through The Night
10.Nobody Loves You (When Youre Down And Out)

ALTERNATE TAKES AND ROUGH MIXES (14TH JULY 1974)
11.Move Over Ms L #1
12.Bless You
13.Beef Jerky
14.Whatever Gets You Through The Night #1
15.What You Got
16.Move Over Ms L #2
17.Whatever Gets You Through The Night #2
18.Goodnight Vienna (Demo With Ringo Starr)
19.Under The Influence

Disc Two

RECORD PLANT REMIX SESSION (21ST JULY 1974)
01.Bless You
02.Move Over Ms L
03.Scared
04.Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox)
05.Whatever Gets You Thru The Night
06.Going Down On Love
07.Nobody Loves You (When Youre Down & Out)
08.Whatever Gets You Thru The Night / Executive Privilege
09.What You Got #1
10.What You Got #2
11.What You Got #3
12.Old Dirt Road #1
13.Steel And Glass #1

RECORD PLANT MONITOR MIXES (JULY 1974)
14.#9 Dream
15.Old Dirt Road #2
16.Steel And Glass #2
17.Walls & Bridges (TV Commercial)
18.Walls & Bridges (Radio Spot)
19.Ringo Starrs Goodnight Vienna (Radio Spot)

Disc Three

HOME RECORDINGS (1973-1974)
01.#9 Dream
02.#9 Dream
03.Move Over Ms L #1
04.Move Over Ms L #2
05.Whatever Gets You Through The Night #1
06.Whatever Gets You Through The Night #2
07.Whatever Gets You Through The Night #3
08.What You Got #1
09.What You Got #2
10.Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox) #1
11.Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox) #2
12.Nobody Loves You (When Youre Down And Out)
13.Going Down On Love #1
14.Going Down On Love #2
15.Going Down On Love #3
16.Going Down On Love #4
17.Steel And Glass
18.Improvisations / The Boat Song

The sessions featured the following musicians:

John Lennon - Vocals and Guitar
Elton John - Lead Vocal
Jim Keltner - Drums
Jesse Ed Davis - Guitar
Eddie Mottau - Acoustic Guitar
Ken Ascher - Keyboards
Nicky Hopkins - Piano
Klaus Voorman - Bass
Arthur Jenkins - Percussion

Horns by - The Little Big Horns
(Bobby Keys, Steve Madaio, Howard Johnson, Ron Aprea, Frank Vicari)

Backing vocals by - The 44th Street Fairies
(May Pang, Lori Burton, Joey Dambra and John Lennon)



Absolute Elsewhere

DISC ONE
01 Mind Games
02 Tight A$
03 Aisumasen (Im Sorry)
04 One Day (At A Time)
05 Bring On The Lucie (Freda People)
06 Nutopian International Anthem
07 Intuition
08 Out The Blue
09 Only People
10 I Know (I Know)
11 You Are Here
12 Meat City
13 Radio Spot 1 - Featuring Tony King
14 Radio Spot 2 - Featuring Tony King
15 Rock N Roll People (Take 6)
16 Rock N Roll People (Take 7)
17 Rock N Roll People (Take 5)
18 Rock N Roll People (Take 6)
19 Rock N Roll People (Take 7)

DISC TWO
01 Tight A$
02 Tight A$
03 Aisumasen (Im Sorry)
04 One Day (At A Time)
05 Out Of The Blue
06 Out Of The Blue
07 Only People
08 I Know (I Know)
09 I Know (I Know)
10 I Know (I Know)
11 I Know (I Know)
12 Meat City
13 I Promise - Piano
14 Make Love, Not War - Piano
15 Rock N Roll People - Piano
16 Call My Name - Electric Guitar
17 Call My Name - Acoustic Guitar For Clock Film
18 Call My Name - Acoustic Guitar

DISC THREE
01 Shoeshine - Acoustic Guitar
02 Free The People - Acoustic Slide Guitar
03 Meat City - Electric Guitar Version 1
04 Meat City - Electric Guitar Version 2
05 Rock N Roll People - Electric Guitar
06 Tight A$ - Electric Guitar
07 Intuition - Piano Take 3
08 Intuition - Piano Take 4
09 Here We Go Again - Acoustic Guitar Take 2
10 I Know (I Know) - Acoustic Guitar Take 2
11 I Know (I Know) - Acoustic Guitar Take 3
12 I Know (I Know) - Acoustic Guitar Take 4
13 I Know (I Know) - Dbl. Trk. Acous. Gtr. Take 1
14 I Know (I Know) - Dbl. Trk. Acous. Gtr. Take 2
15 I Know (I Know) - Dbl. Trk. Acous. Gtr. Take 3
16 I Know (I Know) - Dbl. Trk. Acous. Gtr. Take 4
17 I Know (I Know) - Dbl. Trk. Acous. Gtr. Take 5
18 I Know (I Know) - Dbl. Trk. Acous. Gtr. Take 6
19 Just Because - Acoustic Guitar Part 1
20 Just Because - Acoustic Guitar Part 2
21 Just Because - Acoustic Guitar Part 2
22 Steel And Glass - Acoustic Guitar

WEEEEEEELLLLLLL...as promised last time around, heres the latest installment
from the Lennon archives. This time were spotlighting 1973s Mind Games. Released
in the States on the 2nd of November, (on the 14th in the U.K.), Mind Games
served as Johns contribution to the Beatles chart domination of 1973. Delivered
to the shops concurrently with Ringos self-titled LP, Johns first ever solo
production just couldnt compete with Ritchies assembly of infectious, upbeat pop
songs, and stalled at number 9 on the charts. The sessions took place over eight
weeks in New York City at the Record Plant East during August and September,
1973 while John was packing for an extended vacation on the West Coast. He
enlisted the musicians also used by Mrs. Lennon on here Feeling The Space LP,
including guitarist David Spinozza who was reportedly giving Yoko a little more
than creative input. The roster reads like a whos-who of the cream of New York
Citys session man pool. Without further delay, let me introduce the Plastic
U.F.Ono Band...

Sneaky Pete Kleinow - Pedal Steel
Undoubtedly best known for his work with the Flying Burrito Brothers, Sneaky
Pete has also contributed to albums by Joe Cocker, Jackson Browne, Linda
Ronstadt and Carly Simon. John retained his services on Harry Nilssons Pussy
Cats LP, and two years later he appeared on Ringos Rotogravure. Like the rest of
the core group of musicians, Sneaky Pete also worked with Yoko on here Feeling
The Space LP.

David Spinozza - Guitar
Davids first session with an ex-Beatle was on Paul and Linda McCartneys Ram LP.
It was an experience he didnt relish, according to a sniping tell-all interview
published shortly after the albums release in Hit Parader magazine. As mentioned
previously, he worked extensively with Yoko and her next two album projects -
Feeling The Space and the previously unreleased A Story. The latter album
finally saw the light of day, first in parts on the Rykodisc retrospective Ono
Box and later, in 1997 as a full fledged CD. A consummate musician, David has
appeared on countless releases, some of the notable ones being those by Paul
Simon, James Taylor, Carly Simon and Ringo Starr. He also served as musical
director of the Saturday Night Live Band.

Ken Ascher - Piano, Organ, Mellotron
Ken also worked with Yoko on Feeling The Space and A Story, and like Sneaky
Pete, worked on the Pussy Cats LP, providing orchestrations as well as keyboard
work. He continued his association with John, working on both the Walls And
Bridges and Rock N Roll albums. Traveling in the same musical circles as his
aforementioned associates, Paul Simon, James Taylor and Carly Simon have all
utilized Ken on their releases. He also went on to contribute to Johnny Winters
John Dawson Winter III LP, a connection well investigate later.

Gordon Edwards - Bass
Not quite well known as some of the other musicians, Gordon too had contributed
to albums by Carly Simon and Paul Simon besides providing bass on Yokos Feeling
The Space and A Story. He also worked on projects with the jazz fusion group
Stuff and vocalist Joe Cocker.

Arthur Jenkins - Percussion
Arthur has turned up on a number of John and Yokos solo projects, in fact most
of them. Besides supplying percussion on Mind Games, Feeling The Space, and A
Story, he worked on Walls And Bridges, Rock N Roll, Double Fantasy, Milk And
Honey and Season Of Glass.

Jim Keltner - Drums
Undoubtedly the most familiar of the Beatle sidemen, Jim (a.k.a. Lightning) has
kept time for many a solo Beatle project. He has provided drums for nearly every
George Harrison album as well as performing live at the Concert For Bangla Desh
and on Georges 1974 North American Tour. Beside being a part of Ringos 1989
All-Starr Band, he drummed on the Ringo, Goodnight Vienna, Rotogravure and Stop
And Smell The Roses LPs. Jims association with the Lennons started in 1971 on
the Imagine and Fly LPs, and continued through the Rock N Roll album. Stops
along the way included the Some Time In New York City LP, the One To One benefit
concerts, Mind Games, Feeling The Space and Walls And Bridges.

Rick Marotta - Drums (Meat City and Bring On The Lucie (Freda People))
Rick was brought in to complement drummer Jim Keltner on two tracks from Mind
Games and went on to handle drumming duties for Yoko on her Feeling The Space
LP. Albums by Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Carly Simon and Paul Simon are among
Ricks recorded contributions.

Michael Brecker - Sax
One of the more in-demand session players around, Michael has contributed to
projects by Elton John, Eric Clapton, Todd Rundgren, Bruce Springsteen, Julian
Lennon, Carly Simon, Lou Reed, Bob James, Billy Joel, The Average White Band,
Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon and James Taylor just to name a few. Michael also
appeared on Yokos Feeling The Space, A Story (with brother Randy) and Season On
Glass, while also soloing on Ringos Rotogravure and Ringo The 4th LPs.

Mind Games and Absolute Elsewhere

Mind Games, the album, can be summarized as being a collection of leftover
political statements from the Some Time In New York City LP, fleshed out with
love songs/apologies to Yoko with a pair of rockers thrown in for good measure.
Not quite up to ones expectations, but certainly a step in the right direction
after the previous years offering. Twenty plus years later, one cant help but
wince at some of the dated production techniques and the lack of dynamics on the
commercial version.

All of the studio tracks included here with the exception of Rock N Roll People
are the backing tracks of the commercially released recordings. Therefore, the
differences lie in the stage of the overdubbing, editing and mixing when these
recordings were committed to tape. A close comparison with the commercial CD
will indicate how the wide stage backing tracks were reduced almost to mono on
the final mixes, with just the vocals and a little instrumental sweetening
panned off-center. In addition, John, having learned a few bad habits from Phil
Spector, slashed away the high and low ends, leaving only the murky middle. The
versions appearing here are pre-production recordings and although they show a
few signs of their age, they exhibit few of the detriments present on the
commercial release.

Evolution of the Music:

Mind Games first surfaced as two distinct compositions on a late 1970 piano demo
tape recorded at Johns Tittenhurst Park residence. Make Love, Not War was Johns
attempt at putting the anti-war slogan to song. It comprised the melody which
eventually became the chorus of Mind Games (there were no true verses); you hear
John give the original lyrics a nod as the track fades away. The middle eight
love is the answer..., was taken in whole from I Promise - apparently John was
already apologizing to Yoko in song - long before the split. As you can hear,
Johns vocals werent the best of shape at the time - fortunately he recovered. It
resurfaced during the June, 1971 Imagine sessions, where during a break in the
recording of Oh My Love, John can be heard re-styling the middle eight to the
reggae-tinged version heard on the commercial release. The studio version
appearing here is a rough mix of the released version with a guide vocal. Note
that the precision of Jim Keltners drumming is no longer lost in the wash of
slapback echo present on the commercial version. John recalled the session with
the BBCs Andy Peebles on December 6, 1980: That was a fun track because the
voice is in stereo and the seeming orchestra on it is just me playing three
notes with a slide guitar. And the middle eight is reggae. Trying again to
explain to American musicians what reggae was in 1973 was pretty hard, but its
basically a reggae middle eight if you listen to it. But it was hard telling
these, you know, they didnt know what reggae was then. He expounded on the
impetus of the single and album for David Sheff a few months earlier: It was
originally called Make Love, Not War, but it was such a cliche that you couldnt
say it anymore, so I wrote it in the obscure - mind guerrillas, mind games, its
all the same story though as Imagine or anything else. I was thinking in terms
of guerrilla warfare, only instead of a physical guerrilla, a mind guerrilla, a
conceptual guerrilla. Its a nice track though, I always liked the sound of the
track. In a way it was trying to express whatever we were saying in the sixties,
all of us, not me, or me and Yoko, but all of us about love and peace again,
without saying the words love and peace. I wanna make love not war, cause that
was the original, I know you heard it before, love in a flower, you gotta let it
grow. But how many times can you say the same thing over and over? So this is
another attempt to say it. When this came out, in the early Seventies, everybody
was starting to say the Sixties was a joke, it didnt mean anything, those
love-and-peaceniks were idiots. We all have to face the reality of all being
nasty human beings who are born evil and everythings gonna be lousy and rotten
so boo-hoo-hoo. We had fun in the Sixties, but the others took it away from us
and spoiled it for all of us. And I was just trying to say: No, just keep doin
it. The Mind Games single is fine, theres just no energy to sustain through the
album, and there was no clarity of vision, theres a few pieces all right, but as
a whole piece, theres no clarity. The title was taken from a book that was out
at that time period called Mind Games, by somebody from Houston, (Robert Masters
and Jean Houston) I think who used to be an LSD experimenter so then found out
how to do it without LSD and it was a very interesting, impressive book and I
used their title, course anybody who wants to know what mind games really are
should buy the book - play a few. The cover art is sort of like a prediction,
theres me, Yoko lying down like that, and theres me walking away with a
briefcase, and after that is when we split so its sort of apparent in the Mind
Games period, although it wasnt apparent on a conscious level.

Tight A$ was described by John in 1973 as being a stream of consciousness
composition, i.e. tight as this, tight as that. Apparently Johns appreciation of
the tune waned over the past seven years as he described it to Playboys David
Sheff in September of 1980 Just a throwaway track. I just felt like doing that
kind of song. Sun records, early... whatever you call it, Tex-Mex or whatever
sound which theyre actually all doing now if you listen, you could play that now
and it would be au courant, but I dont think many people were doing it then.
Three drastically different rough mixes of Take 4, the commercially released
version, appear here prior to editing and overdubbing of the final vocal. All
feature a slick, extended guitar solo from Spinozza, not to mention some
inspired steel from Sneaky Pete. On these rough mixes of the basic track, you
can hear drummer Jim Keltner lose his stick, but not the groove. And groove it
does. If you dont get the urge listening to this track, your feet must have been
nailed to the floor. The electric guitar demo on this collection opens with the
lick from the Walls And Bridges instrumental, Beef Jerky.

Aisumasen (Im Sorry) first appeared in 1971 as Call My Name, several different
demos of which are featured on this collection. The first features John on solo
electric guitar while Yoko conceptualizes with an unknown associate in the
background. The second comes from the soundtrack of Clock, which was recorded in
John and Yokos suite at the prestigious St. Regis Hotel, shortly after their
September, 1971 arrival in New York City. The final demo, on acoustic guitar,
finds the composition near completion. The song apparently made the transition
to Im Sorry following Johns reported indiscretion at Jerry Rubins apartment
while watching the 1972 Presidential Election returns. John commented to David
Sheff in 1980 and Tony Prince in 1973: Aisumasen means excuse me or Im sorry,
thats the actual translation. Its my first attempt to speak Japanese, and the
first word I learn is Im sorry Yoko. Thats another I call your name Yoko - a
message to Yoko because I couldnt say it in real life maybe, I dont know. I mean
not real life, records are real life but, but I could express it in song. Of
course anybody that lives together youre bound to tread on each others toes now
and then right? So that was just one occasion and instead of just keeping it to
myself I just made a song out of it. Two rough mixes are included here in
addition to the collection of demo recordings.

One Day (At A Time): Well, thats just a concept of life, you know. How to live
your life, one day at a time. You can only deal with one at a time no matter
what you think. I dont wanna spend too much time on the future or the past, the
future you can plan for, but theres nothing you can to about it until you get
there. It was Yokos idea for me to sing it in falsetto, I wrote it and recorded
it and then I could hardly reach the notes, so she said sing it in falsetto. The
rough mixes appearing here thankfully lack Yokos suggestion and the annoying
background vocals which all but ruined the commercial version. In July of 1974,
while leaving his mark on Elton Johns cover of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,
John also contributed guitar to the B-side, Eltons own rendition of One Day (At
A Time).

Bring On The Lucie (Freda People) is undoubtedly a leftover from Some Time In
New York City, and first appears here as a dobro demo from 1971. Titled Free The
People, it consisted simply of anti-establishment sentiments chanted over an
endless, repeating chord pattern. He recalled the track as just another
throwaway attempt. It didnt really work - the sound of the tracks not bad, I
mean I wasnt clear in my mind on Mind Games. Theres some nice sounds on it, but
obviously Im not thinking as clearly as I was before. And just what the hell is
a Lucie anyway? Well it could be anybody, sometimes I just come up with a
non-sequitur title, it could be any of those political hacks or leaders that are
messing around with our lives. The rough mix consists of little more than the
basic track before overdubs and lacks Sneaky Petes distinctive pedal steel,
Johns final vocal and the vocal talents of Something Different.

Side one of the Apple LP closed with the Nutopian International Anthem, John and
Yokos inoffensive musical theme for their conceptual nation. In keeping with the
theme of the alternate album, we have chosen to simply include the basic track
in stereo.

Side Two opens with Intuition, of which this collection features two demo takes
on piano in addition to the rough mix of the basic track. David Sheff had to
prompt John with the lyrics, as the track obviously had a lasting impression its
composer. Well whats it say I cant remember. My intentions are good I use my
intuition, it takes me for a ride Cause I was gettin confused, you know yeah it
seemed like suicide, as I play the game of life I try to make a better each and
every day. And when I struggle in the night the magic of the music seems to
light the way well it didnt did it? I had to get away from the music to, to get
some light into my life then But then it says Intuition takes me there, so in a
way was it music you were talking about then? Yeah, well and my intuition. I
have a good intuition which has saved me from many a disaster just, and so I was
talkin to myself really, cause I was a bit confused then, and I was thinking
well Ill just have to rely on my intuition to get me out of this confusion.

Out The Blue is probably one of Johns most overlooked and underrated ballads.
This collection is graced with three rough mixes, two of which contain an
extended instrumental coda which was excised from the commercial release, the
third being quite similar to the commercial version. Ever humble, John simply
remembered the track in 1980 as just another kinda love song. Nothin special. At
the time of the albums release, he described Aisumasen and Out The Blue as two
aspects of one relationship. People tend to think oh hes just always singin
about Yoko, but if somebody else sang it, it would be about another woman.

Only People followed next on the LP, and is represented here by two distinctly
different rough mixes. The first lacks the overbearing backing vocals and
displays the strength of the melody. A strength John was obviously aware of, as
he commented to David Sheff in 1980: That was a failure as a song. It was a good
lick, but I couldnt ever get the words to make sense. It had possibilities of
being a good hit record, but I could, I never got it to work - it didnt work.
One must wonder what John expected with lines like we dont want no pig brother
scene. If one listens carefully, traces from an earlier Lennon composition,
Sally And Billy, can be picked out.

I Know (I Know) Its sort of complicated but sometimes you say things, but its
not really what you meant to say. If I say something to you and you hear it
different from what Ive said it, and you answer back and were not really getting
down to it. Im really talking like that you know. Like somebody says do you want
ice cream? and Ill say no, and actually I meant yes. You find yourself saying
the opposite of what you mean. This happens to me quite a lot. I speak a lot,
but what I say in not always what I mean. He later described it as Just a piece
of nothing. One wonders if he really meant it. Three single tracked acoustic
guitar performances appear here, and are followed by a lengthy demo sequence as
John double tracks his lead vocal. Listen for the Beatlesque harmonies present
on the earlier takes. Five rough mixes of the released take in various stages of
completion are also included, with slight but effective differences.

You Are Here lulls us into a relaxing mood, and Johns recollections of the track
were equally hazy: I sort of attempted a Latinesque song in a ballad tradition.
This unedited rough mix of the keeper take contains an additional, albeit
unfinished verse which was cut before release: From mystical to magical...From
temple scenes to village greens, let there be light. Once again, the dissonant
Something different has yet to be added, and the lack of this additional
production only emphasizes the strength of the composition.

Meat City also has its origins in 1971, first appearing as Shoeshine (aka: Just
Go To Get Me Some Rock N Roll). This one-off recording nonsensically combined
football pools and rock n roll in an incomplete lyrical mess. The melody was
re-worked with an equally obtuse lyric as Meat City in 1973. A demo sequence
consisting of two performances on electric guitar appears here. John remembered
the track as A piece of garbage, its just an expression I picked up from
somewhere and tried to make a song out of it. Trying to play around with words
and rhythm, its got a peculiar rhythm on it. We all go through different trips
in our head. We think well its if I was in the countryside it would be better.
Then when youre in the countryside you think well I miss the city, if I was in
the city, that would be better. Its sort of saying Ive been all over the place
and its all the same. The grass is greener. Almost as groovy as Tight A$, an
outstanding rough mix appears here, and features a slick harmony lead vocal from
John. The lyrics are actually discernable as the vocals have yet to be bathed in
echo. Also appearing on this collection is the American single mix, a shocking
reminder of the muddy production with a subtle difference.

Rock N Roll People as performed by its composer first appeared on the 1986
release Menlove Ave. The commercially released version was a heavily edited
composite of back to back takes recorded on August 4, 1973. Five takes of the
one left in the can appear here. The first evidence of the track comes from a
piano demo recorded in late 1970 and found on the same tapes as the Make Love,
Not War and I Promise demos appearing on this collection. An electric guitar
demo recorded in 1973 along with the demos for Tight A$ and Meat City is also
included. We then zoom ahead to Friday, August 1, 1973 and present two takes
from that session. The first, Take 6, cant break down for trying, and lacks
David Spinozzas lead guitar overdubs which appear on the second - Take 7. Three
more takes, from Monday the 4th follow, the last two (Takes 6 & 7) being used
for the Menlove Ave. release. The tune first appeared commercially on the blues
guitarist Johnny Winters late 1974 LP, John Dawson Winter III which incidentally
was produced by Record Plant Engineer Shelly Yakus. John apparently never went
on record about this composition, and judging from his comments towards the
tracks he chose to release its probably for the best.

Also included are a few bits of studio nonsense generated by former Apple A & R
man, Tony King. The two off the wall radio spots didnt do a whole lot to
generate sales, but they are certainly entertaining. Another Menlove Ave. track,
Here We Go Again, also dates from this era. This Lennon-Spector composition was
committed to tape towards the end of 1973 during the self destructing Rock N
Roll sessions. This collection presents take 2 of Johns acoustic guitar demos
(Take 1 was a false start), introduced by John as Here We Go Again, again. And
wrapping things up are two takes of a previously unheard Lennon composition
titled Just Because which was found tucked away at the end of the double-tracked
demo tape for I Know (I Know). The composing sequence consists of two takes, the
first relying heavily on the lyrics of the Elvis Presley standard , while the
second nearly hypnotizes the listener with its repetitive workings. Just as were
about to drift off, John shifts direction and begins work on the chorus of a
more familiar title, the likes of which will fill our next volume from the
Lennon archives.

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