Recording: You Are Here, Meat City, Only People by John Lennon

The third recording session for John Lennon’s fourth solo album Mind Games took place on 3 August 1973.

The album sessions took place at New York’s Record Plant studio. The musicians for the basic backing tracks were Lennon, David Spinozza (guitar), Ken Ascher (piano, organ), Gordon Edwards (bass guitar), and Jim Keltner (drums, percussion).

The first song recorded on this day was ‘You Are Here’. It was completed in six takes.

Three tape reels were used. The first contained four takes, the first and last of which were complete. Take 4 lasted nearly 10 minutes, and included the song being repeated twice. It was a hidden track in the deluxe 2024 reissue of Mind Games.

Reel two contained take 5, which was complete and lasted 11 minutes. As with take 4, it consisted of the song being played twice.

The third tape reel had take 6, which was the master version. The basic recording had Lennon’s vocals and acoustic guitar, Ascher’s electric piano, Edwards’ bass guitar, and Keltner’s drums.

The recording of ‘Meat City’ began after take 6 on reel 3. It contained just one incomplete take.

Reel 2 had takes 2-6, though only 3 and 4 were complete. The third reel contained a further nine takes, numbered 7-15. Of those, only take 16 was complete.

The final reel had the incomplete take 17 of ‘Meat City’, which was followed by take 18, the master take.

The final song to be recorded on this day was ‘Only People’. Two tape reels were used. Reel 1 contained takes 1-11, but only takes 2 and 3 were complete.

Reel 2 contained takes 12-18. Takes 12 and 18 were the only ones complete. The first of those was included in the expanded 2024 reissue of Mind Games.

Take 18 became the master. It had Lennon’s vocals and Clavinet, Spinozza’s electric guitar, Ascher’s electric piano, Edwards’ bass guitar, and Keltner’s drums.

The Mind Games recording sessions continued until 20 August, after which the songs were mixed and edited.