Written by: Lennon
Recorded: July-August 1973
Producer: John Lennon
Released: 16 November 1973 (UK), 29 October 1973 (US)
John Lennon: vocals, guitar
David Spinozza: guitar
Ken Ascher: keyboards
Gordon Edwards: bass guitar
Jim Keltner: drums
Rick Marotta: drums
Available on:
Mind Games
The closing track of Lennon's 1973 album Mind Games was also the b-side to the single of the same name.
When Lennon and Ono moved to New York City in August 1971, they initially stayed at the St Regis Hotel. While there Lenno recorded several song demos, including a song named Shoeshine.
The piece was a simple boogie rocker, including snippets from Gary US Bonds' Quarter To Three. It also featured the lines "Just got to give me some rock 'n' roll/Well the people were dancing like they were mad", which Lennon reworked for Meat City two years later.
In the early summer of 1973 Lennon recorded home demos of several songs which ended up on Mind Games, one of which was Meat City. He taped two versions on an electric guitar; it was a blues-based boogie, and contained a riff which he later used towards the end of another song, Steel And Glass.
By the time he recorded the Mind Games album Meat City had become a cacophanous guitar noise, an approximation of the wildness of New York that he found so alluring. When released as the final song on Mind Games it was an antidote to the pensive nature of much of the rest of the album.
Two versions of Meat City were issued, each with different backwards messages after the first verse. The single mix suggested listeners "Check the album"; had they done so and played the disc in reverse, they would have found the high-pitched voice telling them to "Fuck a pig".
I bought the Mind Games single when it came out. Played the part backwards then checked the album. It was so cool!