It Hurts Me 63 or 68?

[california boy]

1964 !

[Fish]

I love this song and definitely one of the most underrated songs in his catalogue. Love the 1964 version but the '68 ain't bad either...
In any case, the duo Memphis Tennessee and It Hurts Me is a knock out.

[londonflash]

The original master is an overlooked masterpiece.

[londonflash]

Hi there!! .

Always the 1964 master & some still on here state that 1964 (Nashville, January 12 recording session plus Roustabout & Girl Happy sessions) was a step down on Elvis career . Bye for now .

The three-song Nashville session from that year is miles ahead in quality compared to Girl Happy and Roustabout.

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Always the 1964 master & some still on here state that 1964 (Nashville, January 12 recording session plus Roustabout & Girl Happy sessions) was a step down on Elvis career . Bye for now .

The three-song Nashville session from that year is miles ahead in quality compared to Girl Happy and Roustabout.

Agree, but those soundtracks are not bad at all, Nº1 & Nº8 respectively at the Billboard Top Lp Charts! . Bye for now .

[brian]

Good ballad it should have been an A side.

[midnightx]

Elvis' tremendous work in 1968 in Burbank is the one occasion where his contemporary readings matched the greatness of his past. His 1968 rendition rivals the somewhat underrated 1963 master.

[JerryNodak]

The 1964 master. Sublime.

[Hard Rocker]

64.

And yet more evidence that the bizarre notion that EP did nothing of merit in the mid-60's is a nonsense.

[matilda]

Elvis' tremendous work in 1968 in Burbank is the one occasion where his contemporary readings matched the greatness of his past. His 1968 rendition rivals the somewhat underrated 1963 master.

I agree with a lot you write but in this case i am surprised that you put the 68 version on the same level like the 64 master.
Ps: there is no 63 version of it hurts me.

[matilda]

Which version do u guys prefer, the smoother 63 version or the edgier 68 Special version? For me the 68 just gets it ......

Only memphis Tennessee and ask me were attempted in 1963. But not it hurts me.
That master was only recorded in 1964.
Besides, the 64 version has its edges on the right places....and smoothness also at the right places.
The 68 version has only edges....but no smoothness.

[drjohncarpenter]

Which version do u guys prefer, the smoother 63 version or the edgier 68 Special version? For me the 68 just gets it ......

Both the January 1964 (Nashville) and June 1968 (Western Recorders) masters are outstanding examples of Elvis' artistry. But the approach is so different they are nearly incomparable. The first recording gives us the balladeer of so many gorgeous early sixties ballads, and there is an angelic quality to his vocal that is sublime. Four and a half years later it is a take-no-prisoners gambit, a man out to salvage his life and career. And, as with everything he touches in June 1968, Presley does exactly that. There is nothing soft or supple here, Presley is all muscle and sinew, and from start-to-finish he absolutely demands that this pain over a lost love end with a reconciliation. There is no doubt it does.

In other words, 1964's rendition is hopeful, 1968's a matter of life and death. I choose 1968.

[promiseland]

The '68 version has always been my go to of the song. Both are excellent but the '68 version just seems to dig down a little deeper.

[drjohncarpenter]

Always the 1964 master & some still on here state that 1964 (Nashville, January 12 recording session plus Roustabout & Girl Happy sessions) was a step down on Elvis career

The three-song Nashville session from that year is miles ahead in quality compared to Girl Happy and Roustabout.

Yes, and no one here claims otherwise.

It is a fact that after the January 1964 single-day visit to RCA's Studio B in Nashville, Elvis left the studio side of his career for over twenty-eight months, putting himself outside of any discussion of the current music scene. Instead he cut terrible soundtracks to accompany mostly awful movie musicals, and his career subsequently fell into almost total irrelevance. Just because a handful of his record releases managed to briefly chart on some level, it made no difference to what was happening in popular music at that time.

This is not conjecture but part of the historical record. In other words, reality.

[xmascarrol]

Where i can see alot of fans would like the 68 version for me it has to be the 64 version cause of the way Elvis sing the song. It feels like he is hurt but 68 not so much.

[promiseland]

Here's the '68 spliced version from TCM - disc 28 which sounds like an exact master and mix of the Legendary Vol. 3 LP.

http://www95.zippyshare.com/v/zgxJENgd/file.html

[Juan Luis]

Here's the '68 spliced version from TCM - disc 28 which sounds like an exact master and mix of the Legendary Vol. 3 LP.

http://www95.zippyshare.com/v/zgxJENgd/file.html

It had to be for original master status. Do you or anyone know if the edit was reconstructed and released for deluxe set? I cannot get hold of it now.

[Hard Rocker]

Always the 1964 master & some still on here state that 1964 (Nashville, January 12 recording session plus Roustabout & Girl Happy sessions) was a step down on Elvis career

The three-song Nashville session from that year is miles ahead in quality compared to Girl Happy and Roustabout.

Yes, and no one here claims otherwise.

It is a fact that after the January 1964 single-day visit to RCA's Studio B in Nashville, Elvis left the studio side of his career for over twenty-eight months, putting himself outside of any discussion of the current music scene. Instead he cut terrible soundtracks to accompany mostly awful movie musicals, and his career subsequently fell into almost total irrelevance. Just because a handful of his record releases managed to briefly chart on some level, it made no difference to what was happening in popular music at that time.

This is not conjecture but part of the historical record. In other words, reality.

Straw man central.

He'd a 2 year lull after a 10 year run of success, and even during that 2 year lull he still came up with a few gems. So big deal. The mid-60's movies were a career low, but his lapse was nowhere near as free-falling or as long as you continually attempt to portray it. By 1966 he was already on the way back creatively.

In any case, in 1964, the world hadn't forgotten what Elvis Presley had achieved over the previous decade. We still remember today!!! And in August 1965 The Beatles at the peak of their powers certainly hadn't forgotten.

[skatterbrane]

The 1964 version is one of my favorite Elvis performances. The 68 version is still pretty good though.

I like Elvis' voice in the early 60s more than any other period.

[promiseland]

Here's the '68 spliced version from TCM - disc 28 which sounds like an exact master and mix of the Legendary Vol. 3 LP.

http://www95.zippyshare.com/v/zgxJENgd/file.html

It had to be for original master status. Do you or anyone know if the edit was reconstructed and released for deluxe set? I cannot get hold of it now.

I'm pretty sure the edit is a little different and has the music score in between the 2 spices in stead of it being just one complete song.

[TJ]

The original. No contest.

[fn2drive]

Which version do u guys prefer, the smoother 63 version or the edgier 68 Special version? For me the 68 just gets it ......

Both the January 1964 (Nashville) and June 1968 (Western Recorders) masters are outstanding examples of Elvis' artistry. But the approach is so different they are nearly incomparable. The first recording gives us the balladeer of so many gorgeous early sixties ballads, and there is an angelic quality to his vocal that is sublime. Four and a half years later it is a take-no-prisoners gambit, a man out to salvage his life and career. And, as with everything he touches in June 1968, Presley does exactly that. There is nothing soft or supple here, Presley is all muscle and sinew, and from start-to-finish he absolutely demands that this pain over a lost love end with a reconciliation. There is no doubt it does.

In other words, 1964's rendition is hopeful, 1968's a matter of life and death. I choose 1968.

Perfectly said. And i agree with your conclusion. The grunting in the 68 version is him fighting for his life- you can feel him being Baptized from the movie sins.

[Hard Rocker]

Oh, the drama. And there we were thinking the guy just wanted to sing a song.

[Juan Luis]

1964 is without question the one. I mean "(Spliced from Part 1-07, Part 2-11,Part 2-09 or 2-10 ("You" Ending) & Part 1-07 - Strings)" From Keith Flynn site. It was part of a medley. Made a complete song for first time on "Legendary Performer Volume 3". Not as natural (though great) as sung all the way through, in the studio original. For those fragments sung in 1968 giving Elvis time to think pain, lost love?! Baptized from movie sins?

[Rtn 2 Sndr]

I personally enjoy the January 1964 version more than the 1968 version. This recording was a fitting capstone to almost four years of classics recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville. Elvis was arguably at the peak of his vocal ability during this time. While the quality of the material steadily declined over the four years, there is no question that "It Hurts Me" was a great song. Elvis gave the song his best, mixing his gentle ballad voice on the verses with a grittier tone on the chorus. Elvis' performance on "It Hurts Me" was a good indication of the vocal chops he could have brought to some high quality songs. Unfortunately, his talent was largely squandered on movie soundtrack songs until May 1966.