Hey Jude: A new appreciation; did we underestimate it?

Only joking........it still sucks.

My least favorite of all songs recorded by Elvis with the possible exception of Yoga Is As Yoga Does.

Last edited by Rob on Fri Oct 26, 2012 5:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.

"Suck" it does !

My least favorite of all songs recorded by Elvis.

So you're more of a Queenie Wahine and Yoga Is As Yoga Does kind of guy then?

It's enjoyable enough. Musically very nice. Elvis is a little high but very laid back. He doesn't know the lyrics and it sounds like a rehearsal or impromptu rather than a song with actual takes. But he sure did a lot lot worse than this many times.

My least favorite of all songs recorded by Elvis witht the possible exception of Yoga Is As Yoga Does.

O well, Confidence is also quite awfull as is Old Mc Donald and Queenies. I like Hey Jude better than any of those but yes, Elvis' version does not represent his best material.

So you're more of a Queenie Wahine and Yoga Is As Yoga Does kind of guy then?

I edited my post accordingly.

Hard to believe this came out of the great Memphis sessions. Had to be intended as a joke.

Once again...

People are confusing an unfinished vocal [of a possibly unscheduled recording] with that of a finished master.

The madness has got to cease!

I don't give a damn if it is unfinished or not. I do not like Elvis' version of it.

Bring on the madness!

Once again...

People are confusing an unfinished vocal [of a possibly unscheduled recording] with that of a finished master.

The madness has got to cease!

Then it should not have been issued as a master on an LP 3 years later. it did more harm than good being on an album that was all over the place datewise musically & incorrectly titled (Elvis Now. Really?) Just another way Elvis records in the 70's were without direction..

Once again...

People are confusing an unfinished vocal [of a possibly unscheduled recording] with that of a finished master.

The madness has got to cease!

Then it should not have been issued as a master on an LP 3 years later. it did more harm than good being on an album that was all over the place datewise musically & incorrectly titled (Elvis Now. Really?) Just another way Elvis records in the 70's were without direction..

I totally agree. Most people buying Elvis Now when it came out would have known, or made allowances for, it being a half-finished recording. And nor should they - Elvis was very much alive and more than capable of recording enough material for a whole album at that time, and there was plenty of material in the vault. It only goes to show just how little he cared about his own career by this point.

I don't mind it, he's only 'jamming'...he wasn't intending it to be taken so seriously be FECC 43 years on

I take it as a jam and as such I think it's ok. In fact I like the 80's overdubbed version better!

I don't mind it, he's only 'jamming'...he wasn't intending it to be taken so seriously be FECC 43 years on

Yep , "Hey Jude" by Elvis is a throwaway.

I take it as a jam and as such I think it's ok. In fact I like the 80's overdubbed version better!

Yep, me too.

It seems rather ironic that with this poor "jam" we were treated to the whole damn thing, but with Don't Think Twice, which was a vastly superior jam, we had about 6 minutes chopped out on first release!

He doesn't know the lyrics and it sounds like a rehearsal or impromptu rather than a song with actual takes.

I don't mind it, he's only 'jamming'...he wasn't intending it to be taken so seriously be FECC 43 years on.

I take it as a jam and as such I think it's ok.

At last, a bit of sanity.

I take it as a jam and as such I think it's ok. In fact I like the 80's overdubbed version better!

Yep, me too.

me three..

He doesn't know the lyrics and it sounds like a rehearsal or impromptu rather than a song with actual takes.

I don't mind it, he's only 'jamming'...he wasn't intending it to be taken so seriously be FECC 43 years on.

I take it as a jam and as such I think it's ok.

At last, a bit of sanity.

Once again I will state, if intended as a jam and throwaway its ok but it was used as an album track on a full priced LP in 1972! Werent you people around then for this insanity? It was embarrasing and inexcusable for an artist like Elvis, but as someone else said, he really didn't care anymore about the record releases, Like Vince Everett in Jailhouse Rock when Peggy said to Vince, 'No one is so big that they can ignore the records Vince'. Well. fiction turned into reality.

My least favorite of all songs recorded by Elvis with the possible exception of Yoga Is As Yoga Does.

It is certainly no Mr. Songman.

Take away the night, sing away my hurt, Mr. Songman......

Oh, man, I love that.

"Confidence" is worst.

Of course it's a mediocre recording. And I don't like Elvis's version of Yesterday or Get Back or Something from the Aloha from Hawaii either. To me it's clear that Elvis and The Beatles had different types of songs, styles, vocals. Elvis and Beatles were both brilliant in their own songs. Can you imagine The Fab Four covering succesfully It's Now or Never?

Only joking........it still sucks.

Nothing from American Sound in 1969 "sucks."

Frankly, it gets tiresome to read the constant bashing of a recording that was never intended to be released, and in fact was the last master from these fabulous sessions to see issue, in 1972 on a rag-tag RCA LP of leftovers.

"Hey Jude" by the Beatles was THE song of the year in 1968, and Elvis clearly loved it very, very much. So, on a whim, he sat down and began banging it out on piano, for his own pleasure. Like all the other work done in Memphis that winter, Presley's vocal was stunning, his tone so light and effortless, it remains a pleasure for any true fan. He was engaged. He cared about the song. And, as we all know, so soon after this would no longer be the norm.

Unlike some other tracks done in the same manner at American, producer Chips Moman knew immediately this was just an exercise for his artist. Elvis' stab at "Hey Jude" was never slated for a single A-side, B-side or LP track. But it was Elvis singing the Beatles, so tape rolled.

And that's the way it is.