Like a scar, the hurt will always show

The pop and rock and roll landscape is littered with heartbreak: Delicious slices of misery from lonely and despondent souls.

For my money, this is the best and a version when The Band absolutely nailed it. Good Lord, Rick Danko harmonizing with Levon Helm...Robbie Robertson's mathematical guitar. Garth Hudson's mini-sax.

What a Band. What a Song: The Band: "It Makes No Difference"

But as exquisite as it is (and there are almost no words profound enough to describe its greatness), it's not quite my favorite version.

In the following video, a bloated Rick Danko, just two years from the end, struggles to hit a few notes, and his voice doesn't have nearly the power that it once had. But it's purity is staggering: you see, hear and feel the pain that lives within the Robbie Robertson composition.

It's a devastating and epic performance on several levels, and while miles from being technically perfect, never has any performance better represented the essence of a song.

Gut-wrenching and achingly beautiful at the same time: Rick Danko: "It Makes No Difference"


Strictly 100 -- Number 31: "It Makes No Difference"