Breaking Up the Concrete is the first studio album from the Pretenders in six years, and finds Her Hynde-ness in classic snarl-and-silk pose, surrounded by a rambunctious new lineup that includes drum legend Keltner, lead guitarist James Walbourne, and pedal steel phenom Eric Heywood. For Wilkinson, it’s an opportunity to strut his stuff on a vintage Fender Telecaster bass that he retrofitted himself with a ’50s single-coil Precision pickup to withstand the extra thwack he gives his flatwound strings, as on the psychobilly single “Boots of Chinese Plastic,” among others.
“The humbucker on the original bass was too muddy and subsonic,” explains Wilkinson, who has built several Tele-style basses from scratch. “I made up a new pickguard without the hole in it, and routed in the Precision pickup in the approximate position of where they used to be. You can really hear it on ‘The Nothing Maker,’ where my right hand is pretty much all the way up the neck. It’s like a double bass sound without any attack.”
Wilkinson’s punk roots serve him well when it comes to the familiar driving groove of early Pretenders records, back when the late Pete Farndon would hold down the low end with a combination of street-brawler attitude and session-vet finesse. “The Last Ride” captures it best, with Wilkinson staying just loose enough to allow Keltner some room to let the rhythm breathe. Wilkinson brings that kind of freewheeling openness to every live show, particularly when he’s locked in with original drummer Martin Chambers, who rejoins the group this fall.
“When I first came into this band, I felt like I was trying to fill somebody’s shoes,” Nick says, referring both to Farndon and bassist Andy Dobson, who signed on in 1993. “Pete Farndon was such a cool bass player. He used to just go for it, and that’s what I like. There’s this thing about bass players standing still in the back, but I can’t do that. You’ve got to get into it and dance around, you know? It’s meant to be fun.”
CAN BE HEARD ON
The Pretenders, Breaking Up the Concrete [Shangri-La, 2008]; Alpaca Brothers, Legless [Flying Nun, 1986]
CURRENTLY SPINNING
Nik Turner’s Fantastic Allstars, Kubanno Kickasso [Ozit-Morpheus, 2001]; Jane’s Addiction, Ritual de lo Habitual [Warner Bros., 1990]; The Clash, Sandinista! [Epic, 1980]; Marvin Gaye, What’s Going On [Motown, 1971]
GEAR
Basses ’72 Fender Telecaster bass with vintage single-coil Precision pickup; various Fender Jazz and Precision Basses with Ernie Ball flatwounds
Rig Live: Ampeg SVT-PRO, Ampeg SVT810E; studio: ’50s Fender Bassman, Ampeg B-15 Portaflex
Effects ProCo RAT