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12-12-12 The Concert For Sandy Relief (Bassists: Darryl Jones, Willie Weeks, Pino Palladino, Greg Smith, others)
RICK’S PICKS: Various Artists: 12-12-12 The Concert For Sandy Relief (Columbia) / Bassists: Darryl Jones, Willie Weeks, Pino Palladino, Greg Smith, others.
The Album: Released this week, just over a month after it aired to millions around the globe, there are still some who have not yet heard this concert– including, of course, those knocked out by The Great Hurricane of 2012 who had no electricity to actually see it. Whatever your reason for buying this album–and there are indeed many good reasons to do so– the performances are generally good, with a few standouts and a few that are pretty rough around the edges.
For my money, Roger Waters is clearly one of the best here, and when Eddie Vedder joins him onstage for “Comfortably Numb”, the moment is certainly chill-worthy. The Stones are perfect, Billy Joel’s in great voice and his band superb, and Eric Clapton is excellent as always, especially in his nostalgic trio setting. Musically, The Who are rockin’, but Roger Daltrey continues to struggle vocally. Obviously songs like “Baba O’Riley” and “Love Reign O’er Me” weren’t exactly intended for 68 year-old singers to belt out, but props to Daltrey for giving it his best for the cause, and for recording those classic vocals in the first place. There are 24 tracks on this 2-CD set, culled from the original six-plus hour concert, and no doubt most people will find something to like– not the least of which is the complete exclusion of Kanye West.
The Bassists: Willie Weeks is a particular standout backing Eric Clapton, and– as he has done since John Entwistle’s passing– Pino Palladino does a stellar job with The Who (propelled by a ferocious Zak Starkey on drums). Here is the complete lineup of bassists:
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Garry Tallent
Roger Waters: Roger Waters
Bon Jovi: Hugh McDonald
Eric Clapton: Willie Weeks
Rolling Stones: Darryl Jones
The Who: Pino Palladino
Billy Joel: Greg Smith
Paul McCartney: Paul McCartney
Best Tracks: “Comfortably Numb” (Roger Waters), “Got To Get Better In A Little While” (Eric Clapton), “You Got Me Rocking” (Rolling Stones), “Miami 2017” (Billy Joel), “Empire State Of Mind” (Alicia Keys)
12-12-12 The Concert For Sandy Relief is available at Amazon.com.
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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