He had his own thing, don't think it can ever be duplicated. I don't play like that however, John was a good musician for sure to play with that.
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Thoughts on Keith Moon
- Thread starter Bassdude15
- Start date
My immediate impression of Keith Moon is, even though he was wildly unpredictable in his choices of licks and fills, he could still have amazing tempo and meter. Many of those classic 60's Who hits were every bit as radio friendly and tempo-conscious as anything else on AM radio, which contributed to their popularity with mainstream audiences at the time, yet nobody drummed with the same sense of adventure and abandon. I've yet to hear another pop/rock drummer who could be so unconventional with such impeccable meter. Bizarre, really.
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I didn't know he got a lot of hate from other drummers...it seems he had some personal issues with some people..I played with a drummer in the 90s that loved Keith Moon. We actually played the entire rock opera of Tommy live from the pit under a stage performance at Chesepeake community college on the eastern shore of Maryland in '97...3 nights. I memorized a hundred pages of music for that thing...for like..75 bucks or something..ha. It was pretty cool though \m/ \m/
Moon was the perfect drummer for the Who. No one else but Keith moon could have completed the puzzle. He may have been technically not on the same level as some of his peers but he was the right drummer for The Who and it was pure magic.
Just because someone isn't the best technical player doesn't mean they aren't damn good and the perfect person for the job.
Just because someone isn't the best technical player doesn't mean they aren't damn good and the perfect person for the job.
One of my favorite drummers. I love his flailing barrage of fills. The Who would have been boring with a straight drummer.
In real life, he might have been kind of an abrasive jerk, and not somebody I would want to be in a band with.
In real life, he might have been kind of an abrasive jerk, and not somebody I would want to be in a band with.
I'd have to look up the details--but something like that--like anybody with crazy stories out there about them--some are true, some are false--and many are distorted or exaggerated from what really happened.
I think Keith Moon had very unique approaches to drumming, same with Ginger Baker as far as 60's rock drummers are concerned!! I actually always ask drummers their opinions of Keith along with the other greats, and from what I heard its pretty split with a strong opinion of either they hate his style or they love it, I've never heard an in between from a *drummer*!
I think his style matched the "Ox's" bass playing perfectly, though I wont disagree to anyone saying that they both overplayed I really dig what they did, especially live recordings from the 70's era!!
I also ask drummers their opinion on John Bonham and only met one guy that didn't acknowledge his greatness!! I consider Zeppelin and the Who to be contemporaries so I think its a fair comparison even though the Who was 1st and had a more active approach to rhythm playing!!
These groups were before my time but I really appreciate and enjoy both bands! I.especially find Keith Moons drumming refreshing compared to so much music since that is obviously recorded to a click(though I dig that stuff as well), he had his own sound and style that complemented the music!!
I think his style matched the "Ox's" bass playing perfectly, though I wont disagree to anyone saying that they both overplayed I really dig what they did, especially live recordings from the 70's era!!
I also ask drummers their opinion on John Bonham and only met one guy that didn't acknowledge his greatness!! I consider Zeppelin and the Who to be contemporaries so I think its a fair comparison even though the Who was 1st and had a more active approach to rhythm playing!!
These groups were before my time but I really appreciate and enjoy both bands! I.especially find Keith Moons drumming refreshing compared to so much music since that is obviously recorded to a click(though I dig that stuff as well), he had his own sound and style that complemented the music!!
He didn't hold a candle to Baker's lunacy IMHO.
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Keith moon is the reason I'm a musician actually. Before bass I'm a drummer at heart and the who has always been my favorite band. From an outside perspective moonies style sounds very overwhelming and somewhat boisterous, but I always listened to his drums as a melodic type colorful sound that gives the who's songs depth. Everyone in that band played lead. And even though he didn't have much technique he really had a passion to get sounds and orchestrated rhythms out. Technique only gets drummers so far until they start to sound like machines. If you really listen to his playing you'll start to notice he's like a human metronome. It sounds sloppy in the mix sometimes but in live performances "Leeds" "isle of wight" he's a really tight focused drummer. He just had a style no one else had. He wasn't a jazz drummer at all. He's probably one of the greatest rock drummers of all time. He really gave their music balls! And will always be my favorite drummer.
Human metronome? Maybe, but only because he was forced to play to a click track. That's why you see those headphones taped to his head.
Speaking as a drummer (my other instrument) it's because he was sloppy as poopie and never bothered to learn even the basics of his craft. The real drummer in that band was Entwistle, with an able assist from Townshend.
Of course, he's inseparable from some of the greatest work in rock music. He just wasn't responsible for very much of it.
What drummers don't like Keith Moon?...... He's definitely in my top 10 favorite drummers of all time.
