Keith Moon

  • Thread starter tuckerduncan2002
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Do you mind if I ask roughly what age you guys are? I'm guessing that Keith was before your time. I have a little theory that younger people are less tolerant of imprecision than oldies (I'm, um, > 50).

I'm 46. Keith Moon was a bit before me, but not much. I grew up thinking he was good. It wasn't really until my mid 30s, when I began playing Who cover tunes, when I realized how bad he seemed. I would listen to the drums of certain songs and think, "wow that was terrible". Then, I tried to find good, solid pieces of work from him, any live videos, recordings, and I came up empty. In fact, does anyone here have an impressive solo,or live song where Moon shines? I have scoured Youtube for ANYTHING by Keith Moon that would impress me. Nothing. Go ahead and try it, you'll see what I mean. His solos are as good as any 4th year student drummer can do. There's just nothing there....Just my 2 cents, I could always be wrong.
 
I'm 46. Keith Moon was a bit before me, but not much. I grew up thinking he was good. It wasn't really until my mid 30s, when I began playing Who cover tunes, when I realized how bad he seemed. I would listen to the drums of certain songs and think, "wow that was terrible". Then, I tried to find good, solid pieces of work from him, any live videos, recordings, and I came up empty. In fact, does anyone here have an impressive solo,or live song where Moon shines? I have scoured Youtube for ANYTHING by Keith Moon that would impress me. Nothing. Go ahead and try it, you'll see what I mean. His solos are as good as any 4th year student drummer can do. There's just nothing there....Just my 2 cents, I could always be wrong.

Are there any Youtubes vids of your Who cover band? . . . . . . . .so that we might be able to see your interpretation of Moonies drum parts? . . .

Did you feel that you had improved on the original drum parts? . . .or did you feel that you had failed to capture the spirit of his work?

Reading between the lines, it seems that you got little pleasure from playing in a Who covers band. There is no mention of the fun, or the buzz, that one would have thought you might have experienced from performing such exuberant numbers.

How did you feel after the gig, did you feel energised, did you feel that you'd nailed it?
 
Thanks Rael and Zero - same conclusion, different path. I can see how having a drummer dad would influence your take on things. Zero, I've covered I Can't Explain and I loved Moonie's drum part both to listen to and to approximate.
 
Are there any Youtubes vids of your Who cover band? . . . . . . . .so that we might be able to see your interpretation of Moonies drum parts? . . .

Did you feel that you had improved on the original drum parts? . . .or did you feel that you had failed to capture the spirit of his work?

Reading between the lines, it seems that you got little pleasure from playing in a Who covers band. There is no mention of the fun, or the buzz, that one would have thought you might have experienced from performing such exuberant numbers.

How did you feel after the gig, did you feel energised, did you feel that you'd nailed it?
No, this was way before Youtube. I did feel as though I improved on a few things. i do have some recordings somewhere, i'll try and find them. and, also, it's nopt so much that moon was bad, but he was just average, at best. So, even if I could post me playing Who tunes, and you guys might say " well Keith Moon is better than this guy", you'd be right. But comparing Keith Moon to me? Supposedly on eof the top drummers of all time vs. some guy who gets 50.00 for bar gigs :) And that's my primary problem with Moon. If the World saw him as pretty good, I wouldn't even argue. But this whole " he's a top 5 all time drummer" business, I just don't see that.....
 
Thanks Rael and Zero - same conclusion, different path. I can see how having a drummer dad would influence your take on things. Zero, I've covered I Can't Explain and I loved Moonie's drum part both to listen to and to approximate.

Hey anon, I was just thinking that after i posted. I DO like " I can't Explain" drum parts a lot. and I enjoy playing Who tunes.
 
the whole Live at Leeds album is amazing

and this footage right here .... footage that the Stones would not release because the Who absolutely blew them out of the water in it..... and Keith was a major reason why

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq1LI3fO_TU

Keith was not a drummer

Keith was an absolute raw genius and a complete force of nature

if you are looking for a technician you need to look elsewhere ..... thats not what Moonie was

Moonie was a time bomb of spontaneous expression

he was the audible Pollock painting

he was musical fury incarnate

he was a mad scientist timpanist in a rock band

he was the only "drummer" that could make the Who....the Who!

he was a self destructive walking tornado

never ever to be duplicated
that was an awesome vid!!! I really love the Who, and that was great.
 
Hey anon, I was just thinking that after i posted. I DO like " I can't Explain" drum parts a lot. and I enjoy playing Who tunes.

It's a good one, for sure. Have jammed on I Can See for Miles, which is also more fun than a barrel full of monkeys. Also would like to have a go at Won't Get Fooled Again, Love Reign O'er Me, all of Tommy etc etc etc ......... :)
 
Keith Moon showed the world there are no set rules or techniques , i think keith Moon fans have no walls around them or no restrictions and such...even tho i am not even close to calling myself a 'drummer', If i ever have the ability to produce any music in future, i would look for a Keith moon type drummer, who never follows any rules, who never had any formal lessons, who doesnt even read musical notes.....i bet the music would STAND OUT believe it or not...there will be a few fans...the music will not be mainstream for sure.....I think that is what is lacking in rock music since Keith Moons death......everyone follows rules! and its is boring if we dont break it at least here and there......

rant over!

Merry Xmas friends..
 
the whole Live at Leeds album is amazing

and this footage right here .... footage that the Stones would not release because the Who absolutely blew them out of the water in it..... and Keith was a major reason why

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq1LI3fO_TU

Keith was not a drummer

Keith was an absolute raw genius and a complete force of nature

if you are looking for a technician you need to look elsewhere ..... thats not what Moonie was

Moonie was a time bomb of spontaneous expression

he was the audible Pollock painting

he was musical fury incarnate

he was a mad scientist timpanist in a rock band

he was the only "drummer" that could make the Who....the Who!

he was a self destructive walking tornado

never ever to be duplicated

+100000.Moonie was a force of nature,and he paid the ultimate price because of it.

Because of their unique rhythm section,The Who were a mini orchestra,that sounded larger than just 4 instruments.

I agree that "Live at Leeds" is just a powerhouse of a rock album,and no one else could have powered that band like Moonie......no one.Talk about a live song that shines......how about a whole album.How about the fact,that he rarely played any song the same,twice in a row,and made up his drum parts as he went along.

Lots of "drummers" don't have that ability,and actually have to write things out.I don't think Moonie ever did,nor do I think he could even read music.He was totally spontaineous and explosive.

Most of us,use/ read books,watch DVD's ,youtube,participate on drum forum's ,and pick each others brains and above all practice. Moonie didn't do ANY of those things.

He just sat down,and was the jet engine,that powered one of the greatest rock bands in history.Some are offended that he didn't practice.Well neither did Buddy Rich,and just maybe....neither of them needed to.Both were lightning in a bottle.

Steve B
 
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+100000.Moonie was a force of nature,and he paid the ultimate price because of it.

Because of their unique rhythm section,The Who were a mini orchestra,that sounded larger than just 4 instruments.

I agree that "Live at Leeds" is just a powerhouse of a rock album,and no one else could have powered that band like Moonie......no one.Talk about a live song that shines......how about a whole album.How about the fact,that he rarely played any song the same,twice in a row,and made up his drum parts as he went along.

Lots of "drummers" don't have that ability,and actually have to write things out.I don't think Moonie ever did,nor do I think he could even read music.He was totally spontaineous and explosive.

Most of use read books,watch DVD's ,youtube,participate on drum forum's ,and pick each others brains and above all practice. Moonie didn't do ANY of those things.

He just sat down,and was the jet engine,that powered one of the greatest rock bands in history.Some are offended that he didn't practice.Well neither did Buddy Rich,and just maybe....neither of them needed to.Both were lightning in a bottle.

Steve B

my thoughts exactly... ..Neil Peart is one the best in the world but he lacks the ability to play differently when he plays live........ without preparing the drum tabs...I think this has a lot to do with the accompanying guitar and Bass and the vocals....who are more supportive for Moonie than for a normal regular time keeper drummer who plays by the rules.
 

Hmm, looks like a bit of vote stacking here, young Steve :)

Moonie was lucky to have the talent to play so freely without so much graft. How much fun would that be? What do you do for a living? I jam along with my friends' songs.

But, as you say, he was unlucky in that that same quality at times left him without self control which ultimately lead to his death.
 
To be honest with you, while I think Neil Peart is technically awesome and shows great endurance with time signatures etc etc etc. I find his drumming mechanical, boring and obvious. I saw him doing a drum solo where he had a spinning kit with some trigger drums and every lick he played sounded like every other drum solo I ever heard. To me (and this is just my personal opinion) his concentration on getting each time signature exactly right deviates from the creative process of his drumming. I'm no expert, it's just my opinion on listening to music over the years and I know that R&B rock isn't for some people and others are into metal licks more - I liked Black Sabbath when they were really bluesy in their earlier years.

Keith Moon on the other hand was a very melodic drummer who was reacting not just with the beat, but was reacting to every riff, note, guitar solo and bass solo, hammerons etc etc etc that the Pete Townsend and John Entwhistle was doing where he did a constant solo with each song. Keith Moon actually said, that although he could play paradiddles, he never used them in the songs because there wasn't any call for it. He also said that he hated doing solos because there was no music in the background and that in every song he played with the who he did a solo (yes his goldfish drum solo was terrible, but that was the reason for it, he creates drum licks out of reacting to music).

From looking at some of his drum licks it's a combination of herta roles that he liked doing, some ratamcue's as well (even if he recognized it in a different way), snare triplets going onto some toms and swing playing with syncopated beats on the bass, and it sounds unpredictable, never playing the same lick EXACTLY when repeating the song and making the drums sound very exciting because you couldn't predict the drums in the song exactly. I think the songs "Who Are You" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" are the songs from the who are the songs where Keith has mostly concentrated on getting the beats exactly the same when playing them again.
 
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I'm 46. Keith Moon was a bit before me, but not much. I grew up thinking he was good. It wasn't really until my mid 30s, when I began playing Who cover tunes, when I realized how bad he seemed. I would listen to the drums of certain songs and think, "wow that was terrible". Then, I tried to find good, solid pieces of work from him, any live videos, recordings, and I came up empty. In fact, does anyone here have an impressive solo,or live song where Moon shines? I have scoured Youtube for ANYTHING by Keith Moon that would impress me. Nothing. Go ahead and try it, you'll see what I mean. His solos are as good as any 4th year student drummer can do. There's just nothing there....Just my 2 cents, I could always be wrong.

What, there are tons of great Keith Moon stuff on You tube etc. It clearly isn't in your taste (hence thinking he was terrible) listen to this, he replicated the vast majority of this song (with the odd drum lick sounding a bit different when the guitar goes on one). The song Bargain is notorious for one of Keith Moon's best and most consistent drum sound. A lot of skill went into the drumming here and out of reach of a 4th grade drummer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzeq-tEmQmQ He's using the drums as a lead instrument (as if it is lead guitar playing) and not just providing the beat. Also get the "The Who At The Isle Of White". That's a fantastic concert.
 
See, I just don't really get it with The Who... Like I said, they weren't part of my generation (pardon the pun).

I can see why they were popular, and yeah, Moon was a beast behind the drums, not saying that, but if anyone did that these days, they'd probably get slated for their playing by everyone on this forum.

Give anyone a bag full of Es and put them behind a drum kit and i'm sure Good ol' Moonie will reappear ;-)

Yes Moon was a one off. You could argue he was the "Ultimate" Rock and Roll drummer. Never frightened to try something new. He was slated by someone on another site for never playing the same thing twice???

I would say it is much more artistic, and difficult, to play what jumps into your head at that precise moment in time, and risk something new, than simply play what you have practiced 1000 times before, and will play exactly the same the following night. I know I don't have the nerve to do it. Rock is supposed to be about excitement.

You could say, in that respect, that he was an artist, and the other drummers were simply painting by numbers.
 
I always find it amusing people gravitate toward comparing Keith Moon to Neil Peart as point of contrast and difference.

Neil is a HUGE fan of the Who, and Keith is one of Neil's primary influences.
Many of Neil's big roundhouse licks are adapted from things Moon played.
Neil took what Moon did and applied structure to it.

So while the end results their two playing styles seem miles apart, they have a common ground.
 
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