Keith Moon

  • Thread starter tuckerduncan2002
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so you are suggesting that Moonies drumming was not an ENORMOUS piece within the puzzle that was the Whos sound?

Moon was an absolute force of nature who just happened to have a drum kit in front of him

I absolutely love the Who......love them!!!.......but without Moonie they are pure shit

his playing was extremely important to the sound of the band

he was the glue....and it is painfully obvious on the post Moon records

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 ;-)
 
Haha, well anyone who ODs more than once on stage is probably a force to be reckoned with... Mental guy
 
I know many say Zac Hill is the closest we come to a modern day Keth Moon, but personally I don't hear it. To me it takes more than just being erratic to draw any parallels to Moon the loon......you actually have to be pleasant to listen to too. :)

I'd never heard of Zac Hill, so just looked him up, and really liked what he was doing.

One of the reasons I love this forum!
 
I find his playing to be really distracting. There are many times when I listen to Who songs and I want to cringe after the hundredth roll down the toms. Guys like Keith are why other musicians assume any idiot can play the drums. Its the Animal mentality that anybody can beat on things with sticks.

Maybe its one of those "you had to be there" kind of things, but I really dont get it.

I agree totally. I've never been a fan of Moon. I love The Who, though. But Keith's playing is simply awful. i couldn't get on board with it. It just didn't make any sense. It was like a 10 year old kid just beating on drums..And trashing your drum kit is not cool, it's just....pointless..
 
Okay, I have a question for WhoIsTony:

Ants, in some of those old clips of the Who performing on TV, Moonie seems to be holding the sticks almost like waving a magic wand, pointing it out from his index finger.

Was that a technique of some kind or did he just like the way it looked? Most of the performances I saw it on seemed to have been lip-synched, so I'm not sure it was even really something he used.
 
Okay, I have a question for WhoIsTony:

Ants, in some of those old clips of the Who performing on TV, Moonie seems to be holding the sticks almost like waving a magic wand, pointing it out from his index finger.

Was that a technique of some kind or did he just like the way it looked? Most of the performances I saw it on seemed to have been lip-synched, so I'm not sure it was even really something he used.

I used to wonder about that too. You answered your own question. nearly all of those old TV appearances were all lip-synched.

I think the "magic wand" things was him in part trying to not bash the drums, and in part, because he knew he couldn't 100% mime his parts, he was just having fun with the camera.
 
some of my favorite Moonie playing right here....on F'n FIRE!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRPdfg46NjI

Love live Who clips! Keith covers a fair range there too.

Funny thing, the talk of Moonie's looseness. If he wanted to play tightly he'd probably be reduced to simplifying a great deal, in which case I imagine he wouldn't bother and find something else to do.

Tony, I agree re: "force of nature". He wasn't wedded to drums the way many of us are. He never practised in his free time - there's the famous anecdote about him not touching a kit in years and having to re-learn for the Who Are You sessions.

I love that mad wash Keith puts behind Pete's structures. A key thing is that his volume is way lower in the mix than is usual today, especially the kicks and snare. It's a different way of playing.
 
Today what we need is a guitarist, singer and a bassist who has the same mentality like Pete, Roger and John who appreciates that kind of drumming......its a wait and see situation.
 
Love live Who clips! Keith covers a fair range there too.

Funny thing, the talk of Moonie's looseness. If he wanted to play tightly he'd probably be reduced to simplifying a great deal, in which case I imagine he wouldn't bother and find something else to do.

The funny is, for a guy known for being loose and not always with great time, he was the first guy to play with a pre-recorded sequencer on stage, and hand no problem doing so.


- there's the famous anecdote about him not touching a kit in years and having to re-learn for the Who Are You sessions.
Yes, much to the rest of the bands frustration. They ended up recording "The Music Must Change" without Keith over this.

A key thing is that his volume is way lower in the mix than is usual today, especially the kicks and snare. It's a different way of playing.

Very true.
 
An instructor I studied with for a while called it "stabbing" technique (the "wand" discussion). It's pretty cool sounding on the ride cymbal especially, you can get some great effects

much like Elvin used the "monkey grip" with the thumb facing down, it wasn't a lapse in technique but a conscious decision to achieve a particular sound. However, I don't know if Keith Moon made a conscious decision to do this or it was just his poor technique, since the "wand" grip wasn't used the same way as I was shown.
 
I wouldnt say Keith was the best drummer or the greatest drummer. But one thing is sure.. he was the luckiest drummer ever in rock who wanted to play the way he wanted whenever he wanted without being kicked out of the band, and still cranking out albums like Tommy (now covered theatrically by The Broadway!)., without even knowing how to read musical notes.!

The drums are at perfect sound volume in Whos Next and little more louder and clearer in Live at Leeds. I wish the drums were recorded little bit louder, heavier and clearer in Tommy (sounds too tinny), By Numbers (too muddy) and Who are you.
 
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An instructor I studied with for a while called it "stabbing" technique (the "wand" discussion). It's pretty cool sounding on the ride cymbal especially, you can get some great effects

much like Elvin used the "monkey grip" with the thumb facing down, it wasn't a lapse in technique but a conscious decision to achieve a particular sound. However, I don't know if Keith Moon made a conscious decision to do this or it was just his poor technique, since the "wand" grip wasn't used the same way as I was shown.

Interesting analysis of his playing and here we can see his approach on the kit... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_SWP3qI7Rg
 
Sloppily. I understand why people love him but I can't stand his playing in live recordings. I'm more interested in his antics.

I'm running away now.
 
Sloppily. I understand why people love him but I can't stand his playing in live recordings. I'm more interested in his antics.

I'm running away now.

My sentiments exactly. good job, Rael.
 
Sloppily. I understand why people love him but I can't stand his playing in live recordings. I'm more interested in his antics.

I'm running away now.

My sentiments exactly. good job, Rael.

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 saw the Who play live in the Roundhouse in London, having previously seen them only on TV music shows, where they were obviously miming to pre-recorded tracks, which is guaranteed to make anyone look lame.

I loved their recordings, but wasn't quite prepared for how devastatingly impressive they would be live, they were stunning.

Townsend admits that Moonie was the 'power house' of the band. In the same way, Mitch Mitchell provided Hendrix with his rhythmical axis. And Zep had their own power house drummer.

Curiously The Who and Zep failed to get a replacement drummer that could really replace the 'originals' simply because they were irreplaceable.

And for all of them, they were great DISPITE their drug taking, NOT because of it. Too many people buy into that old cliché.
 
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).

You are quite correct, I'm only 25. I do appreciate plenty of music before my time, The Who included but perhaps you have some point. Though, I think I was handed down some of my anti sloppy and/or "too busy" inclinations from my dad, who's also a drummer.
 
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