Keith Moon

DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
edited July 2010 in Strut Central
There's a whole bunch of these on YouTube. My guess is an assistant engineer did a bunch of sneaky dubs when these albums were getting the remastering treatment.



  Comments


  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    if that band didnt have the Ox, they would have been a catastrophe...a complete mess.

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    More.






  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    The_Hook_Up said:
    if that band didnt have the Ox, they would have been a catastrophe...a complete mess.

    Ah, someone from the "Keith Moon was a sloppy drummer" school?

  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    DocMcCoy said:
    The_Hook_Up said:
    if that band didnt have the Ox, they would have been a catastrophe...a complete mess.

    Ah, someone from the "Keith Moon was a sloppy drummer" school?

    I read the Keith Moon bio and yes he was his own breed as a drummer. It fit for the Who but he could never sit in on other people's sessions. The older he got, the worse he became as a drummer too. You can see older footage where he wore headphones because he had to play to a click track. It's astonishing that he rarely used hihats.

  • three years ago I heard something about mike myers playing him in a biopic, mind you this was during the biopic goldrush.

  • minneapminneap 541 Posts
    I definitely had a quick Keith Moon phase in middle school when I was heavy into classic rock and growing my hair out. Studying his stuff became harder to justify when you have Jack Bruce, Mitch Mitchell and Bonham doing a similar style but better.

  • minneapminneap 541 Posts
    Not hatting, just sayin.

  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    minneap said:
    Jack Bruce

    ?

    Also, John Bonham and Keith Moon had entirely different styles.

  • The_NonThe_Non 5,691 Posts
    Horseleech said:
    minneap said:
    Jack Bruce

    ?

    Yeah man, that Ray Manzarek can't hold a candle to Slash.

  • minneapminneap 541 Posts
    Horseleech said:
    minneap said:
    Jack Bruce

    ?

    Also, John Bonham and Keith Moon had entirely different styles.

    Ahh fusk, got ahead of myself. Ginger Baker.*tail goes between legs*

    I always felt that Moon and Bonham rode the same wavelength in that behind-the-beat, half-swung tom fills kind of way. Bonham has always been the king of that in my mind though. It's been a while since I've revisited that era though.

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    Listening to these clips reminded me that I've never heard any other rock drummer play like Moon. Not really. I mean, you listen to him and his peers, and you can hear the Krupa/Bellson/Jones (Elvin and Philly Joe) influence that's evident in so many rock drummers of that era. But where Moon differed was that he combined the freer aspects of Baker and Mitchell (who were both essentially jazz players) with the wallop of a Bonham or a Kenny Jones. Ask him to play in the pocket and you're fucked, but if you want someone to play rock'n'roll drums almost like it's free jazz, then no-one could do it better.

  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    DocMcCoy said:
    The_Hook_Up said:
    if that band didnt have the Ox, they would have been a catastrophe...a complete mess.

    Ah, someone from the "Keith Moon was a sloppy drummer" school?

    I guess...I only listened to the "won't get fooled" clip and he played about 7 different tempos!
    I'm a Mitch Mitchell acolyte...dude was the GOAT.

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    See, I'm a bass-player and to me he sounds right on it, apart from a few obvious flubs and maybe a bar or two before the long breakdown where he drags a little bit. Maybe it's because he doesn't really repeat anything or even attempt to play a conventional groove that he sounds out of time. Considering he's trying to play along with that synth track (which was probably fluctuating a little itself, tempo-wise), I think it's a pretty astounding performance.

    This makes for pretty interesting listening as well. Those strings sound brand new.


  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    DocMcCoy said:
    See, I'm a bass-player and to me he sounds right on it, apart from a few obvious flubs and maybe a bar or two before the long breakdown where he drags a little bit. Maybe it's because he doesn't really repeat anything or even attempt to play a conventional groove that he sounds out of time. Considering he's trying to play along with that synth track (which was probably fluctuating a little itself, tempo-wise), I think it's a pretty astounding performance.

    This makes for pretty interesting listening as well. Those strings sound brand new.


    I'm a bass player as well and Keith Moon is all over the place. That doesn't mean I'm dissing him, but he was not good at holding a tempo. Even Mo Tucker blew him away in that regard.

    Undoubtedly the Who's style developed as it did because of his approach to drumming, and he did a good job of making Townsend's more ambitious songs sound 'huge'.

    Ox was one of the best rock bass players ever, IMO, and had his work cut out for him playing with Keith. He was obsessive about changing strings, and would sometimes change them between every take when recording, and every day otherwise.

  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    Just watched the Who's Next great album doc. According to Townswend Moon wore the headphones so he could follow the pre-recorded sythn tracks for Baba 0reilly and Fooled Again.

    I think Moon was an amazing player but in the way that others have pointed out. Townsend claimed that he never practiced and all of his fills are basically thw same thing. But what a fill played with such ferocity and soul.

    If you ever want a good laugh listen to ginger baker's drum solo on the Fela and Ginger Live record (cd bonus track). Next to Tony Allen he sounds like a freshman high school band hack.

  • SnappingSnapping 995 Posts
    vintageinfants said:
    three years ago I heard something about mike myers playing him in a biopic, mind you this was during the biopic goldrush.

    Although i get the physical resemblance, Mike Myers was already way too old three years ago. But going with the physical resemblance angle, maybe Rory Cochrane (Slater from Dazed and Confused) would be a better candidate?

  • barjesusbarjesus 872 Posts
    DocMcCoy said:
    See, I'm a bass-player and to me he sounds right on it, apart from a few obvious flubs and maybe a bar or two before the long breakdown where he drags a little bit. Maybe it's because he doesn't really repeat anything or even attempt to play a conventional groove that he sounds out of time. Considering he's trying to play along with that synth track (which was probably fluctuating a little itself, tempo-wise), I think it's a pretty astounding performance.

    This makes for pretty interesting listening as well. Those strings sound brand new.


    This is a better video of the same song:



    and Baba O'rilly:


  • bennyboybennyboy 538 Posts
    DrWu said:
    Just watched the Who's Next great album doc. According to Townswend Moon wore the headphones so he could follow the pre-recorded sythn tracks for Baba 0reilly and Fooled Again.

    Yeah, I think they had major problems, both playing along to the synths, and just getting the synths in time. Weren't they huge tape loops?

  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts
    The_Hook_Up said:
    DocMcCoy said:
    The_Hook_Up said:
    if that band didnt have the Ox, they would have been a catastrophe...a complete mess.

    Ah, someone from the "Keith Moon was a sloppy drummer" school?

    I guess...I only listened to the "won't get fooled" clip and he played about 7 different tempos!
    I'm a Mitch Mitchell acolyte...dude was the GOAT.

    How could anyone claim Moon WASN'T a sloppy drummer?!

    Doens't mean he wasn't one of the finest of his era, but he def propelled the big sloppy school of drumming. Bands like Alice Cooper and The Raspberries really used that style to great effect in the 70s.

    I used to play in a band with a guy who had a similar style, as we were a sort of throwback to early Who/Pretty Things type of Rock band. He never practiced either, and his tempos were, shall we say, flexible. But even though we had drummers who were more competent timekeepers and more fluid technically, you can't factor in how much that unpredictable style matters, it just adds so much excitement it can't be underestimated. But you have to have bass players who anchor it for sure.

    And for the record, I am a Viv Prince acolyte, I think he buries most of the competion on those early Pretty Things records.

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    The_Hook_Up said:

    I'm a Mitch Mitchell acolyte...dude was the GOAT.

    I'm a big MM fan...and as far as rock drummers go there are some great ones like Carmine Appice, Bonzo, etc.

    But for my money the GOAT rock drummer is Corky Laing.

  • But for my money the GOAT rock drummer is Corky Laing


    I was watching the living legends interview with Corky on Youtube the other day, interesting dude.

  • kinjameskinjames 19 Posts
    Keith Moon played lead drums...I've never heard anyone else do that before or since, only way it works is if you have the other 1/2 of the rythmn section playing lead bass - enter the Ox...add to that one of the greatest rock n roll songwriters of his era, plus a cat w/ great pipes and you have the WHO - greatest live rock band.
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