Was Keith Moon a good drummer?

[TheAccountant]

Moon's lifestyle began to undermine his health and reliability. During the 1973 Quadrophenia tour, at the Who's debut US date at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, Moon ingested a mixture of tranquillisers and brandy. During the concert, Moon passed out on his drum kit during "Won't Get Fooled Again." The band stopped playing, and a group of roadies carried Moon offstage. They gave him a shower and an injection of cortisone, sending him back onstage after a thirty-minute delay. Moon passed out again during "Magic Bus," and was again removed from the stage. The band continued without him for several songs before Townshend asked, "Can anyone play the drums? – I mean somebody good?" A drummer in the audience, Scot Halpin, came up and played the rest of the show.

 

I have heard about the above referenced event in the past. If my memory serves me correctly it was some sort of elephant tranquillisers he was taking (lord knows why - but that's Moon the Loon for you) & the audience drummer, Scot Hapin, passed away in the last couple of years.

 

I recall reading that Mr. Haplin latter said that he did not even think about it for 1 second when The Who asked for a replacement drummer. He just went for it.

[TheAccountant]

From my seat, as a drummer for a pretty long time...ok almost all of my life... I think he's probably one of the first rock drummers to take things to a different level... I'm not going to say whether he was good or bad, he was the RIGHT drummer for The Who, and he did what was needed for the songs. When you listen back to some of their stuff, and hear what he played, and how he played it, you knew that he was the right guy for them, no questions..... How he would have played for a different band....who knows? But he took that old "four on the floor" attitude, and went up a few notches. I think he opened the door for a lot of guys (Peart included) to not be afraid to experiment, and take things to another level.

 

"Technically" now... I would say that most people that look at drumming as an "art" would look at his style and say he was sloppy, unruly, and just not the best technician there was sitting behind a drum kit....but it didn't matter with The Who.

 

Why didn't it matter with The Who?

 

Their music wasn't cut and dry...squared off...and perfect...it had a sloppy quality to it that made them The Who! If you go see them now, they're more like a tribute act than anything else...some of the old recordings of things I've heard were so off the charts unruly, that you got into them more than the bands that played "like the record".

 

I couldn't bear to see them now. I'd rather remember them as they once were and when I saw them in 1974.

Zak Starkey is their drummer now and he really does Uncle Keith proud behind the kit.

 

Keith was Zak's Godfather and a very close friend to Ringo.

 

zak starkey is incredibly good, we saw him with them on the quadrophenia tour a few years ago.

 

Agreed. I saw The Who last night at Madison Square Garden and (1) the place was sold out (per the sign outside) (2) the show was very, very good & (3) yes, Zak is incredibly good.

[TheAccountant]

I listened to Who Are You last night and I think Keith Moon's drumming is a notch or two down from earlier Who albums. It's a shame. Addiction is a bitch.

 

I just thought of something akin to you saying "addiction is a bitch."

 

How about Jimmy Page? His five year heroin addiction didn't seem to affect his guitar playing.

His addiction affected the recording of In Through the Out Door.

 

Guys like Keith Richards and Jimmy Page were able to handle their addictions. Guys like Keith Moon didn't.

 

Oh, I think heroin really did affect Jimmy Page's talents. There were some times that he really had it together, and some that he really didn't. Zeppelin's last tour of North America in 1977 bears that out- some of those shows were brilliant, amazing, and some were completely perfunctory. And I would argue that was not due to the rhythm section. It was Page. And then Knebworth was pretty great in '79, but the music had shifted away from him a bit by then. His solo spots, even on the older material, were less grand than they once were. And I think the same is true for the European tour in 1980.

 

But it's incredible to me that anyone can be that strung out and still be able to make music or even function at all.

 

I'm not as much in tune with how much Keith Richards' playing did or didn't change, so I won't speak to that.

 

Wondered if & when Page would get mentioned in this very interesting thread. Thanks for starting in Lorraine!!!

 

There is a story involving Page & Moon that I will share (in case some have not heard it).

 

When The Yardbirds broke up Page was left with the rights to the name and founded The New Yardbirds who were latter renamed Led Zepplin. So, who did he try to get to join the band?? Well, he needed bass player and drummer so he looked around and figured he should get the best available. Naturally he asked Moon & a certain bass player who already played with Moon to leave their current band and join him!!! They both declined.

 

Interestingly, he did not ask Roger to join & since he already had a good guitar player he did not try to get Pete. Just imagine how things might have turned out if Moon and John E. had joined Page in Zepplin!!!! I actually think that musically Moon & John E. made the right call - their styles, esp. Moon's, would not have worked well in Zepplin. Or Zepplin would have been very different from the Zep we know.

 

Of course it turned out ok for Page - he found John Paul Jones & Plant who would only leave his current band if he could bring the drummer (Bonzo) with him. Page wanted Plant in his band so much he agreed. The rest is history.

 

At least thats the story I have heard.

[TheAccountant]

As to the original question posted by Lorraine, you can guess what I do for a living and also guess I am not in any sort of band. I just enjoy music.

 

That being said, my opinion is yes - Moon was an incredible good drummer for all of the reasons other have already so articulately spelled out.

 

IMO its him and Neil who are #'s 1 & 2 al time. Don't ask me to say who is 1 and who is 2. As others have said, their styles are so different its hard to say who was better.

[Lorraine]

I finished the biography. At about page 400 or so, I started to lose something for him. But as I continued reading, I couldn't help but go back to feeling great empathy and sympathy for him. It is understandable to me why the women who loved him, loved him.

 

He was an incredibly complex individual who, as he made more money and became more famous, became more out of control. It was a great loss to those closest to him that he couldn't help himself, nor could they help him. Even Roger Daltrey, who really had a hard time dealing with Keith when he was alive, was affected very much by his death.

 

One of the funniest parts of the book was this little story on page 463:

 

...Karl Howman came around one evening and stayed over. He was having tea with Keith in the morning when the doorbell rang. Karl went to see who it was.

 

"Just the postman," he reported back.

 

"Serves him right," said Keith.

 

"Serves him right? What do you mean?"

 

"He could have been a rock star like me."