RE: Drummers

["Danehy-Oakes, Dan'l (djdaneh)" <DJDANEH@pbsrv09.isp.PacBell.COM>]

A couple of extremely good rock drummers haven't been mentioned as of
today's Digest.  Not all of these are serious suggestions for "Who
should have replaced Moonie?", but I'll make the necessary comparisons.

Carl Palmer -- Would be totally inappropriate for th'Oo, but amazing
nonetheless; listen to some of the solos on their big live album
("Welcome Back My Friends. . . ")

Phil Collins -- Yeah, I know he's the shitty singer who rooned Genesis,
but *listen* to his drumming, even as late as "Seconds Out."  (For that
matter, he's a better singer than Moonie ever was -- not that that's
saying much.  Suppose it had been Roger rather than Moon missing and
Pete and John decided Keith should be the new lead singer.  Do you think
th'Oo would have survived any better than Genesis?)

John "Willie" Wilcox -- Was drummer for Todd Rundgren's Utopia.  I saw
these guys do a *killer* version of "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" in, oh,
'79 or so; Wilcox is a straight-ahead rock'n'roll drummer who could
probably have filled about 80% of Moon's shoes, while doing a far better
job than Moon of keeping time, etc.

Aynsley Dunbar -- Someone else mentioned you've gotta love anyone who
survives Zappa; you also have to love him for getting out of Journey when
it was clear the band was going to be commercial crap.  His work with
Bowie's "Spiders" band ain't chopped liver, either.  Probably could not
have kept up with Pete and John, though.

Ringo Starr -- Just kidding!  Hey, put that down!  OOOOOWWWWTCH!

Danny Seraphine -- another good band that turned to ka-ka, The Chicago
Transit Authority, a/k/a "Chicago," featured a drummer that blew my sox
off when I first saw them play in 1972 or so.  Could definitely have done
the job -- like Jones, it would be "not Keith," but it would have been
good.

Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) -- Awesome.  One of the few real
_percussionists_ in rock music.  Probably totally inappropriate for
the job.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Okay, as long as we're playing make-believe, suppose that some other
of the band had died, and Moon were still alive.  Who should they
have gotten to replace Pete?  Or John?  Or Roger?

My nominations:

Roger -- Robert Plant is a fairly obvious choice; he's always been a
Roger Daltry wannabee.

John -- Tony Levin.  One of the few bass players who can play lead
like that.

Pete -- This one's tough!  I'd probably say Todd Rundgren, though
the styles are totally different he has the same kind of
singer/songwriter/guitarist mentality, the same kind of attitude
toward performance vs. studio albums, and the same level of skill
(extremely talented but somewhat unreliable) with the git-box.

 --dan'l