Re: WN vs QUAD

[SlipKid@gnn.com (Ian Derby)]

>  Concerning Keith's drumming on Quadrephenia, I've long wondered whether a
>combination of two things at that point in The Who's career led to Keith's
>decline...1) age catching up with drinking and/or heavier and heavier
>drinking, and 2) his move, in 1972-73 to a substantially larger drum kit.
>
>  When I saw The Who at the end of 1971, Keith was still in fine form,
>playing his trademark double-bass, triple-tom set. When I next saw them at
>the end of 1973, on the first U.S. stop of their Quad tour, Keith was
>almost hidden behind a second layer of deep tom-toms, and he wasn't playing
>as well.
>

Excellent point! Keith still had the quick wrists in '73, but I think he 
became lazy because of the bigger set.  Ironically Keith's best example of 
driving a rock band (since he started using the double bass set) ala John 
Bonham were his performances of "The Real Me" during that tour.  To me it 
showed he still had his chops, along with decent showcases of "Drowned". 

You can also argue that Keith was intimidated by the song structures of Quad 
and didn't want to take as many risks in the studio.  Who By Numbers can 
apply here as well.


I think Keith didn't learn to utilize his monster set until the '75/'76 
tour.