Drumming on FD

[Jacksonjim@aol.com]

gary m,:

>>The song "Cache Cache" opens up with drum fills that sound absolutely lame!
 Maybe that is due partly to the actual drum sound, part production, and/or
part Jones' ability .... I don't know what it is, but the sad thing is that
it could've   
sounded GREAT!   Same thing with "Did You Steal My Money";  I think Kenny
does excellent hi-hat work on that song, but in the rest of the song, drums
sound  very weak ... they sound LOUSY!  I HATE 'EM!  Although I agree with
your assessment of "The Quiet One";  Kenny did a good job there, although the
drums still sound weak, so I suspect it is more the actual drum sound that is
at 
fault here (read:  Producer!).  <<
      
I, too, dislike the drums on FD.  But I argue that Townshend's songs with
heavy drum emphasis in terms of fills, etc. would have sounded lopsided when
you bring in Townshend's puny guitar.  Townshend's songs for FD (and
presumably the demos for them) with the guitar played down just don't call
out for heavy drums.  I think Jones gave the songs drums along the lines of
Pete's demos.  Moon always went beyond, but Kenney wasn't Keith.  

And I agree that the production didn't help, with the drums or with just
about anything else on that album (I do apologize to all FD adherents, it's
not a worthless album, I just think it pales compared to the canon of Who
material--Tommy, LAL, WN, Quad, WBN).  Syzmcysfjsljgh whatever did the
Eagles, right (at least THE LONG RUN, yuck), and the drums on that album are
not all the lively either.  Maybe somebody should have told Bill S. that he
was producing a Who album.

Kenney was in a no win scenario. I think Kenney pretty much played Kenney on
his Who albums (he rocked out a little more on IH, with songs that afforded
that style better).  Wimpy songs bring out wimpy drums.  

--Jim

PS. I think we should all take Roger's venomous GOLDMINE comments with a
grain of salt.  The water under the bridge for Kenney and the rest of the Who
has not been all that pleasant. It seems that Roger has come to like FD more
and to hate Kenney more (it was the reverse years ago, where he disliked FD
but he didn't think Kenney was a "shit.").   If the circumstances had been
different during Kenney's tenure (i.e., no Cincinnati, no Pete as junkie, no
Pete with solo career), people might not be so quick to lambaste Kenney.

Interesting that Roger wanted Pete to totally rewrite IT'S HARD.  I wonder
why that never came out until 1994.