Moon Forgot How To Play?

["Schrade, Scott" <sschrade@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I have a doubt: was Keith Moon so fucked up before his death?  
> It's hard to think he could not play anymore, is it really true 
> or is it just a urban legend? 

It's healthy to question some of those "Who urban legends" to see if 
they hold water.  <insert 'Rolls Royce/swimming pool' joke here>

Was Moon unable to play the drums towards the end of his life? Of 
course not.  He could play.

Did Moon lose much of his quickness & power on the drums towards the
end of his life?  Yes, he did.

Entwistle used to say that after The Who took 1, 2, or even 3 years
off, Moon would have to "relearn" how to play his drums again.  Now,
I'm sure the glorious OX was embellishing the story a bit; all bands
& musicians have to practice after long periods of inactivity. (Ent-
wistle also states that Moon never even "tapped his fingers" when away 
from his drums!)

But as Leandro said, no one completely forgets how to play their in-
strument.  Moon *does* play drums on the majority of WHO ARE YOU.  
But I think anyone can tell that there is a difference between the 
drums on WHO ARE YOU & the drums on WHO BY NUMBERS from three years be-
fore.

Moon seems sluggish & unsure at times on WHO ARE YOU.  I blame much of
this on lack of practice; some of it on the marked switch in Pete's
songwriting style.  But a lot of it must be blamed on Moon's physical
state.

There's a glaring lack of energy-demanding, flurrying 16th-notes in
Moon's drumming on WHO ARE YOU.  The fills for the most part are plod-
ding, lumbering 8th-note rolls.  And while "on time," they're not ex-
actly reminiscent of Keith at his best.

Many of the songs lack driving, beat-pushing cymbals, too.  It's like 
Moon was "feeling the songs out" on just bass drum, snare, & toms - 
foregoing the added complexity of a cymbal attack (something he seemed
so effortlessly to whirl together in his past).

One can only blame the heavy drinking, weight gain, coke, pills, life-
style, etc. for all of this.  Moon could still play; he just wasn't
able to play nearly as well.  I'm sure in his mind he knew exactly how
he wanted to attack a song; unfortunately, his body was tired, his
energy mostly expended.

So when people tell you Moon was unable to play at the end of his life
you tell 'em to "fuck off."  Because he *could* play.  Just not as well. 
But he *could* play.

> Plus: I think Had Enough and Empty Glass have a good drumming.

"Had Enough" I like but the drums still sound stilted to me.  Pedantic.
And "Empty Glass" has that lurching hi-hat tempo drop at the beginning
when Moon ill-advisedly switches from 8th-notes to quarter-notes.

"Who Are You" & "Sister Disco" have the best drumming on WHO ARE YOU, IMO.


- SCHRADE in Akron