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Keith Moon Photo Book - A Review
Well, I received the new Keith Moon photo book compiled by his
longtime chauffeur/guardian Dougal Butler.
I've said before I was leery about getting this book because I was
somewhat disappoited with The Who Live photo book that came out
a while back.
So why did I buy this book? Well, Q Magazine gave it a great review
& so did respected lister Rich. Hence my credit card took a $170.00
hit.
Was it worth it? Thankfully, yes. I'm very pleased with this book.
Whereas the photos in The Who Live were almost all taken by pro-
fessional photographers, capturing the band in familiar jumps & mot-
ions (non-motions when it comes to OX) we've all seen hundreds, if
not thousands, of times, this Keith Moon book contains refreshingly
unprofessional & candid photos that excitingly make you think you're
sneaking an unallowed peak at someone's personal scrapbook.
For example, there's a fascinatingly confusing picture of Moon calmly
waiting in line for ice-cream at Disney Land in the late-seventies. Ever
seen *that* side of Moon before? I hadn't.
Dougal Butler took most of these pictures, except the ones he's in of
course. There aren't a whole lot of shots of the "in-concert" Moon.
Most are taken in hotels, at parties, at rehearsals, at home, etc. Again,
very refreshing.
Copies of bar tabs & bank notices nicely confirm many of the wild
stories we've heard through the years.
Not a whole lot of band photos here. And few shots of TED. But it's
a book on Moon, so that's to be expected. No complaint there.
There's one shot, though, which does contain Townshend & Daltrey
that I found interesting. It shows Pete, Roger, & Keith leaving the stage
area after an outdoor show in the mid-seventies. They're surrounded
by a throng of people, Pete & Rog are leading the way & seem to be
caught in mid-arguement about something that must've happened during
the show. They're not happy with each other, that's obvious.
Moon is directly behind them, embedded in the throng of people fol-
lowing Pete & Rog. What's he doing? Well, he's not goofing. He's
not joking. He's not laughing. He's not camping. He's not even smiling.
He's intently following the arguement going on in front of him with a
stern, concerned look on his face. It's obviously not a time to be loon-
ing. The people around them seem to have disappered in the minds
of Pete, Rog, & Keith. All that is focused on is the arguement at hand.
It might sound like a dumb photo to get excited about, but that picture
alone perfectly captures the importance & magnitude that the band
held for Keith. Family arguements can be brutally serious.
Other pictures lead to similar insights. A picture of Moon playing pin-
ball in his gameroom while young daughter Mandy stands in the door-
way holding a popsickle, apprehensive about enetering the room (she
was sometimes afraid of her oddly behaving father, we're told).
I could go on.....
The book is autographed & numbered, contains a light amount of text
by Dougal, & witty picture captions for most of the shots.
These photos capture all shades of Moon. Drunk, hungover, ecstatic,
dejected, serious, playful (entertaining some kids in a hotel kiddie pool!).
You name it, this book's got it. All done with fascinating personal pic-
tures, some off-centered or blurry, which open up thoughts of the *real*
Keith Moon in all his moods & emotions. Wonderful book.
Grade: A
- SCHRADE in Akron