Here's a quick clip of a sober sounding Pete discussing Keith & Kenney on Rockline from '89. Interesting to hear him make such strong points in this short amount of time (possibly thanks to the great Bob Coburn RIP).
When I look at the Kilburn footage of December 15, 1977,, and see his performance on "My Wife" or some other tracks, he looks totally engaged and reminiscent of the younger Moon. He is obviously not the younger Moon, and exhibits some limitations, but I know it's the same guy. Kilburn is only 10 months before his death. On May 9, he is on fire for the "Who Are You" video. According to Fletcher, Entwistle claimed that as the film crew packed up their gear, he performed an "incredible" drum solo. On May 25, he is a shell of the guy on May 9. What gives?
They seem to be the only two Who members that were ever truly friends offstage. That said, I get the impression Entwistle was kind of burned out on Moon in the later years, and that they grew more distant when not working. Same thing apparently happened with another of Moon's good friends, Viv Stanshall.
It's a demo! Ok is kinda sucks! That's why you practice before making the album cut... Never intended for release, and probably not that many takes to achieve what is there..
There is nothing bad about Keith Moon's performances that jump out at me. The may be some of the Who music that I may not like as much as others, but I don't blame him for that.
Cool, and the band sounded waaaaaayyyyyy better with Moon than Phillips, regardless of technical proficiency. I think the demise of Keiths playing is overwrought...... I can't imagine another drummer on WAY! Shepperton from TKAA film does show Keith a lesser light.... The Kilburn DVD IMO is awesome.. One would question what work may or may not have been done with the performances...Never the less as product, I consider it fantastic.
Yes, I agree. I think you would enjoy reading this Rolling Stone article from 1978 Keith Moon: 1947-1978
Indeed it's unfair to judge both John and Keith on this demo.They were literally playing along in headphones to Pete's demo which to me both seem to know moderately well but not really familiar enough to go for it.By numbers! To me there's only sheppperton where he's outa whack.Jounalists etc always cite the phase because 'he was out of breath,unfit blah'. This boils my piss because it's seemed to become etched into Keiths epitaph.If we forget about the cow palace,boston and shepperton he was always the most exciting drummer in rock. Problem was 'the kind of rock(pete)' Keith played changed rapidly.Before he knew it maurice gibb asked him to play on night fever but it didn't work so they made a loop of bonhams bass drum,neal pearts snare,stewart copelands hi hat and sinatras hand clap sampled it and... If Keith hadn't have forgot how many heminevererin he had took that night I'd like to imagine they'd have split up then and got back together in the early nineties,made a rubbish comeback album but done some great tours.Maybe even now.
If that had happened, why do I have a vision of a Roger Waters VS Pink Floyd circa 1985 kinda thing happening between Pete and the rest of The Who? Maybe not to the same extreme, mind ya, but I could see Daltrey, Ox and Moon getting in another guitarist and carrying on as "The Who", much to Townshend's dismay... According to the Tony Fletcher Moon bio, Moonie was coked to the gills at Shepperton, and even the blow didn't help him get through "Won't Get Fooled Again". Note to coke users: yer wasting yer money on a drug where the high doesn't even last 8 minutes and 32 seconds (or whatever the length of "Won't Get Fooled Again" is)...keep that in mind when you buy yer next eight ball!
I see a speculative thread coming. Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Mick Taylor, Ritchie Blackmore, Tommy Iommi - possibilities are endless depending only on our imagination and perhaps on the timing.
Here is Kilburn's "Can't Explain." For so long we heard how Keith had been the total screw up at this show, that it was unreleasable because of his incapacity and rusty play. It's not there in this song, and it's Pete who ****s up at 1:12.
The reason the who changed was because Keith died. They only moved to "less intense places" because they lost keith. Had he lived, "80s who" wouldnt exist. The songs from those records may still have existed but the performances would sound entirely different with mooney on drums. That said, I don't mind all of the stuff they did in the 80s, there are some good songs in there, but it's almost an entirely different band.
I generally consider Keith's peak between 1968-1973. He truly becomes a force of nature in 68 I believe, watch the Rock n Roll circus for reference. By the early 70s he was one of the top rock drummers, with Tommy, Leeds, Who's Next and Quadrophenia all created within a span of 5 years. Quadrophenia is musically different from Tommy, but his drumming is as rhythmic and driving as ever. After the recording of Quadrophenia is when his performance drops. The ensuing tour still had good shows but Keith was becoming inconsistent. After moving to Malibu and several months off the road, Who By Numbers was recorded. Keith still sounds really good on this and runs the entire gamut of rock drumming across the 9 tracks, but the fire of the band heard on Who's Next is burning ever so slightly dimmer. On Who Are You, despite the added touch of china cymbals and heavy synthesization(?), his drumming is noticeably more sluggish. Kudos to whoever mentioned that Music must change is the same time signature as Love Reign Oer Me, since keith apparently couldn't figure out how to play in the 6/8 feel during the WAY sessions. That aside, he still sounds like mooney on the record, and his presence is strong in the songs. The Who's sound practically hung by a tether attached to Keith, a tether which of course snapped upon his death. But In spite of the last third of his career being in decline, the music he created through the first ten years with the Who still remains some of the most innovative and fresh percussion in rock history.
May 25, 2018 : it was 40 years ago today ... in 1978 Keith Moon played his final "gig" at Shepperton Studios for Jeff Stein's cameras ...
I think if Keith had lived, he would have replaced Dennis Wilson in the Beach Boys in 1984. Of course, if Keith gets to live, why not Dennis?
Substitute, I Can't Explain, Magic Bus, Summertime Blues, and My Generation. They played WGFA twice along with My Wife.
