The iconic drummer The Who’s Keith Moon described as “technically perfect”
“One of the great things about rock and roll music is that it’s never the same,” Keith Moon explained in 1973, wistfully reflecting on what happens when he takes to the stage and gets behind the drum kit. “You never play the same riff twice. All the time, you’re thinking of ways to improve on the original,” mused the percussionist, who rarely sat still on his artistic innovations, no matter how natural they were. Moon might have gotten tired of the same old conversations in his latter years, but one thing that never fatigued him was musical progress.
Aside from being authentic and straight-talking, Moon prided himself on being purely instinct-driven. Due to the nature of his childhood, he didn’t spend much time studying other drumming virtuosos. He quickly carved out his own way of playing, letting his emotions take over and allowing himself to be taken in any direction his body dictated. As he once put it, he was “the world’s best Keith-Moon-type drummer.”
Because of this, Moon isn’t exactly the first name you might mention when discussing the most technically efficient drummers. In fact, this was something even he admitted to not being very good at, but his style was delivered with such ferocity that he earned himself a space among the greats, even if he didn’t come from a classical jazz-percussionist background.
One thing that didn’t help when attempting to understand the mind behind the master was how Moon appeared in interviews. Most of the time, he seemed to be in a cynical mood and other times, he appeared playful, so getting to the root of anything that truly drove him was a difficult endeavour. Rolling Stone may have attempted this in the early 1970s, but many others were given the same attitude, and, on the odd occasion he was acting sincere, he spoke about how boring it was to repeat the same old answers.
That said, he did provide some insights on his favourite musicians from time to time, even if it wasn’t entirely his favourite subject of conversation. Despite not possessing too much technical adeptness himself, one person he felt mastered the art was Joe Morello. After once responding “not many” when asked his favourite musicians, he proceeded to name a couple that did leave a lasting impact.
“D.J. Fontana [Elvis‘ original drummer] is one,” he said. “Let’s see, the drummers I respect are Eric Delaney and Bob Henrit [from Argent] and I got a ‘huge list, really, and all for different reasons. Technically, Joe Morello is perfect. I don’t really have a favourite drummer. I have favourite drum pieces and that’s it. I would never put on an LP of a drummer and say everything he did I love because that’s not true.”
Admitting that he felt someone like Morello was “perfect” might not have been something he said with ease, but that shows how much he stood by the sentiment. Ultimately, such praise is a testament to Morello’s extraordinary talent and impact on the music industry, which even his most sceptical peers couldn’t help but acknowledge.
