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Tangential: I can't for the life of me understand why The Who chose Kenney Jones as the replacement drummer after Moon died, and kept him for nearly ten years.

Tangential: I can't for the life of me understand why The Who chose Kenney Jones as the replacement drummer after Moon died, and kept him for nearly ten years. While competent, his playing on It's Hard is about as inspiring as a metronome, and if that's the way he played live, it would have really taken away the dynamism that The Who were famous for. Live at Leeds (1970) is one of the most driving, passionate live rock albums ever recorded, and other Moon-era live recordings (check out "Thirty Years of Maximum R&B") underline how important Moon's drumming was to the band. They would have been better off with this kid.

OfSanguineFire 3y ago
Could it be the case of hiring an uninspiring player so that the surviving members can enjoy the limelight and preserve their existing brand? Think of how, after Bill Berry retired from R.E.M., that band hired various drummers who were supposed to remain quietly in the background, not represent the band in the press, etc.
remote_phone 3y ago
He replaced Keith moon first on Face Dances, and you’re right, he is nothing more than a metronome. Keith Moon was a one-of-a-kind drummer. He pushed the drums up from the background to a first-order instrument. He didn’t keep time and didn’t maintain a steady beat. I recently started teaching myself drums and when I listened carefully to Keith Moon, he doesn’t maintain any semblance of repeatable beat. But it’s beautiful and intimidating and ferocious. I wonder why others haven’t tried to imitate him because it’s so much more interesting than a regular drummer.
- wyclif 3y ago
  Keith Moon was the first and only drummer I've ever heard that played "lead drums."
- jksmith 3y ago
  From my amateur ear, Moon and Bonham are the only ones who both played match grip but were exceptional and were members of popular bands. Even Peart is a bit of a yawner compared to these two. Compare to all those great drummers not playing match grip, like a dozen including Buddy Rich, Keith Carlock, Steve Gadd, other great jazz drummers, and with the exceptions I mentioned, match grip doesn't hold up as well to my ear. One more match grip exception would be Tony Thompson, who exemplified why xor decisions suck for just about everything in life. Oh yeah, Modula2 foundationally rules. Just needed some more iterations.
  - whstl 3y ago
    Good points. I think Bill Bruford is another exception, matched grip, but IMO he also qualifies as being exceptional and not a yawner! :D
GoofballJones 3y ago
Maybe they were ready to have someone that wasn't so volatile.
whstl 3y ago
Yeah I always wondered too. I assume they chose him because they wanted a "peer" from the old days that had its own thing rather than an anonymous player/fan that could replicate Moon's style. Also at this point I guess they were ok with a change in style. Similar to, for example, Metallica picking Rob Trujillo, Dio in Sabbath or maybe Dave Navarro in Red Hot Chili Peppers. He's not too bad live, though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w0RB6A9vak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w0RB6A9vak I still miss Keith Moon, though.
- ilamont 3y ago
  True. The online articles all note that he was a peer and friend from the Mod days. And being able to "get along" counts. OTOH the names you mentioned are arguably brilliant in their own right. I just don't see that spark in Moon's replacement.
  - stavros 3y ago
    For me, Dio really took Sabbath to the next level. The albums they put out together are amazing, and some of my favorite albums to this day. I was lucky enough to see them in Athens as Heaven and Hell, and it was a once in a lifetime experience.
    - epiccoleman 3y ago
      I like Dio era Sabbath a lot, but it really does feel like a different band in a lot of ways. To some extent that's probably a product of developing musicianship and musical interests among the whole group, but Dio as the frontman definitely is a major vibe change from Ozzy and the sludgy occult warbles of the first few Sabbath albums. For my money, though - thank God we got both versions. I really like Heaven and Hell and also Dehumanizer had some great tracks. And I wouldn't trade Paranoid or Master of Reality for the world.
      - stavros 3y ago
        I agree with all of that, I just prefer Dio. I definitely wouldn't want War Pigs to not have existed, though, or to not have been sung by Ozzy.

OfSanguineFire 3y ago

Could it be the case of hiring an uninspiring player so that the surviving members can enjoy the limelight and preserve their existing brand? Think of how, after Bill Berry retired from R.E.M., that band hired various drummers who were supposed to remain quietly in the background, not represent the band in the press, etc.

remote_phone 3y ago

He replaced Keith moon first on Face Dances, and you’re right, he is nothing more than a metronome. Keith Moon was a one-of-a-kind drummer. He pushed the drums up from the background to a first-order instrument. He didn’t keep time and didn’t maintain a steady beat. I recently started teaching myself drums and when I listened carefully to Keith Moon, he doesn’t maintain any semblance of repeatable beat. But it’s beautiful and intimidating and ferocious. I wonder why others haven’t tried to imitate him because it’s so much more interesting than a regular drummer.

wyclif 3y ago
Keith Moon was the first and only drummer I've ever heard that played "lead drums."
jksmith 3y ago
From my amateur ear, Moon and Bonham are the only ones who both played match grip but were exceptional and were members of popular bands. Even Peart is a bit of a yawner compared to these two. Compare to all those great drummers not playing match grip, like a dozen including Buddy Rich, Keith Carlock, Steve Gadd, other great jazz drummers, and with the exceptions I mentioned, match grip doesn't hold up as well to my ear. One more match grip exception would be Tony Thompson, who exemplified why xor decisions suck for just about everything in life. Oh yeah, Modula2 foundationally rules. Just needed some more iterations.
- whstl 3y ago
  Good points. I think Bill Bruford is another exception, matched grip, but IMO he also qualifies as being exceptional and not a yawner! :D

GoofballJones 3y ago

Maybe they were ready to have someone that wasn't so volatile.

whstl 3y ago

Yeah I always wondered too. I assume they chose him because they wanted a "peer" from the old days that had its own thing rather than an anonymous player/fan that could replicate Moon's style. Also at this point I guess they were ok with a change in style. Similar to, for example, Metallica picking Rob Trujillo, Dio in Sabbath or maybe Dave Navarro in Red Hot Chili Peppers. He's not too bad live, though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w0RB6A9vak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w0RB6A9vak I still miss Keith Moon, though.

ilamont 3y ago
True. The online articles all note that he was a peer and friend from the Mod days. And being able to "get along" counts. OTOH the names you mentioned are arguably brilliant in their own right. I just don't see that spark in Moon's replacement.
- stavros 3y ago
  For me, Dio really took Sabbath to the next level. The albums they put out together are amazing, and some of my favorite albums to this day. I was lucky enough to see them in Athens as Heaven and Hell, and it was a once in a lifetime experience.
  - epiccoleman 3y ago
    I like Dio era Sabbath a lot, but it really does feel like a different band in a lot of ways. To some extent that's probably a product of developing musicianship and musical interests among the whole group, but Dio as the frontman definitely is a major vibe change from Ozzy and the sludgy occult warbles of the first few Sabbath albums. For my money, though - thank God we got both versions. I really like Heaven and Hell and also Dehumanizer had some great tracks. And I wouldn't trade Paranoid or Master of Reality for the world.
    - stavros 3y ago
      I agree with all of that, I just prefer Dio. I definitely wouldn't want War Pigs to not have existed, though, or to not have been sung by Ozzy.