[QUOTE=pulykamell]
I’m also just not a big fan of Moon’s style of constant 16th-note (or triplets or whatever) fills. It’s a stylistic preference, though–I don’t like a drummer that tries to fill up every bit of silence with a beat. He’s too much “in front” for my tastes. But he does rock and absolutely captures the rock spirit and the spirit of the Who. I can’t see the Who with any other drummer and I can’t see Moon with any other band.
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I don’t remember who said it - maybe it was Entwhistle - but I heard that, where bands like Zep succeeded by the musicians playing with each other, The Who succeeded by the musicians playing against each other.
Alex Lifeson of Rush once said that, for years he considered Jimmy Page to be his biggest influence. But looking back at how his playing had evolved with Rush, he realized that his playing was much more like Townshend: providing texture and atmosphere instead of competing with a busy rhythm section.
Anyway, I’ve never really been a fan of either The Who or Led Zeppelin, but I’ll take a crack:
Since I’m a bassist I’ll start there. I’ll take JPJ over Entwhistle. This is mostly just a matter of preference. Both were brilliant - I just like JPJ’s overall feel better (despite the fact that my favorite bassist, Geddy Lee, has a style more akin to Entwhistle). The caveat is that I’ve heard more LZ songs than Who songs, so I’ve probably missed some Entwhistle lines that might change my opinion.
Moon vs. Bonham: I’ll go with Moon. Again, a matter of preference, rather than a judgment of talent. The first thing that pops into my head is that I simply hate the sound of Bonham’s kit. Although I’m not a drummer, I have a very definite idea of how I like drums to sound. I strongly prefer drums to sound resonant and to have a distinct “tone” to them, but to me Bonham’s drums sound flat and thuddy. My bias probably comes from the fact that I grew up in the era when most rock drummers used massive kits with multiple, precisely-tuned toms ala Keith Moon. But to my ears, even Ringo Starr got a better “tone” out of his 4-piece kit than Bonham did.
Townshend vs. Page: I’ll say Page simply as the default, referring once again to the fact that I’ve heard more LZ than Who, and just haven’t heard many Who songs that feature Townshend doing much more than strumming or hitting power chords.
Daltrey vs. Plant: Daltrey, hands down. As with Bonham’s drums, I can’t stand the sound of Plant’s squealing voice. I also don’t like his constant “Oh oh oh oooooooooooonnnnnneeeeeooo uh uh uh …”. I like singers who shut the hell up and get out of the way during the instrumental parts of songs. I like Daltrey’s versatility - the way he doesn’t sound exactly the same on every song - he changed his delivery to suit the mood of the song (though I suspect that, in some cases, it’s Townshend singing lead without me realizing it). And, like my favorite metal singers, Daltrey’s screams sound masculine, whereas Plant’s sound too feminine to my ears.
