Roger Taylor Reveals How Big Of An Influence Keith Moon Is To His Talent
Roger Taylor with the Foo Fighters live in 2019 - Past & Present / Youtube
Queen worked efficiently well as a band, but they still have so many tricks up in their sleeve as individual artists. The world always finds time appreciating the glory of Freddie Mercury (frontman) and Brian May (guitarist), but for John Deacon (bassist) and Roger Taylor (drummer), they still fall far to being underrated.
For Roger Taylor, who brought the loud rhythm and cymbals for the group, he is the primary driver for beats that bring any Queen song to life. His style of playing is often compared to John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, the way he establishes himself as the backbone to Queen. Taylor is a huge fan of the late drummer, but there’s also that one person who’d made a huge impact on Taylor’s talents in drumming: none other than The Who’s Keith Moon.
Speaking about his favorite drummers, Taylor said: “Keith Moon was another big influence on me. He was just phenomenal at what he did, and he was another drummer with a great sound. Those tympanic toms were quite revolutionary and his phrasing was just so natural, untutored, and brilliant.”
Moon was an inspiration to Taylor, but the latter never did try and imitate the legend; instead, he opts to channel his drumming in his way, much like how Moon never tried to be branded as a copycat.
And Taylor loved to go to any The Who’s concerts in the early days. “The first time I saw him perform was with The Who in ’64 or ’65,” Taylor admitted. “It was just great. The Who was an outrageous band – real energy, real art. I loved them.” Singling out Moon, his praise for the drummer stems from the fact that he had a unique approach to The Who’s music.
They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but you don’t have to try hard and copy every single thing there is about your idol. If you’re Roger Taylor, you’re quite contented on admiring your hero from afar, as you launch yourself to become one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLZA575USmc&ab_channel=TrashDistrict
