They gotta be two of thee most remarkable drummers I have ever seen,
and they seem to share a very unique style of playing.
Put each drummer in the other band just for thought.
Although,
the drummer from Santana stole the frickin show!
For me the answer is "C".. Ginger Baker.
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Michael Shrieve was the name of Santana's drummer.
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"
For me the answer is "C".. Ginger Baker. - jellyree
Keith Moon vs. Mitch Mitchell? anyone? - d_a_rogers_71
There were a handful of groundbreaking, outstandingly talented drummers during the late sixties. Moon, Mitch Mitchell, Ginger Baker, Bonham, Michael Shrieve, Fito de la Parra... Each was unique, each fitted perfectly with their respective bands.
My personal favourite has got to be Moon. Others may have been more technically grounded, but for me Keith had a manic joy, a frenzied ability to appear as though he were playing the entire kit at once!
Howzabout Max Roach vs. Art Blakey? Chick Webb vs. Gene Krupa? Buddy Rich vs. Dave Tough? Philly Joe Jones vs. Jimmy Cobb? Joe Morello vs. Chico Hamilton?
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?
You're right, Keith was one of the best of all time. But to deal with a 'what if?" scenario, wherein Keith and Mitch traded bands, that would have changed musical history. Mitch outlived Keith by a ratio of a full thirty years, and thus would have ensured the original line-up of the The Who for a much longer time.
Mitch was actually jazz-trained, just like Charlie Watts, and was (likely) less of a 'wild man' than Keith. Ironically enough, Mitch was briefly a 'session man' for The Who, very early in their career (i.e before Keith joined).
I do not see Mitchell as perfectly fitting into The Who as we know it. Sure, he could have done so—he was talented enough musically—but as the previous poster noted, Mitchell's style was heavily influenced by modern jazz, by such game-changing bebop drummers as Kenny Clarke and Max Roach. That dynamic worked well with Jimi Hendrix, who could solo and improvise on guitar like a great jazz horn player. The Who, conversely, lacked that element—the band's approach was much more compact and much less spontaneous and free-flowing (albeit increasingly operatic). Unlike The Rolling Stones, The Who was not bluesy, either—in contrast to Keith Richards (or Brian Jones, let alone Mick Taylor), Pete Townsend certainly could not pass for a blues or rhythm-and-blues guitarist. Thus Keith Moon's streamlined, whipping power worked very well for The Who yet would not have optimally complemented Hendrix, who was a blues guitarist at his core and one with jazz-like improvisational virtuosity. For a guitarist with so much nuance and range, Mitchell, conversely, constituted a great complement.
By the way, in addition to Michtell and Charlie Watts, The Doors' drummer, John Densmore, was also heavily influenced by jazz and thus really complemented the polish of keyboardist Ray Manzarek and the poetic elements of singer and chief lyricist Jim Morrison.