Two Sides of the Moon

Keith Moon didn't have much of a singing voice, nor did he have much of an inclination to write music. He was a great noisy drummer, and his chaotic playing often made the Who sound unhinged. Based on the band's records, you might assume that Moon's lone solo album, Two Sides of the Moon, was a raucous rocker, but it's not — it's the epitome of the superstar jam album. Much like a Ringo Starr record, Two Sides of the Moon features an untold number of superstar cameos — including Ringo, Flo & Eddie, Harry Nilsson, Rick Nelson, Steve Cropper, Joe Walsh, John Sebastian and Dick Dale — who are all there to jam on oldies and lame, underdeveloped originals. It's overproduced and overblown, and since Moon has a thin, tuneless, nasal voice, he doesn't have the charisma to make the whole affair entertaining. Instead, it's a tedious, colorless listen, with only a little of Moon's absurdist humor and very few strong songs — if John Lennon's throwaway "Move over Ms. L" is a standout, things aren't in good shape. If these flaws can be overlooked, you'll find a historical artifact that stands as a testament to the wretched hubris that was the '70s for many '60s superstars.