i hate that drum solo. in fact i hate most drum solos. i mean, 25 minutes is a ridculous amount of time for any type of solo. its just self indulgent w*nk as far as i'm concerned. i also think john bonham is one of the most overrated drumers ever. i hate his horrible flat lifeless sounds that he produced on his kit and i think led zeppelin are one of the most boring, self indulgent bands i've ever heard. just my 2 euro cents. ok, let the insults and screaming at me commence..

I would think that if a band is going to have a song that contains a drum solo the drummer should be the one who picks the song.  That being said, if they insist on doing Moby Dick you need decide which way you are more comfortable doing the solo--try to do it like Bonham as close as possible or do your own thing or a little of both. You could structure the solo similar to Bonzo but use you own licks. There are a lot of possibilities.

I still feel this is a decision that a band should make with their drummer NOT for him/her.

staringelf -- you are soooooooooo in trouble!! bonham was king! [seriously, you should really, really, really check out his playing in depth. it's easy to dismiss him as simple, but... well, wait. it's NOT easy to dismiss him as simple!]  

but regarding the solo...

i am generally a play-by-the-book person with respect to covers. however, i think we have a little leeway with solos. since most people [except drummers] probably don't know that drum solo by heart, you have some flexibility. but i would still try to capture the essence of the solo.

fwiw, i watched my old teacher do that tune at a gig he had. he actually did a better solo than bonham. but people being people, you had a couple of wiseass*s [non-drummers] in the audience saying, 'oh look at this dude -- he thinks he's bonham.' and i'm thinking, 'would you just shut up?'

at the end of the day, i think in this instance you are free to do what you want. but let the original be your guide.

Yeah. No one's coming to come out swinging, the way you kind of did in this post. I feel I should point out, though, that this thread is not "Do you like Led Zeppelin, 'Moby Dick' or drum solos in general?", it's a pretty specific question. And while I appreciate that you maybe needed to get some observations about Zeppelin and Bonham off your chest, this isn't exactly the right thread to do that in.

Back to the original question - I would probably feel obliged to hit the major motifs of the original solo, but given that Bonham changed its length to suit his needs, maybe you can change its length to suit yours and play an 'abridged' version - I think that, in club situations, you're likely to lose people during a drum solo.

Also (and I realize I'm veering off-topic a little), I think people might bear with you through "Whole Lotta Love" more readily than through "Moby Dick."

well answered guys!!! Iits awesome to see the love and respect we all have for one another on this message board realy really koool! bUt my 2 cents  (Canadian so its much cheaper), You can never play like anyone my advice is, be original and try to write or compose your own solo. Learn to play like you, but not like someone else cos the credit will go to him and not you. goodluck

I don't know, man.  Moby Dick seems like kind of an odd song to play at a club.  IMO some songs are 'sacred' and just not made to be covered.  This would seem like one of them.

Besides, if they are making you play a song (with an open drum solo) that you're not really into, I don't know...it just seems odd.  Maybe they should reconsider.  There are plenty of other Zep tunes that are more accessible.  

All covers are open for interpretation, IMO, especially a song from a band notorious for extended jams. A song that is 30 years old, mind you, and not often covered. There are musical hooks the crowd is expecting from a cover, not note-for-note drum solos. Even if it's a serious Led Zep crowd (and how many of those are there in the world?), unless you are an exclusive Zep tribute band, three in 100 people will even care what kind of drum solo you play.

My suggestion? Don't play into your bandmates' Led Zeppelin fantasies. You are not John Bonham, they are not Led Zeppelin, and the crowd is simply wanting to have a good time. Whatever you do, make sure you appease the crowd.

I wouldn't play it if I wasn't into it.  That being said, I wouldn't worry too much about copping it lick for lick, just stick to the general theme.  

Staringelf, dude, nice first post.  Come out of the gate swinging for cryin' out loud.  At this point, you damage any credibility you may have expected to have.  This is not your typical forum, so check out the rules and read around to see the general atmosphere.  It will probably save you some problems in the future.

What the hay, give the tune a whirl and play it the best you can, throw in some of your own licks as well.  I think John would have liked that.

Kind of a weird tune for a club though.  I notice that I'm an old fart in clubs anymore- kinda weird.  Then I look at other older people and think *my, don't they look out of place*.  All the clubs I play at the kids wanna hear rap- metal or a combination there of.  Havn't graduated to the blue hair/blood jazz club scene.  Heck the nicest jazz clubs in town a kid couldn't even afford to get a buzz on- let alone the cover charge.

 :owhhoooaaa. hold up. i'm not trying to start a flame war. i'm simply giving my opinion on the solo. ok, i appreciate that the topic was what to do with the solo and not do you like/dislike it so for that i apologize, that was my first post and it had nothing to do with the topic so i shouldn't have posted it. but god i don't like led zeppelin, i just think they're way overrated although i can understand why people do like them so... but, i promise to be good and constructive from here on in.
clt2msb good luck with the solo, hope it goes well.