Rhythm Sections

On my flight to G'burgh today, I was listening to the Who's song, "The Real Me." In the middle bridge of the song, Moon (drums) and Entwistle (bass) support Daltry (vocals) with no guitar, lead or rhythm (Townsend). The do it admirably. It got me thinking about rock band's "rhythm section."

Note: if you get a chance to listen along to "The Real Me," do so and listen to the bass line. It's remarkable.

Would someone who plays nothing but rhythm guitar be considered a member of a band's rhythm section? I would presume so, but I'm not sure how narrow a definition "rhythm section" really is.

But let's focus on drummer-bass combinations. Who would you say were the some of the best?

• Starr-McCartney (Beatles)
  
• Watts-Wyman (Rolling Stones)
  
• Bonham-Jones (Led Zeppelin)
• Mitchell-Redding (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
• Baker-Bruce (Cream)
  
• Moon-Entwistle (Who)
• Other?
  

I'm a huge fan of the Who, and I think Entwistle is the best rock bassist ever. The best description of Moon I'd ever heard was from an acquaintance who played drums in high school -- "Keith Moon played a drum solo throughout each song." It really is true. I watched an interview with Entwistle who said that Moon was actually a fairly "untidy" drummer, and that presented quite a challenge to him (Entwistle) to match bass with him.

I also think the Mitchell-Redding combination (Hendrix) was awesome.

If I ever get a chance to sit down at a drum kit and have the opportunity to play along to some song, that song is going to be "White Room" by Cream.

I've heard many people malign Starr's drumming, but I think they're being unfair. He definitely wasn't a flashy drummer, but he also was not mechanical and colorless. I can't describe it more than that ... he had a certain something. Understated-ness? And I think McCartney's bass playing was outstanding. I don't care for some of his sappy songs, but his basslines were great.

Thoughts? Leave aside song writing, guitars ... all that. It's all about drums/bass here.