HW 40th Anniversary Show - Huw

[Steve Swann]

Well, that's cool to know.  I always thought there was something just fundamentally *different* about the sound of Huw's solos compared to other rock guitarists.  

I wonder if the same is true of Buck?  I know BOC was noted for having jazz trained musicians, and I get some of the same vibe from his soloing...  Is Al reading this thread?

Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: John Majka <jmajk at INDY.RR.COM>
Date: Friday, Apr 17, 2009 10:38 am
Subject: Re: HW 40th Anniversary Show - Huw
To: Reply-    BOC/Hawkwind Discussion List <BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET>To: BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET

Whereas most guitar players exclusively use the pentatonic minor (blues) 
scale when soloing, Huw seems to use all the modes of the major scale, 
especially the mixolydian, which adds a lot more flavor, as there is more of 
an exotic feel as "outer" notes are included that don't strictly belong in 
the key of the song.  It's a much more advanced and jazzy approach to 
things.
John Majka


> On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 08:15:26PM -0400, John Majka typed out:
> As a guitar player myself, I've always been hugely impressed with Huw. 
> He
> does indeed have a unique signature style quite unlike that of anyone 
> else
> I've ever heard.  I am always completely mesmerized listening to his 
> leads
> in Hawkwind and on his solo albums.  Others may speak of Simon's skills,
> but for me, Huw is definitely Hawkwind's most musically gifted member. 
> I'd
> love for him to join up with the rest of the hawks for another musical
> journey....

> I once made an ex of mine who didn't care much for the treble
 register listen to one of Huw's breaks, possibly the _Live '79_
 `Brainstorm' or maybe even live with Litmus once, and she actually paid
 some attention and then said, "he's not even in the same key as the rest
 of them". And I listened and thought, he's not, is he? He's cutting
 across them in a minor key in some way that fits perfectly but sounds
 really affecting. And since I noticed that I've found that this is, for
 me, Huw's big trick, he's really good at playing across the band. This
 is why Jerry Richards, despite being very good too, never really
 replaced Huw as lead for me, because he just sounds like Brock on speed
 and without as chunky an amp set-up. Huw sounds like no-one else (much
 like Dave himself), but I'm not sure that it's particularly because of
 his technical skill, which does vary somewhat in performance these days,
 but because of his ear for the best route across the rest of the music.
 And of course, doing that makes him stand out in a way that Jerry
 doesn't.

> I don't know if that actually has much musical basis, but maybe
 someone who can speak to such things will tell me if I'm wrong. Yours,

> Jon

> -- 
 "When fortune wanes, of what assistance are quantities of elephants?"
     (Juvaini, Afghan Muslim chronicler, c. 1206)
 Jon Jarrett, Fitzwilliam Museum, jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk