HW 40th Anniversary Show - Huw

[John Majka]

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