What do you think of Peter Hamill's(VDGG)singing?

Absolutely killer singing. I go nuts to that.

"Maelstrom of my memory

   is a vampyre and it feeds on me

      now staggering madly over the brink I FALL"

 

 

He's in my Top 5 Singers of all time. Better than most is close enough 

Fair enough. As far as influence, most of those named have sold gazillions of records so they're going to be more influential. Hammill's output is much less commercial (which doesn't mean it's "better"); he has made a successful 45 year career of working on the fringe, mining the outer edge of style, fashion, etc, which obviously appeals to him and his fanbase. That'll equate to less units sold than the superstars you mention, but it doesn't make him less great... just less successful (but still successful).

 

As far as ability, Hammill was never a 'perfect' singer, but he makes up for that in other areas (all of this with the understanding that his voice can be a real turnoff for some in a way that those mentioned probably are not). The broad range of styles, from punk growl to choirboy falsetto, from wistfull gentleness to angst ridden howl, is not too common amongst the majority of famous rock vocalists. You seriously can play four or five Hammill tunes to an unsuspecting listener and have them thinking that all songs are being sung by different people. So there is tremendous ability and range there, but maybe just not the obvious type that immediately springs to mind when discussing such things.

As far as greatness, the fact that one can sustain a very successful 45 year career doing pretty much what he's always wanted to do without giving an inch, is pretty great on a lot of levels. I know Stratton Smith (Hammill's old label boss and manager at Charisma) always thought that PH either subconsciously or consciously averted fame. Like, when an album was moderately successful or the public/critics were more accepting of him, he'd follow it up with a musique concrete album, or something pretty dumb career-wise. Still, he's played by his own rules and has been able to have his cake and eat it.

 

But I suppose (among other things) that critical perception plays a part to the concept of 'greatness' you mention. All the singers you list certainly are legendary and even iconic in some cases. But modern critical assessment of Hammill's work is very favorable as well. Lots of press, great reputation for several years now (better than when he was actually in his 70's heyday; critics didn't mind taking a bash at him now and then at that time; now he's pretty golden). Classic Rock Magazine (not the prog CRP, but the general mainstream mag) included Hammill as one of their 50 Icons of British Rock, with a written essay by fan Jack Endino (producer of Nirvana, Soundgarden, etc); Mojo Magazine summed up his career with, "From ballet to bedlam to breadwinning, the career of Peter Hammill has been one of the most indominable journeys in post-war British Music"; Uncut simply called VdGG "the coolest, strangest band in prog"; The Rough Guide To Rock has stated that if Britain ever opens its own Rock Hall of Fame, then Hammill should have a spot; recent feature articles in The Wire, Record Collector, and newspapers such as The Times, The Independent, etc, also have been laudatory. This is all Briain, but even in the States there has been some great stuff of late (PBS TV 1/2 hour special last year on VdGG; New York Times writeup (the most famous of the several newspapers covering VdGG's recent tour[s]); a nice radio piece on NPR's "All Things Considered" where it was stated that while prog may have been overblown, Hammill was the one classic prog guy who got it right (not a popular opinion on this board where prog is much loved, or one I subscribe to, but a common theme when PH is written/talked about by mainstream press). He even got a great feature article in Guitar Player Magazine; I'll be the first to admit that the guy is no Wes Montgomery, so I was surprised by that (Britain's equivalent, Guitar and Bass Magazine, also gave him a big article; PH ain't the greatest string picker, and has problems even staying in tune, so I don't get where these guitar nerds, who actually can play, are praising him and giving him space in specialty guitar mags... but that's by the by). So, PH certainly can't compete with the people you mention in terms of success (and I like some of those you mention) but that doesn't mean that he's not great also.