Voice
Hammill's voice is a very distinctive element of his music. He sings in an emotional, often even dramatic way. As a former Jesuit chorister, his delivery is usually Received Pronunciation British English — notable exceptions are his Afrikaner accent on "A Motor-bike in Afrika" and his Cockney accent on "Polaroid" — and ranges in tone from peacefully celestial to screaming rants (which are nevertheless highly controlled). Singing in registers from baritone to high falsetto, he growls, croons, shrieks and shouts in ways that have drawn comparison with the guitar playing of Jimi Hendrix.
Read more about this topic: Peter Hammill
Famous quotes containing the word voice:
“Sometimes in conversation the sound of our own voice distracts us and misleads us into making assertions that in no way express our true opinions.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“For, surely, surely, where
Your voice and graces are,
Nothing of death can any feel or know.”
—Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864)
“‘Stay—stay with us!—rest—thou art
weary and worn!’—
And fain was their war-broken soldier to stay;—
But sorrow return’d with the dawning of morn,
And the voice in my dreaming ear melted away.”
—Thomas Campbell (1774–1844)