Peter Hammill vs Jon Anderson

 

Certainly I respect that you like JA better, and I think the majority of the planet would agree with you! Otherwise, VdGG would have been a lot more successful (I've tried to turn several people onto VdGG over the years and, while they liked the music enough, they couldn't get past his vocals, at least the gruffness from Godbluff on [people are generally okay with the earlier, less harsh Hammill style]).

 

But you used the word 'power' and, even if you hate the sound of his voice, there's no denying that PH can belt it out stronger and in a way that JA (and, indeed, most singers) could never hope to match. Hammill has inspired, and can more than match, the best of several classic heavy metal and punk legends (Bruce Dickenson from Iron Maiden, Rob Halford from J. Priest, etc). Doesn't mean that you'll like the sound of it, but there's no denying the balls-out raw power behind it (I can't imagine JA, or Peter Gabriel, Ian Anderson, etc, singing any of the harsher songs on Nadir's Big Chance or Vital - if you're not familiar with those albums, don't get them as you'll probably loathe them, but rest assured that 'power' is not something lacking in those albums). In no way is Jon Anderson a more 'powerful' singer than Peter Hammill, unless your using the word to describe your experience of listening to JA, i.e. a 'powerful' experience.