Nadir's Big Chance
by Peter Hammill

Nadir's Big Chance by Peter Hammill
Year: 1975
Release date: 1975-02-07
Overall rank: 8,371st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 62 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1975 (119th)
Award Top albums of of the 1970s (1,212th)
Award Best albums of all time (8,371st)

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Peter Hammill bestography

Nadir's Big Chance is ranked 2nd best out of 45 albums by Peter Hammill on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Peter Hammill is The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage which is ranked number 3338 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 455.

Peter Hammill album bestography « Higher ranked (3,338th)
The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage
This album (8,371st)
Nadir's Big Chance
Lower ranked (8,371st) »
Nadir's Big Chance

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Nadir's Big Chance rankings

Nadir's Big Chance rankings summary
Overall rank: 8,371st | 1970s rank: 1,212th | 1975 rank: 119th  Overall chart history
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings).Help Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 3 hours ago)

Nadir's Big Chance collection

Nadir's Big Chance ratings

Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 62 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 3 ratings for this album.  | Show all 62 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 !
05/03/2026 19:49 BorderFreeAndrew  Ratings distribution  15,73674/100
 
85/100
 !
03/05/2026 02:57 RockyRaccoon  Ratings distribution  7,23484/100
 
75/100
 !
12/28/2025 08:08 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  15,90370/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 7% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.4/100, a mean average of 75.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.1.


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Nadir's Big Chance favourites

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Nadir's Big Chance forum mentions

This album has been referenced 5 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
“Peter Hammill. The front man for the epic prog-rock group known as . One of my favorite vocalists who has a great run of solo material, as well as an amazing discography with VDGG. I'd probably start with a record from his group if you're into proggier works (or if you are a fan of saxophone). For…”
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“What album are you listening to right now?”
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Nadir's Big Chance comments

Showing all 4 comments |
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Rating:  
100/100
Little known, highly influential. This is one album that is regularly quoted by the artists listed on lists. If the musicians that are on the lists would create their own lists, this album would regularly be found in the Top 10s. How come this album not gets picked by amateurs? It is likely a problem of definition, this album plays on the borders between prog, glam and metal, styles that went in opposite directions in the years following the release of this album. Proggers don't like it because it is too glam, glams don't like it because it is too heavy, metal heads don't like it because it is too prog. If you like eclectic, strap yourself in for a ride back and forth and back and forth and oups!, sideways now.

Remember though, that album was there at the BIRTH of these styles, it wasn't influenced by them, it influenced them. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 8
Rating:  
85/100
A brilliant album in every way. Musicality, lyrics, production. Sounds superb on vinyl. One of those albums where you hear different things every time you listen to it. Really difficult to pick a favourite as there are so many musical styles at play, Open Your Eyes and Shingle Song are my top two. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 2
Initially I though this was inferior to his more experimental stuff, but now I see it as one of his best albums. It's great and really groovy. Birthday Special is a blast to listen to. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 2
From 09/21/2018 22:22 | #221450 | TOP COMMENT Help Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
I initially didn't get this album and I favored Peter's more "experimental stuff" but now I realize that this stuff is extremely creative too, just in a different way. Birthday Special is really a blast. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 1
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