# Artists who arguably have produced BOTH the best AND the worst in their field **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937 "2020-01-04T16:31:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/1 "2020-01-04T16:31:01Z")
Best and worst are subjective of course, which makes this game a little easier. Which artists – any medium – could be argued to have produced both the best work, and the worst work in their field. Here are a couple to consider: **Laurence Sterne** – this is slightly unfair. **Tristram Shandy** is a towering work of genius. I might even argue that this work, written in the mid 18th century, more or less exhausted the possibilities of what could be achieved with the novel. And **Journal To Eliza** is maudlin, mawkish, lovesick crap. And those are its good points – but then it was never intended to be published. So, as I said, slightly unfair. **Johnny Cash** , though – no excuses. There is so much to admire, but I’ll keep it to a couple – from the early years there’s [**I Walk The Line**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq0fUa0vW_E); and from very near to the end, when he was close to death, there’s [**In My Life**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlhcyWLORes). They are so well known that there is no need for me to heap praise on them – the links are there just for you to enjoy. And then there’s **A Boy Named Sue**. Speechless. Well, not quite – that’s the thing with country, it’s done on a cliff-edge of sentiment and emotion, and when you take it that little bit too far, you fall off the cliff. No link for this one. It would be inhumane. So: who else ya got? j ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/2 "2020-01-04T16:50:58Z")
**Phil Collins.** He took part in writing some of the best music of all time with early Genesis. Then he later embarked on a solo career. **Jon Anderson** , **Steve Howe** , **Rick Wakeman** : Some of their solo stuff is the most insipid crap ever made. After listening to it, it’s hard to believe these are the same people who created _Close to the Edge_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/3 "2020-01-04T16:51:44Z")
Cash may have sung “A Boy Named Sue,” but it was written by Shel Silverstein, and is right in his wheelhouse (e.g., “The Unicorn,” “Sylvia’s Mother” (and most of Dr. Hook’s earlier work), and _The Giving Tree_). Alfred Bester wrote to classics of the SF field, _The Demolished Man_ and _The Stars My Destination_ (both of which hold up pretty well today), then returned to novel writing with _The Computer Connection_ (good start, but falls apart halfway through) and _Golem 100_. His reputation dropped precipitously after that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/4 "2020-01-04T17:32:45Z")
For science fiction, my pick would have been Heinlein. On the one end, _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ is a serious contender for best SF novel ever written, and plenty of his other works are likewise excellent… and then you have drek like _Number of the Beast_. Even if you restrict it very narrowly, say, to time-travel short stories, you’ve got “By His Own Bootstraps” and “All You Zombies”, compared to “Elsewhen”. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/5 "2020-01-04T17:35:16Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > **Phil Collins.** He took part in writing some of the best music of all time with early Genesis. Then he later embarked on a solo career. Without his solo career, we would not have [the greatest drum solo of all time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ft954vXPa4). ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/6 "2020-01-04T17:38:57Z")
GEORGE. LUCAS. Thread over!!! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/7 "2020-01-04T18:03:32Z")
I thought this thread was going to be about Adam Sandler. OK he isn’t be accused of making the best movie of all time but _Uncut Gems_ is being widely acclaimed with award show buzz. And then there is _Jack and Jill_ But thinking of _Jack and Jill_ there may be a candidate. It can be argued that Al Pacino has given the best acting performance in _The Godfather._ I won’t argue with you if you say he gave the worst performance ever in _Jack and Jill_. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/8 "2020-01-04T18:03:45Z")
McCartney is right up there. You have to consider Jagger, Brian Wilson, and lots of others. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/9 "2020-01-04T18:07:09Z")
I’ll go with Adam Sandler. Happy Gilmore is going to be in the list of the greatest comedy movies of all time. Then anything made in the last 20 years is going to be near the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/10 "2020-01-04T18:25:26Z")
John Wayne: there was The Shootist, and then there was Riders of Destiny, wherein he played a singing cowboy. Granted, he was only 26 when he did the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/11 "2020-01-04T18:48:42Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > McCartney is right up there. > > You have to consider Jagger, Brian Wilson, and lots of others. McCartney was one of the first names I thought of, but I’m not sure it’s fair to mention people like him. True, there’s a huge gap in quality between his best stuff and his worst stuff. But is his worst stuff really at the bottom of all the millions of pop and/or rock songs ever recorded? The thread title question may only be answerable if we don’t take “worst in their field” too literally. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/12 "2020-01-04T18:51:20Z")
Chuck Berry went from “Johnny B. Goode” to “My Ding-a-Ling” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/13 "2020-01-04T18:57:55Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > McCartney was one of the first names I thought of, but I’m not sure it’s fair to mention people like him. True, there’s a huge gap in quality between his best stuff and his worst stuff. But is his worst stuff really at the bottom of all the millions of pop and/or rock songs ever recorded? > > The thread title question may only be answerable if we don’t take “worst in their field” too literally. Shakespeare wrote both _Hamlet_ and _Titus Andronicus_. While the latter is far far below his best, it probably doesn’t qualify as the worst play of all time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/14 "2020-01-04T19:01:58Z")
Will Eisner created The Spirit, the masterpiece of expressive comic-book art that winks at a bare minimum of _‘superhero’_ basics to instead do _‘private eye in the big city pairs detective work with the ability to take a punch while investigating crime after crime and crossing paths with femme fatale after femme fatale’_ storytelling that transcends the genre. He also created Ebony White. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/15 "2020-01-04T19:38:53Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Chuck Berry went from “Johnny B. Goode” to “My Ding-a-Ling” And what was his only #1 hit? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/16 "2020-01-04T20:12:37Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Will Eisner created The Spirit, the masterpiece of expressive comic-book art that winks at a bare minimum of _‘superhero’_ basics to instead do _‘private eye in the big city pairs detective work with the ability to take a punch while investigating crime after crime and crossing paths with femme fatale after femme fatale’_ storytelling that transcends the genre. > > He also created Ebony White. Ebony has issues (mostly his appearance), but there are a lot of positive aspects – the Spirit accepted him as an equal and Eisner never used him for racial humor (other scripters who took over when Eisner was in the army did lapse). ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/17 "2020-01-04T20:28:43Z")
M. Night Shyamalan made The Sixth Sense, a really great movie. He also made The Last Airbender, a total snooze and destruction of a great show. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/18 "2020-01-04T20:48:10Z")
Stephen King: Went from the top of his game with 'Salem’s Lot, The Shining, etc. to Tommyknockers, which was pretty dreadful. Probably not the worst horror fiction ever written, but a good demonstration of why you shouldn’t do drugs. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/19 "2020-01-04T20:53:32Z")
Stevie Wonder’s early Motown stuff was already astounding, but the 5 albums from “Music Of My Mind” from 1972 to “Songs In The Key Of Life” from 1976 are transcendental. Well, later he made “I Just Called To Say I Love You” and “Ebony And Ivory”, two of the most trite and banal pieces of music ever put on a record. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937/20 "2020-01-04T21:24:20Z")
Philip K. Dick is my favorite author, and he wrote some truly great novels like _Ubik_ and _The Man in the High Castle_. However, to pay the rent he cranked out some lousy stuff, like _Vulcan’s Hammer_. Beethoven wrote an orchestral piece called _Wellington’s Victory_ which is a wacky, noisy mess, but it gets played once in a while because it’s got Beethoven’s name on it. Neither of these examples are “worst in their field,” but if all of PKD’s and Beethoven’s works had been at that level, both of those guys would be forgotten today. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-arguably-have-produced-both-the-best-and-the-worst-in-their-field/845937.md?page=2)