# Where did THAT come from? - Artists who put out one awesome work **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317 "2013-01-15T19:19:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/21 "2013-01-16T15:22:52Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > The song “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals. The first time I heard that I thought it was a forgotten Todd Rundgren song. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/22 "2013-01-16T15:51:33Z")
Oh, yeah - sports figures. \*\*[Timmy Smith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timmy_Smith)\*\*rushed for over 200 yards and 2 touchdowns in Super Bowl XXII. In his entire NFL career, he rushed for 602 yards and 3 touchdowns. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/23 "2013-01-16T16:43:23Z")
Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade. Any other movie I’ve seen him in he’s somewhat himself. Either a nice version of himself or a nasty version. But as Carl he’s not even the same guy. I still can’t get it through my head when I watch it that it’s Billy Bob Thornton I’m watching. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/24 "2013-01-16T16:45:48Z")
> [@denquixote](#): > > Otis Redding - Sitting on the Dock of the Bay You’ve got to be kidding me. Otis Redding released a ton of amazing songs. [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ddLvbCQbU4) performance alone puts him among the greats. The fact that the white suburban audience didn’t catch on until his posthumous crossover hit doesn’t mean he didn’t have the material before that. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/25 "2013-01-16T16:50:51Z")
It’s a bit of a horse of a different color, but jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon turned in two astonishing bits of acting in _Round Midnight_ and _Awakenings_. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/26 "2013-01-16T17:05:35Z")
> [@glaeken](#): > > I have read all of Orwell’s novels and think he is actually mostly very good. My favourite Orwell is actually Coming up for Air. I think with Orwell it’s not that he varied a lot in quality it’s that two of his works for whatever reason became far more famous than the others. Presumably because they dealt with a particularly hot topic of the time. When it comes to novels he also really was not very prolific so actually two out of seven of them being considered great actually represents virtually 30% of his output which is not too bad a hit ratio. I would actually personally say three out of the seven are great so that puts him at almost 50% which is none too shabby. I think it was the subjects of his books. Most of his works had Anglocentric subjects. But _Animal Farm_ and _Nineteen Eighty-Four_ had more universal subjects so they connected to a wider audience. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/27 "2013-01-16T17:08:11Z")
Daryl Hannah playing Elle Driver in _Kill Bill_. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/28 "2013-01-16T18:00:27Z")
Herman Melville. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/29 "2013-01-16T18:05:00Z")
**Cuba Gooding, Jr** in _Jerry Maguire_ ---
**Author:** ![mbetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@mbetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbetter)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/30 "2013-01-16T18:09:51Z")
Disagree with the OP, Empire is every bit the equal of Mindcrime. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/31 "2013-01-16T19:10:30Z")
> [@mbetter](#): > > Disagree with the OP, Empire is every bit the equal of Mindcrime. I guess both of my OP choices were controversial! ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/32 "2013-01-16T19:12:16Z")
Maybe Lewis Carroll, if you count _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_ and _Through the Looking-Glass_ as a single work. Also Johann David Wyss (_The Swiss Family Robinson_) and Daniel Defoe (_Robinson Crusoe_). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/33 "2013-01-16T19:16:53Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I guess both of my OP choices were controversial! I may as well pile on Green Day. _Longview_ is IMO their standout song (the rest of Dookie, not so much.) I wasn’t going to mention it because the first big song from a group is so often their best. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/34 "2013-01-16T19:17:48Z")
When bands put out a really great album that stands out from their usual work, I always figure it’s more due to the producer than the band. Can’t back that up with anything, though. My example of a great album my a moderate band is My Chemical Romance’s “The Black Parade”. > [@mbetter](#): > > Disagree with the OP, Empire is every bit the equal of Mindcrime. Oh, disagree. While _Empire_ was a solid album and had some great metal on it, Queensryche were definitaly heading towards their later pop-y sound. It stuck me as an albm with a few great tracks (See “Jet City Woman” and “Anybody Listening”) and several rather mediocre ones. _Mindcrime_ was solid, beginning to end. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/35 "2013-01-16T19:22:47Z")
M. Night Shyamalan’s **The Sixth Sense** , anyone? mmm ETA: Agree with Exile in Guyville and Pet Sounds ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/36 "2013-01-16T19:43:20Z")
> [@Quint](#): > > Liz Phair’s **Exile in Guyville** is an amazing album, and nothing else she has done has even come close. In fact, the bland mundanity of her subsequent albums have made people less inclined to accept the incredible sonic awesomeness of **Exile** for what it is. I’ve always considered _Whip-Smart!_ to be about as good, though it’s been a while since I heard either one. You’re right, though, that ESPN deal coincided with a shitty album, and she’s in oblivion AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/37 "2013-01-16T21:36:18Z")
Farther back, “In the year 2525” by Zager & Evans. Quite a mega hit and they never did anything else of worth. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/38 "2013-01-16T23:00:24Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Maybe Lewis Carroll, if you count _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_ and _Through the Looking-Glass_ as a single work. I don’t think these qualify under the “decent amount of output” rule the OP mentioned. The Alice books were Carroll’s only two novels. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/39 "2013-01-16T23:03:28Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > When bands put out a really great album that stands out from their usual work, I always figure it’s more due to the producer than the band. Can’t back that up with anything, though. > > My example of a great album my a moderate band is My Chemical Romance’s “The Black Parade”. On that note, have you listened to _Hang Cool Teddy Bear_ by Meat Loaf? It is by the same producer as The Black Parade and has a similar theme. So if you like Meat Loaf and The Black Parade you might like it. (Note: I have _not_ listened to that album: if you have, let me know how it is!) ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317/40 "2013-01-17T00:27:05Z")
> [@denquixote](#): > > Joseph Heller - Catch-22 > J.D. Salinger - Catcher in the Rye > Samuel Taylor Coleridge - The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner > Jack Kerouac - On The Road > Dennis Hopper - Easy Rider (as a director) > Norm Cash - 1961 baseball season Detroit first baseman > **Steve Fisher - 1989 NCAA basketball tournament Michigan coach** > Don Larsen - Game 7 1956 World Series Yankee pitcher > The Band - Music From Big Pink > Otis Redding - Sitting on the Dock of the Bay > Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume One He hasn’t won a title since, no, but Steve Fisher has single-handedly built San Diego State basketball into a national power, ranked 15th in the AP right now at 14-2. If you knew just how bad - no, how _totally irrelevant_ SDSU hoops was before him, you’d remove him from your list, me thinks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-come-from-artists-who-put-out-one-awesome-work/647317.md?page=3)