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@bq
He's written a vast amount of stuff, and almost inevitably in that vast amount there is some good stuff. But there is an overwhelming load of filler too. David Bowie's the same. lots of material, only one or two albums worth of really decent songs. Some people call him a genius too, but I wouldn't.
You have to judge him by his entire output, not cherry pick the small number of good songs.
If you're allowed to cherry pick before pronouncing someone a genius you might as well call Robbie Williams one, and we all know he's actually a twat.
Musically the good ones are pleasant enough. Is that sufficient to call it genius?
Lyrically he was capable of writing a decent piece, but is he really up there with Noel Coward, William Wordsworth, or even Hal David? Hardly.