I feel like it took me listening to the whole thing to really appreciate the synth funk 80s style. Was inspired by how simple and muddy these mixes are. They have this sort of power. 4/5 1987 BTSLJAMIDSL - "Bad" is so weirdly mixed. Way lighter vocal, so repetitive and hypnotizing (more than I remember). So tight. I think I listened to the Weird Al "fat" before I ever seriously listened to this song lol. Solid. Drums are such chaos and so pounding. - "The Way You Make me Feel". Wow, another one with big drum machine vibes. Sort of reminds me of mk.gee is that insane. It's pretty muddy and drum machine-ee. Horns are so nice and bright. - "Speed Demon" wtf is that effect with the slap. So percussive! Wow yeah just did a little reading about the synths, damn they just used like every synth lol. - "Liberian Girl" what. this is a completely different vibe. Still slapppy bass. Michael sounds so different on this one? So soft. - "Just Good Friends" idk, this style is starting to feel a bit fatiguing - "Another Part of Me" a bit more fun! - "Man in the Mirror" tbh, it was awesome listening to the original so closely, I've heard so many covers over the years. The vocal is so much more powerful than I remember. I also think the tempo is *perfect* - "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" This feels like such an afterthought, my attention span is so not used to listening to full albums. - "Dirty Diana" - cool effect! Tbh I liked this one more than expected, particularly the guitar. - "Smooth Criminal" - I feel like the whole album has been leading to this. I feel like this is clearly the best display of the hard synth funk style. It's beautiful. - "Leave me alone" - this is actually more cool than I remember it being. - Quincy Jones, who produced this, is a legend: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Jones

Previously, I could have been described as a lite Beatles hater. I’m not sure I had previously listened all the what through. The sense of whimsy is *palpable*. The band is so tight. Every sound is so live. The vocals are passionate and live and powerful. The album is so thoughtfully constructed as an ‘experience’ beyond the songs. Huge fan.

Overall.... Idk, I really wanted to like this album. But just felt a bit slow and sloppy for my tastes. I could imagine this being so awesome in a stadium. But listening in the car, it slowly slipped into the background. TBH on a nice speaker system, if I was on drugs, I may have liked this a *lot*. "Good times, Bad Times" - The drums are very sick. The guitars are very cool. But feels a bit all over the place? "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" - Fantastic vocal. But otherwise a bit lackluster for me. "You Shook Me" - Tbh, I did not know that Lead Zeplin did blues. Crazy awesome vocal. Just feels very 12 bar blues idk. "Dazed and Confused" - Instrumentals are sick. Song feels like everyone is high out of their minds. "Your time is gonna come" - Love the gang vocals. "Black Mountain Side" - the tablas took me by *surprise*. I quite like this, feels very out of place. "Communication Breakdown" - This kind of rock is just not my jam. Feels sort of unpolished? Like they found one lick they licked and made a song out of it. "I Can't Quit you Baby" - Back to blues, I liked this one a bit more. "How Many More Times" - More big drums here to save the day. Feels again all over the place.

Each song feels like it's telling a complete story, so so interesting. Not sure I like rock in general, but this narrative style is honestly my favorite version. Incredibly interesting, at least. I'm loving the way elements move together, always in support of a truly incredible vocal from Freddie Mercury. "Father to Son" - cool! I love the harmonies on the vocal. Really liking the song writing, compared to the Led Zepplin album. OK JUST GOT FURTHER THROUGH THE SONG I LOVE IT. So epic. "Ogre Battle" - epic. intense. maybe too much for me. Honestly I got kinda lost in the song list, but really enjoyed just how theatrical this album is.