Many consider Hot Space to be Queen‘s worst album (personally, I believe that title goes to The Miracle), and it’s fans often abhor it for its shift from rock to pop, featuring many songs driven by synthesizer dance beats. Certainly, a move that could (and would) easily anger the band’s long-time fans and rock purists.

But for all of that, I’m glad for Hot Space, in a way. My favorite aspect of Queen was how they dared to explore many different genres and draw upon a variety of influences. Without Hot Space, we may have never seen Queen attempt this sort of music, so quality aside, Hot Space is at least an interesting little affair.

Though it isn’t enough for a band to just shift direction. They have to be able to do it well, too. And Queen often falls short of the greatest ’80s pop and funk (some of which they made, with “Another One Bites the Dust”). Hot Space does not contain many strong choruses, catchy beats or bass lines, which makes it hard for even me, a hardcore Queen fan, to come to its defense. All of those traits on this album actually sound quite weak. Certainly this is the sound of a band that is unsure, unconfident, and unnatural in their approach to a new style of music, and the album suffers as a result.

What Hot Space does have, though, is the absolutely stellar closing track, “Under Pressure.” One of Queen’s biggest hit songs is a joint-written song by Queen and fellow legendary British glam rocker, David Bowie. David Bowie sings lead vocals with Freddie Mercury, and they complement each other excellently, playing off each other as if they have been singing partners their whole lives. The whole performance by both men is flawless and for lack of a better word, just feels very professional. The captivating bass riff of John Deacon further drives the track home and was later sampled by Vanilla Ice for his biggest song. Everyone knew how good it was. “Under Pressure” was adapted from an old abandoned Queen demo called “Feel Like.” There is no competition for “Under Pressure”—it’s far and away the greatest song on Hot Space.

But maybe fully appreciating this kind of music is just out of reach for a rock-kind-of-guy like myself. After all, Michael Jackson cited Hot Space as a major influence on his blockbuster album Thriller, and a pop album praised by one of the kings of pop himself has to be doing something right. The album cover is cute, too. All in all, though I may not love Hot Space, I admire the attempt of it and its ambition.

Edit: I want to re-write and expand this review in the future, but my general sentiments about this album remain the same. It’s endearingly “Queen” in a certain way, but no more than that.