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Bruno Mars- 24k Magic

Release date: 18 November 2016
Label: Atlantic Records

Bruno Mars Releases 24k Magic

The album 24K Magic continues down the same well-worn road. With one important exception, all roles are played by Mars in this song, unlike Mark Ronson’s similarly retro-fetishist Uptown Special (Ronson was identified early on as a prospective collaboration). The album is primarily produced by Shampoo Press & Curl—a slightly reorganised edition of the Smeezingtons—aside from a few guest production roles by old colleagues Jeff Bhasker and Emile Haynie.

And there are no features, as Mars bragged in the pre-album hype. He is said to not require any characteristics. He has practically achieved the status of being all things to all people: he has enough pop and R&B cred to keep radio listeners interested; he has enough session-wonk credibility to appeal to the Grammy-voting industry types who have adopted Mars as a standard-bearer for Real Musicianship; he has enough showmanship to pull off a Super Bowl halftime performance while barely into his career; and he has enough wedding reception goofiness to endear himself to anyone left over.

Indeed, 24K Magic seeks to replicate an era and a vibe that a large portion of its staff members weren’t even alive for. (Producer and Mars collaborator Brody Brown said this of a side project that sounds awfully similar to 24K Magic: “It’s going to make you feel like 1985—even though I wasn’t born until 1989.”) But 24K Magic succeeds in a self-conscious Vegas rebirth way. The fact that it condenses all of Mars’ personas into one is helpful. You can find a model in Smeezington’s co-written song “Fuck You”: a retro-obsessed guy who writes tunes your great-uncle will recognise and who is also incredibly horny. It also helps that Mars is a well-known perfectionist (in a good way), and that the record is scarcely more than 30 minutes and beautifully organized

The fact that Mars is an accomplished performer also helps; compared to one amateur producer, Mars’ showmanship is much more convincing and coherent. If “Uptown Funk” was the theme park version of a little portion of funk, 24K Magic is the remainder of the park, rebuilt to be safer, shinier, and more glitzy, with every component designed to be more enjoyable than the original, and with a fantastic tour guide. It’s harmless entertainment.