I still consider most of these remixes to rank among the best in Michael's catalog. The opening quadfecta is still undeniable (especially "A Place With No Name" and "Chicago," my two favorites on the album), and Rodney's new cut of "Xscape" remains a powerhouse. As for the others, I've grown to flat-out hate "Blue Gangsta" for that horrid trap beat, even if I absolutely love the cinematic turn on the verses. Conversely, I find myself holding some respect for "Slave to the Rhythm," which I was rather impartial towards beforehand, and tolerating "Do You Know Where Your Children Are," which I didn't care for. The Timberlake duet is also great in all respects (though I admit I'm biased because I get to see my favorite modern artist coinciding with my favorite all-time artist). Overall, I feel there's only one bad apple out of the bunch; everything else ranks from decent to fantastic.
As for the originals, I was very disappointed in almost all of them. Barring "Loving You," "Blue Gangsta," and "Xscape" (all of which are phenomenal), they're all so uninteresting. "Chicago" is easily my least favorite MJ song (oddly due to the fact that I hold the remix to such high acclaim), and "Slave to the Rhythm" is drowning in potential that it simply doesn't manage to reach. Listening to them, I can feel Michael's artistic touch shining through, but they simply aren't good enough to warrant much (if any) praise from me.
The remixes get around an 8.5/10.
The originals get a 4/10.
The album as a whole gets around a 7/10.