I was wondering -- really, I was -- if the basic melody of "Magic" was better than some might recognize, given the cheesey early-eighties arrangement, and if a less cheesey arrangement might make the song sound a lot cooler. You know, if all that ELO-ish synth and those disco embellishments were scrubbed out, maybe it wouldn't seem so, what's the word I'm looking for?, ghey.
I'm posting this because it seems to answer my question directly.
I don't know if it will win any converts, but I'm satisfied silly that the Internet provides answers to idle questions within minutes.