Customer Reviews

Balance of Power

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I missed the ELO boat by a good 15 years or so, having been born in 1987, but I've been listening to Jeff & Co. forever since my father's a huge fan. I've always thought Balance of Power was the weakest album of the bunch (I did like just about everything from "Heaven Only Knows" through "Sorrow About to Fall." Not so much "Endless Lies" and "Send It.") but Sony's really managed to come through and give Balance of Power the shot of adrenaline it's needed the last 21 years.

The packaging itself would be enough for me to grab it[...]. Unlike the picture featured here with a faded, almost orange cover, the Jewel Case has a brilliant Tornado Red (akin to my former '98 VW Jetta) booklet with a plethora of archived goodness. The CD itself has a rather sharp looking blue theme that contrasts really well with the red case.

The original 10 tracks at last have the power befitting of ELO, albeit minus the strings. The bonus tracks are really what make this album a winner. "Opening"/"Heaven Only Knows (Alternate Take)" are up there as possibly one of the best 4 minutes of music Jeff's ever written. I can't imagine why this was dropped in favor of the 1986 cut of HOK (always liked it anyway). "In For the Kill" and "Caught in a Trap" sound fantastic, but could very easily be an alternate set of lyrics set to the same music; more or less the same sound but both great pieces in their own right. The alternate mixes of "Secret Lives" and "Sorrow About to Fall" absolutely top their 1986 counterparts, hands down. And finally there's a CD with "Destination Unknown" that isn't a bloody compilation album (even though we've got all of them anyhow).

This Remastered Edition brings it to the table then proceeds to liquefy your mind in the fantastic way only ELO can do and smokes a cigarette afterwards. It's worth every cent of the cover price. [...]

Jeff Lynne had wanted to quit recording albums under the ELO name for some time. He felt that the formula for ELO was limiting his abilities as a songwriter/producer. He stepped forward with a fine final album. "Balance of Power" has a handful of terrific songs including the great "Calling America". This exapnded edition features alternate mixes of "Heaven Only Knows" with a introduction (put on as a separate track)that was missing from the final album and "Secret Lives"(an alternate take) that are better than the final released versions in my opinion. "Sorrow About to Fall" is an alternate mix of the album track.


We also get two sublime b-sides "Destination Unknown" and "Caught in a Trap". The songs were previous released on the first ELO boxed set but rightfully regain their place next to the stronger tracks on this next-to-last ELO album. When Lynne would return as ELO only Richard Tandy would play on "Zoom". Here the band is a trio of Lynne, long time drummer Bev Bevan (who also was a member of the Move with Lynne and the only member on every album by ELO except "Zoom")and long-time collaborator Richard Tandy playing keyboards and sythesizer strings. Lynne plays both guitar and bass.

Although the production and use of electronic drums date the album, they add a charm to the album. While this is far from my favorite ELO album, Lynne's best qualities as a songwriter--a strong sense of melody, creative arrangements and production touches dominate the album.

You can also hear the influence of Steve Winwood's "Arc of A Diver" and "Back in the High Life Again" with Richard Tandy playing a sythesizer with a similar sound to Winwood's on the popular singles from those albums.

I'd give "Balance of Power" 3 1/2 stars with the addition of the alternate mixes/versions and the inclusion of the two fine B-sides.

I am glad that this CD is out. I remember how badly this album was slammed when it came out. I know in reading comments by Jeff Lynne over the years that this album was pretty much an "end the contract" type of album that he needed to do when he wanted to cease recording as ELO.It's not nearly as bad as the critics reviewed it at the time. While I wouldn't recommend it to someone as an introduction to ELO's catalogue, I think every ELO fan should have it.
I wonder about some of the ratings I see here. If this is a five star album, what is "ELDORADO","OUT OF THE BLUE" or "DISCOVERY". I would rate those ELO albums as five star albums. If those are five's, I can only give this album a three.

While there are some who consider their 70's output to be their peak, for me this album stands as the pinnacle of ELO's career. The only bad thing about it, is that it was a feat the band never repeated.

Much like 90125 from post-70's prog-rockers YES, Balance Of Power takes their famous sound, and trims away the excesses of 70's overproduction, to provide a sharp, clean electronic sound that is precise and to the point. It's a leaner, trimmer ELO than has ever been heard before, and the result is as close to perfection as an album can get.

I just wish there had been more, to come.

Originally released without much notice here in the States back in March of 1986. Balance Of Power is a bit of an oddity in the ELO catolog with no strings and only Jeff, Richard and Bev on it. Coming full circle, the band's last during the original run finds the group as a trio. The songs themselves sound very '86 with heavy mid 80's synth, sequencers and even the sleeve insert found the three sporting Miami Vice clothing. As for the songs themselves, most are good and there are even a few standouts in this collection (Heaven Only Knows, Getting To The Point, Secret Lives and a couple of others) this might be ELO's weakest album. It doesn't mean that this album isn't worth owning but I wouldn't start off with this.

el ultimo titulo de la banda. si bien la acogida de la critica de su tiempo no fue de las mejores, indudablemente que el estilo se mantuvo. "getting to the point" explica los sentimientos de jeff lynne con respecto a como percibia la historia de la banda que habia creado. temas destacados del album son "is it allright" (el mejor para mi), "calling america","sorrow 'bout..." y de la edicion remasterizada (que es la que recomiendo), "caught in a trap" y la version alternativa de "secret live". no te defraudara.

While, as many here have pointed out, this isn't the best of Jeff Lynne's efforts, it nonetheless has 3 of my favorite ELO tunes, namely "Heaven Only Knows," "So Serious," and "Getting To The Point." While "Calling America" got a bit of airplay when the album originally was released, I still think the b-side "Destination Unknown" was a much better song.

And while some bemoan the lack of strings on this opus, I have always thought that the liberal use of saxophones more than made up for the missing strings. Of the bonus tracks, "In For The Kill" is new as is "Caught In A Trap." But the alternate version of "Heaven Only Knows" is an interesting treatment of the song, complete with altered lyrics, lead-in, and orchestration.

The sound quality of this remaster is FANTASTIC. If you've only had the LP or the original CD issue, get this CD while you can. I can't recommend that strongly enough!

While I think, as a whole, the album rises above the "last album of ELO" stigma that it has carried for years, I still can only give it 4 stars in deference to better ELO works like "Eldorado," "A New World Record," and "Out of the Blue."

This is just another fine example of great music revisited with added tracks that add even more fun to an already great release from ELO! I can't express my pleasure it is to hear this again and again, and whish there is more to come! This kind of talent is a gift that has to be heard over and over. GOD Bless all!

ELO's Out of the Blue was THE album that got me thru high school! But the times were changing, and so were my musical tastes, and I abandoned much of my favorite bands for the punk scene. Now that I'm older, I've stepped back to rediscover a lot of my favorite music from my younger days. ELO had lost me initially with Discovery, and then Xanadu. But now, I've fallen in love again with them, enjoying all the post Discovery albums I'd ignored. But even still, Balance of Power eluded me. Eighties pop, drum machines, - it all just seemed so dated. But I finally relented and gave Balance of Power a listen. THERE'S SOME GREAT STUFF ON HERE! The alternate mixes of Secret Lives and Heaven Only Knows give us a glimpse of what might have been a classic ELO album. Sure, the band had been stripped to a trio, utilizing a drum machine and synthesized strings, but it still sounds like classic ELO! (I've been enjoying the alternate mixes in favor of the album mixes, but it's wonderful to have both to choose from!) Sounds cliched, but this album makes me feel young again! It's as if the ELO of my youth has just released a new album, for me anyway!! Take a chance, buy it. You'll be pleasantly surprised!

After listening to this album, both on LP and then cassette and the orginal CD version, I am happy to say this remastered version easily brings this album to life for me. I had always thought that the original mastering for Balance of Power was a bit flat and lifeless, as digital was pretty new then , both in the studio and for home use. But now with 24 bit converters being used ( dithered down to 16 bit) and a rethink on both the master EQ and compression, this album really shines sonically. I was pleasantly surprised and listen to it often now, especially sounding good on my HD 600 Sennheisers...
As for the album itself, what can I say? It is Jeff Lynne doing what he does best. Writing, playing , singing and producing. While not the overall best ELO album, it is certainly more than worthy and has some really great songs on it. The alternate version of "Heaven Only Knows" was worth the money for me , just by itself.