Electric Light Orchestra
Balance of Power

THE REVIEW

I must admit that this last album from the classic ELO never encouraged me to listen to it, partly due to its release year in the musically terrible 1986, and partly because of its decidedly too '80s cover. I was wrong, and by a lot. This "Balance of Power" is, 33 years later, still a pop-rock album that holds up well unlike many of its contemporaries; "Invisible Touch" by Genesis today is almost unbearable in its extreme plasticity. The Simmons sounds, synth-bass, and synthesizers blasted on bubble gum refrains are all present, but the ensemble is produced so well by Lynne that the result is very pleasant to listen to. The intro with "Heaven Only Knows" is in the realm of a baroque power pop that immediately wins you over, with airy choruses layered over multiple voices and an incredibly catchy melody just like the following "So Serious", "Getting to the Point" is the sumptuous ballad with a grandiose chorus to which Lynne had already accustomed us in previous albums. "Secret Lives" starts like an almost reggae theme for '80s TV shows, one of those with the happy family model Bradford, then speeds up to a refrain more suited to ELO. We return to more typical band terrain with the smash hit "Calling America", one of those tracks that gets stuck in your head without much effort, "Endless Lies" is instead a leftover from the previous "Secret Messages," a track that approaches a vision of classic pop that winks at opera. The album will be followed by the band's last world tour, a very intense and productive tour that will, however, leave Lynne interested in other projects, particularly shedding all the synthetic garb to return to basic rock with his friend George Harrison on "Cloud Nine" in 1987. From this return to origins, the Traveling Wilburys will be born in 1988 and a new air of pure rock'n'roll will invade the world's charts leaving the electronic power pop of "Balance of Power" on the sale shelves.