Electric Light Orchestra - Balance of Power

This was the Last Studio Album from Elo (Before the Comeback Zoom), Issued in 1986. The Original 10 Track Album Includes Three Tracks that were Originally Issued as Singles, and of the Seven Bonus Tracks Five Are Previously Unreleased and the Other Two were Issued as UK Only B-sides. Album Details

Wonderful remaster???

Everybody's reviewing how glad they are with this remaster including the bonus-tracks. Only one writes that it is a wonderful remaster but I don't agree at all! This is a remaster in the worst case. I couldn't believe my ears when the sound comes to a climax (the loudest parts) it's all distortion for example with the Heaven only knows track. I thought I had a bad example. I played it on several CD-players with several and high-end equipments too but I can't deny Joseph M. Palmaccio (who-ever that may be) has some problems with his ears during the mastering or there weren't better tapes in store! By the way in the booklets that come with all of the remasters is written that the tracks are mastered and not that they are remastered. It's a pity! September 27, 2008

Wonderful remaster!

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." February 27, 2008

Lean and strong - and sadly, singular.

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. February 3, 2008

Sonic Improvement plus cool bonus tracks!

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. October 5, 2007

Interesting, but not one of the great ELO albums

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. August 25, 2007

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