Balance of Power was the original final album that ELO recorded under their recording contract (before regrouping multiple times in the future, I'm getting to those too) and this is a real let down. If Secret Messages dipped it's toes into 80s sound and tropes, Balance of Power has leaped off the high dive. Every song just sounds generically 80s, especially when it comes to synths, which just seem to have that generic 80s synth timbre that's in every glamrock hit from the era. As a result of this pretty much every track sounds samey, which isn't helped that ELO don't really do this sound very well. I think that I liked Secret Messages as much as I did because it was restrained in how much it let itself be influenced by then modern trends and was able to use those elements to enhance a strong musical foundation; Balance of Power tries going all in on it, and it kind of fails. There some tracks or sections of songs that are creative with the tropes it takes part in, but they aren't too common and aren't all that creative, all things considered. It really feels like Jeff Lynne was just getting an album out so that they could finish their contract and move on (seriously, by this point the band's lineup had been reduced to a trio and "So Serious" is about the band breaking up). By this point, any hint of orchestral elements is all but completely gone, as well as a lot of the heart and personality that had permeated ELO's work up to here. All in all, the album feels pretty uninspired, and like it's trying to just be passable to audiences for the sake of being out. Just generic and passable. Also, the Secret Messages version of "Endless Lies" is better than this album's version.
Rating: 3/6
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