"Calling America" and "So Serious" were two fine singles. The ballad "Getting To The Point" marked the end of a group. Otherwise this is just average songs. "Heaven Only Knows" starts fine but get's tiresome. "Secret Lives" has the typical Lynne riff in the refrain, but is really a bad song. "Sorrow About To Fall" adds a saxophone that makes it more forgettable. "Endless Lies" is Lynne trying to be Roy Orbison, which he's not! It's ordinary 80s synth pop with a trio that doesn't impress anyone. A sad farewell to an era. I'd give it 2.5 points.

A TERRIFIC ALBUM
I cant understand the negative reviews that BALANCE OF POWER gets.It is much better than either TIME or SECRET MESSAGES.Jeff Lynne just isnt capable of writing a bad song.HEAVEN ONLY KNOWS is a great uplifting track.WITHOUT SOMEONE is one of Lynne's best ballads ever,which includes an awesome heartbreaking mood.GETTING TO THE POINT is a great song that described Lynne's thoughts on ELO at the time.ENDLESS LIES,IS IT ALRIGHT,SORROW ABOUT TO FALL and SECRET LIVES are all very good songs as well.CALLING AMERICA is a great top 20 hit that never gets played on radio anymore.BALANCE OF POWER is a great up to date(at the time!)sounding album that doesnt deserve to be forgotten.

Getting To The Point
After 15 years it was time for E.L.O. to move on and so in early 1986 E.L.O. released their very last album. In my opinion E.L.O. is a very under-rated group and Balance of Power is a very under-rated album. Although this album might miss the great orchestra sound like on Out Of The Blue, as a popalbum it simply is great and far more personal than previous E.L.O. albums.

Heaven Only Knows is a nice opener for the album. This track lets the listener know what they can expect from the album... popmusic.
So Serious is a very nice song though, perhaps a bit short. It was released as a single in some countries.
Getting To The Point would actually be a great opening track or a great closing track for this album. With lyrics about the breaking up of the band it was released as the final E.L.O. single.
Secret Lives is one of my personal favourites from this album. It has a nice beat and clever lyrics.
Is It Alright almost sounds like reggae, but it isn't of course, this is E.L.O. remember? Nice tune, this time the arrangement works and fits the album.
Sorrow About To Fall is perhaps the only real weak song on the album. It has never been a favourite of mine. It sounds bland and boring.
Without Someone is the best track on the album... A great haunting melody and superb lyrics. It never became a single, which is a shame.
Calling America is the most commercial sounding song on the album and it isn't suprising that this became the first single. reaching the US Top 20 and the UK Top 30 in 1986.
Endless Lies is Jeff Lynne trying to be Roy Orbison.An early version of this song is available on the re-mastered version of Secret Messages.
Send It isn't a great song, it's not awful, but it's not a great closing track for the final album of one of the greatest groups in the world.

There were some other songs recorded for this album. Destination Unknown, A Matter Of Fact and Caught In A Trap would have all fitted on this great, almost forgotten album of an almost forgotten group...

Synthesisers take the place of orchestra but it still works.
Balance of Power is for me the least ELO album since Eldorado, but still it deserves a place among the good works of my favourite bands. The starting Heaven Only Knows is a cracking and enthusiastic pop song with a strong rythm and loads of backing vocals. 'So Serious' adds a fresh and new mood in the yet varied repertoire from ELO. 'Getting to the Point' is a very predictable ballad but still gets a beautiful feel and goes in crescendo to a climax. 'Secret Lives' is a curious reggae-caribbean like, insolit song into the history of the band and if silly, it's still funny. 'Is It Alright', for me the best song of the album, is a very strange song but filled with inspiration and originality.

The B side starts with a good song, 'Sorrow About to Fall'. Then, another highlight appears in the form of a great ballad called 'Without Someone', I think maybe the one song in the album closest to the band's past style. 'Calling America' is a very light-hearted and upbeat song, sounds really funny and modern. 'Endless Lies' is a masterpiece in itself, really one of the most original ELO has ever done, a very strange song like it was made of a lot of little song because the mood changes constantly. It is sang by a very eloquent Jeff Lynne that addoptes a lot of different attitudes speaking to a woman that lied and cheated him. The last track, 'Send It', is one of the worst songs ELO have ever done, it's a try of something like a synthesised rock and roll song, but it makes you feel as if what the lyrics say was real, that "the dream has gone".

But the overall feel of this album, if not a masterpiece as other earlier works, is a very fresh, joyful and funny record full of variety and with a couple of highlights from this outstanding band.

Elo buys a saxaphone
I really, really, really want to give this effort 5 stars. But there is just a bit too much filler going on inside of this to put it that high. In truth this about 3.5 stars. It does contain 5 star material though. I can't believe the song "Send It" doesn't get more nods here! One of my fave songs, talk about your hooks! My God Jeff (hehe, literally)! The send off song Heaven Only Knows is great, Calling America likewise, however there are exactly 4 songs here that I consider fluff and for a 10 song cd that doesn't bode well.

It was clear to all that ELO was losing steam and Jeff was losing interest, however having said that, if you program your cd player just right and play all the great tunes hear, you'd never notice. I think this cd is marginally better than his "new last" cd Zoom which is in about the same boat, same great taste, but just as much (if not more) filler.