Balance of Power in Bloomington, MN

After mining the
Beatles
gold mine for all those catchy hooks, by the time that
Balance of Power
was released,
Jeff Lynne
and company had pretty much found that once-rich vein going dry. This album did contain yet another Top 40 hit with
"Calling America,"
but by the mid-'80s,
ELO
were finding their audience and their inspiration on the wane. Not truly memorable, but passable. [In 2007
Epic/Legacy
reissued
with seven bonus cuts, including alternate takes of
"Heaven Only Knows,"
"Secret Lives"
and
"Sorrow About to Fall,"
U.K. b-sides
"Caught in a Trap"
"Destination Unknown"
and the previously unreleased
"In for the Kill"
"Opening."
] ~ James Chrispell