over both a sampled lounge singer and couldn't find a major label for this al- some of the most dissonant noise this bum. Although it's been available in side of a subway tunnel-and sometimes Canada for some time now, Russell has it's funky and tuneful,el laJames Brown marketed it mostly through a toll -free or E.U. The messages aren't pretty, and telephonenumber, 800-DAR-KANG, if urban holocaust makes you queasy, that reappears in the name of his record label. Go ahead. He's only a phone call stick to George Michael. But if you're up Magazine for a no -holds -barred adventure, "Back away. A.N. -11-1C from Hell" is as real as it gets. Sample "Ferry Kloss broughtDolby sound, Cr02 cassette tape.and Slayer television quote: "To the maximum, I keep askin' SLAYER: Seasons in the Abyss. large screen projection and made the 'em/When's the city gonna fix where the (vocals and instrumentals).War Ensem- into !wing rooms, blacks are from?" P.P. ble; Blood Red; Spirit in Black; Expend- donunant speakerssystemsofthree decades: Acoustic Research inthe able Youth; Dead Skin Mask; Hallowed 195ds, KLII in the '60s,and TOM RUSSELL BAND: Poor Man's Point;and four others. DEF AMERICAN C) Advent in the /Os. Car n - 224307-4, @ 224307-2 (42 min). Now he's atit again at Dream.Tom Russell (vocals, guitar, gri- di- tas); vocal and instrumental accompani- bridge SoundWorks, selling Performance:Brutal m, to the public. ' ment.Blue Wing; The Heart of the Work- Recording:Good ing Man; Veteran's Day; Walkin' on the Moon; Outbound Plane; Bergenfield; Why do I, a reasonably mature guy, like Spanish Burgundy;and six others. 800 Slayer? I have no choice. When I listen DARK ANGEL 8 DACTI, ©8 DACD1 to "Seasons in the Abyss," I feel I'm in a (51 min). Distributed by 800 Dark Angel, death grip. The elemental impact of this P.O. Box 744, Radio City Station, New music, with its Richter -force rhythms York, NY 10101-0744. and industrial -strength guitars, never lets up. There aren't even pauses be- Performance:Sinewy tween songs. Only a downshifting of Recording: REE Good tempo or a machine-gun burst of guitar Despite an earlier progressive country/ signals that one tune has ended and folk album, Tom Russell is still better another has begun. "Seasons in the Audio Catalog known as a writer whose pithy story Abyss" is like one relentlessly churning songs have graced releases by Nanci song crammed with the thrashiest of At Cambridge SoundWorks we manufacture Griffith, Jerry Jeff Walker, Ian Tyson, heavy-metal hooks and riffs. The lyrics speakers and music systems designed by Henry and Johnny Cash. But Russell is a hell of are dumb-filled with war, death, and Noss (founder of AR, IQ] -I & Advent), and we sell a talent, as potent a performer of his own devil images-but I don't care. I listen to material as anyone who's ever covered Slayer not for enlightenment but for in- them from our factory in Newton, Mass. We also it. That's something his second album, tensity. And that's exactly what the sell selected audio components from brands like "Poor Man's Dream," should go a long band delivers. R.G. Philips, Pioneer and Denon. Because we sell fac- way toward proving. tory -direct, you can save hundreds of dollars on Russell's strengthishisabilityto THE WATERBOYS: Room to Roam. The comonents and systems. We sell nothing but "the weave taut, psychological stories about Waterboys (vocals and instrumentals); good. stuff." Our knowledgeable audio experts will the deferred dreams of the ordinary man. other musicians.In Search of a Rose; elp you make the right choices, without being InBlue Wing,for example, he inhabits Song from the End of the World; A Man Is pushy. And you can call toll -free for advice or the mind of a chronic loser, imprisoned in Love; Kaliope House; Bigger Picture; "hook-up help" 365 days a year - even holidays. in Walla Walla with his hopes tethered to Natural Bridge Blues; Something That Is a tattoo of a bluebird's wing on his Gone; The Star and the Sea; A Life of This is the simplest way to get the right deal on shoulder. (I won't divulge what eventu- Sundays; Islandman;and seven others. stereo components...and there's virtual)/ no risk. ally happens to Wing because it would CHRYSALIS ©F421768, @ F2 21768 (41 Call toll -fin for factory -direct savings. spoil the carefully prepared ending.) min). Audio Dcperts will answer all your Russell and his co -writers (including Performance:Sparkling questions, before and after you buy. Griffith and Tyson as well as Katy Mof- Recording:Okay fatt and Dan Zanes of the Del Fuegos) 30 -day money -back satisfaction guarantee. build a quiet, intense beauty into their With all the wealth of Irish pop available New From Henry Kloss-Ensemble It lyrics without ever creeping into senti- to us, it can be difficult for a band with mentality. As a singer, Russell hobbles traditional leanings to stand out in the Subwoofter-Satellite Speaker System down the same bass -baritone path as crowd. Van Morrison has claimed the A new, very affordable, Johnny Cash, coming across as some- mystical higher ground, the Pogues own single-subwoofer thing of an ageless troubadour, crafting the postpunk lower sod, and a huge version of the system socially conscious songs in the Ameri- number of bands are fighting it out in Audio magazine said areright "may be the best value can folk tradition. And his band-lean, between. The Waterboys in th world: lithe, and stinking ever so slightly of smack inthemiddle,especiallyin beer-can play honky-tonk, rock-and- "Room to Roam." The songs here go roll, or cowboy music like there's no back and forth from traditional numbers tomorrow. arranged by the group to sentimental But Russell's individual power as a little tunes written by leader Mike Scott. performer is his ability to slip into a song The new stuff sounds fine, if a little and sing it from his gut, whether he is sappy compared with the genuine arti- seething with blue-collar anger and frus- cle,buttheblendisexceptionally M7fiff-AO tration(The Heart of a Working Man)or smooth. Fiddles, accordions, flutes, and reminiscing about a less complicated whistles sound very natural here next to 1-800-AKA-HIFI. time of love and innocence(Navajo electric guitars, drums, and saxophones. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (800-252-4434) Rug).More than a few of these tunes will "Room to Roam" may not carve out a break your heart. distinctive niche for the Waterboys, but CAMBRIDGE Sadder than the plight of any of his it's great good fun. R.G. protagonists, however, is that an observ- SOUNDWORKS (Continued on page 84) 154 California St., Suite 102M, Newton MA 02158 er asfine and authentic as Russell In Canadacall 1-800-525-4434. Fax: 617-332-9229 Outside U.S. or Canada 617-332-5936 STEREO REVIEW MARCH 1991 83 0),501 Cambridge SoundWorks *Ensemble is a reldstorec tracemark of Cambndge SoundWorks Alt & Advent are trademarks of Intemaional-,eRsen.Inc CIRCLE NO. 118 ON READER SERVICE CARD