Search - Dag Nasty :: Can I Say

The Best of 80's Hardcore

A. Everett Logan | New Hampshire, USA | 07/31/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great album. Brian Baker's guitar playing is simultaneously raw and polished, if you can picture that. It has raw energy, but he was very technically proficient. One thing, though, Dag Nasty was not a pure D.C. band as some have noted. Although it was produced by Ian MacKay and featured Brian Baker, both of Minor Threat, the king of D.C. hardcore in the 80's, another big influence on this album was the singer Dave Smalley. Smalley was from Boston and was formerly the front man for the early-80's Boston straight-edge band, D.Y.S. So, it's really the best of both of the top east-coast hardcore scenes of the 80's - D.C. and Boston (yes, although New York was the headquarters of punk in the U.S. in the 70's, the 80's hardcore scene was pretty dismal compared to Boston and D.C.). Anyway, this album represents a high point in the angst of hardcore before it was co-opted by corporate bands like Nirvana, but with a proficiency that makes earlier bands look lame (and also hard to listen to unless you were actually hearing them live.) The emotion in this album is simply amazing."

An improvement?

A. Everett Logan | 11/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say I was disappointed with the quality of the remaster. Doesn't really improve much on the original, to my ears. Probably a better idea to locate any remaining copies of the two-for-one CD that included this as well as Wig Out at Denko's. THAT was a deal.Despite all that negativity, this is a classic, indispensable American hardcore record. Essential for anyone and everyone."