Can I Say

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Can I Say
Canisay.jpg
Studio album by
Dag Nasty
ReleasedJune 1986
RecordedMarch 1986
Genre
Length24:11 (original)
39:35 (reissue)
Label Dischord
Producer Ian MacKaye, Dag Nasty
Dag Nasty chronology
Can I Say
(1986)		 Wig Out at Denko's
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Can I Say is the debut album by the American melodic hardcore band Dag Nasty, originally released in 1986 on Dischord Records. It was remastered and re-released on CD with bonus songs in 2002. [4] "Circles" appeared on a best-of emo songs list by Vulture [5] and was featured in the soundtrack of the videogame Tony Hawk's Proving Ground.

Contents

Music and lyrics

Musically, Can I Say is a hardcore punk album. According to Ned Raggett of AllMusic: "Baker's roots in Minor Threat are clear throughout, but at the same time, the production, assisted by Ian Mackaye, is actually stronger and crisper than much of that band's work." The album occasionally incorporates call-and-response vocals. Raggett said that frontman Dave Smalley "has a vocal delivery halfway between strident pronouncement and anguished reflection -- it's not emo in the original sense of the term (or alternately the late-90s watering down of same), but it's a careful balance just the same." Lyrical themes explored on the album include the personal politics of Smalley. [6]

Reception and legacy

Ned Raggett of AllMusic gave the album three and a half stars out of five, and wrote: "Can I Say helps mark a turning point between hardcore's straight-ahead origins and a more accessible approach that would eventually prime the way for punk's breakthrough in the mid-'90s." [6]

Track listing

All tracks by Dag Nasty.
Side one

  1. "Values Here" – 2:23
  2. "One to Two" – 2:15
  3. "Circles" – 2:46
  4. "Thin Line" – 2:30
  5. "Justification" – 2:51

Side two

  1. "What Now?" – 2:16
  2. "I've Heard" – 1:43
  3. "Under Your Influence" – 2:36
  4. "Can I Say" – 1:59
  5. "Never Go Back" – 2:52

2002 CD reissue bonus tracks

  1. "Another Wrong" – 2:18
  2. "My Dog's a Cat" – 2:19
  3. "I've Heard (Live)" – 2:18
  4. "Another Wrong (Live)" – 2:22
  5. "Trying (Live)" – 2:09
  6. "Justification (Live)" – 3:58

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Raggett, Ned. "Can I Say: AllMusic Review by Ned Raggett". allmusic.com . Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  2. ↑ "50 Greatest Punk Albums of All Time". Revolver . Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  3. ↑ Burgess, Aaron (March 1, 2016). "Dag Nasty, 'Can I Say' (1986) | 40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time | Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone . Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  4. ↑ Can I Say, 2002 remastered CD edition. allmusic.com. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  5. ↑ Corcoran, Nina (February 13, 2020). "The 100 Greatest Emo Songs of All Time". Vulture. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Can I Say - Dag Nasty | Album | AllMusic , retrieved August 16, 2025


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