The great second album from Washington based Punk band Dag Nasty.
This album was released in July 1987 by Dischord Records as an LP or a cassette. It was Dischord release no. 26. It was rereleased along with Dag Nasty's first album Can I Say in 1991 as a double album CD. That was Dischord release no. 53.
The album was also rereleased in 2002 after being remastered at Silver Sonya studios. The rerelease featured all the songs from the original album, plus the five songs from the "Mango Session" in 1987 (two of the Mango session songs were previously unreleased), and then two acoustic versions recorded live after a show in Albany, NY in 1987.
The cover of the album had a black background, with "DAG NASTY" written along the left hand side. "wig out at denko's" is written along the bottom. There is another cool logo (just like the first album, Can I Say) in the middle of the cover. It looks something like a flame, but then again, if you squint it looks like a person. Sort of. The flame is cool and yellow and cool. It was reused, this time in tasteful blue form, on the cover of the Dag Nasty 7" that followed, All Ages Show.
Line up
Dag have experienced numerous line up changes over the years. After Can I Say, the line up was static for a while until Dave Smalley left just before a planned tour. The band scrabbled for a replacement and eventually found Peter Cortner as their new vocalist. The tour happened as planned (with the additional line up change of Roger Marbury being replaced on bass by Doug Carrion) and after the band came back, they decided to split up. They had a short recording slot (this created the Mango Session) at Inner Ear Studios, and then parted ways. Something felt unfinished to all members, though, and within a month or so the band had reformed and was writing new songs. Brian Baker took music duties, while Peter Cortner took the lyrics. The result was Wig Out at Denko's, recorded by:
Tracks appearing on the original:
- The Godfather
- Trying
- Safe
- Fall
- When I Move
- Simple Minds
- Wig Out at Denko's
- Exercise
- Dag Nasty
- Crucial Three
Addtional tracks that appear on the 2002 reissue
11.
Safe (Mango Sessions)
12.
Trying (Mango Sessions)
13.
Fall (Mango Sessions)
14.
Roger (Mango Sessions)
15.
Mango (Mango Sessions)
16.
When I Move (live,
acoustic)
17.
I've Heard (live,
acoustic)
Overall, the album is very good, if not at the same quality as Can I Say. The overall theme of confidence has been toned down - Peter himself says in the liner notes of the rerelease "Wig Out is all about imperfection and failure". The loss of Dave Smalley's vocals was a heavy blow to the band, but Peter is a decent enough replacement. There are some brilliant songs (The Godfather springs to mind) mixed in with some so-so ones (When I Move is very, very different to the rest of the album. Listen to it and you'll see what I mean). However, if you liked Can I Say, and want some more, this comes highly recommended. It's not as good as Can I Say, but it's a great record in it's own right, and not many second albums are that great anyway. The rerelease should be pretty widely available, and I reckon you should pick it up if Punk is your thing.
I know I would.
Sources:
Owning the 2002 reissue of this album.
Liner notes of this album.
Liner notes of Can I Say.
The Book included with 20 Years of Dischord box set.
www.daghouse.com