Franz Ferdinand. You Could Have It So Much Better (2005)

You Could Have It So Much Better is the second studio album by Glaswegian indie rock band Franz Ferdinand that was first released 3 October 2005 in the United Kingdom. Recorded in both the United States and their own studio in Glasgow with producer Rich Costey, the album gave birth to the release of four UK Top 30 singles "Do You Want To" on 23 August 2005, "The Fallen / L. Wells", "Walk Away" and "Eleanor Put Your Boots On." The album became the band's first UK #1 album and although their debut album was relatively successful in the USA, going platinum and reaching #32, You Could Have It So Much Better managed to reach #8 and earned gold status in the States. The cover design is modeled on Alexander Rodchenko's 1924 portrait of Lilya Brik.

Track Listing

All tracks were written by Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy and Paul Thomson, with vocals provided by Alex Kapranos except where noted.

1. "The Fallen" – 3:42 (Listen (help·info))
2. "Do You Want To" – 3:38
3. "This Boy" – 2:21
4. "Walk Away" – 3:36
5. "Evil and a Heathen" – 2:05
6. "You're the Reason I'm Leaving" – 2:47
7. "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" – 2:49 (Listen (help·info))
8. "Well That Was Easy" – 3:02
9. "What You Meant" – 3:24
10. "I'm Your Villain" – 4:03
11. "You Could Have It So Much Better" – 2:41
12. "Fade Together" – 3:03
13. "Outsiders" – 4:02

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Franz Ferdinand. Franz Ferdinand (2004)

Franz Ferdinand is the debut album by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, released in early 2004. It entered the United Kingdom album charts at number three in February 2004 and contains three UK top ten singles: "Take Me Out", "This Fire" (on the download chart) and "The Dark of the Matinée" or "Matinée". Franz Ferdinand won the 2004 Mercury Music Prize. The album has since sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide. The album is notable as one of the very few modern albums that are not compressed to the max in participation of the loudness war.

Franz Ferdinand received universal critical acclaim. The NME said that the band was the latest in the line of art school rock bands featuring The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Duran Duran, Roxy Music, the Sex Pistols, Wire and Blur. It rated the album as 9 out of 10 and said: "This album is the latest and most intoxicating example of the wonderful pushing its way up between the ugly slabsof Pop Idol, nu metal and Britons aping American bands. What these blossoming bands have in common is the absolute conviction that rock 'n' roll is more than a career option."

The BBC's review of the album said: "At only 38 minutes long Franz Ferdinand may not be a particularly long album, but it is a masterpiece of funky, punky, suave cool from the first track to the last." The All Music Guide rated the album as four out of five stars and said: "Franz Ferdinand ends up being rewarding in different ways than the band's previous work was, but it's apparent that they're still one of the more exciting groups to come out of the garage-rock / post-punk revival."

The album received an extremely positive 87 rating on MetaCritic putting it among the top 100 albums rated by the site.

The album is featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track Listing

Lead vocals by Alex Kapranos, except where noted. All songs written by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy except where noted.

1. "Jacqueline" (Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy) – 3:49
2. "Tell Her Tonight" – 2:17
3. "Take Me Out" – 3:57
4. "The Dark of the Matinée" (Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy) – 4:03
5. "Auf Achse" – 4:19
6. "Cheating on You" – 2:36
7. "This Fire" – 4:14
8. "Darts of Pleasure" – 2:59
9. "Michael" – 3:21
10. "Come On Home" – 3:46
11. "40'" – 3:24

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