Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

me (music critic): it'll do for now. me (personal): i love it.

I'm likely giving an extra half-star due to bias, but really, this double-CD is a lot of fun. The bonus disc's full of songs that are easily as good as the main album and actually bring more of the band's personality into light. They take from many influences: one minute they sound like the Kinks (or the obvious Talking Heads tint), the next I'm hearing the Jewish folk song, "Hava Nagila"!

Yet what I find these guys do especially well is create an atmosphere. There's dark, flirtatious humor in Alex Kapranos's voice, and his writing is rather witty. They also know how to make each and every song catchy, and at once just far enough from the mainstream edge to be considered by music lovers of all kinds. So while this album isn't technically a masterpiece, I find it another in a line of those which respects music for what it is: an art form that represents the musician. You may not dig their sound, but at least it's authentic.

Highlights: The Dark of the Matinee, Come On Home, This Fffire. August 1, 2007

Fantastic Debut

Franz Ferdinand's music is incredibly powerful and unique. There's just something about it that makes you want to just stand up and dance. This "Special Edition" of the bands self-titled debut comes with a bonus disc containing five tracks that were left off of the original pressing. The five tracks are "This Fffire", which is a remix of the single found on the original album. Next up is the funky b-side "Van Tango" which, as the title suggests, is a great song to dance to. Track three on the second disc is another b-side which was left off of the album, "Shopping For Blood". This a great song, with a great beat, and great lyrics. Next up is yet another b-side, "All For You, Sophia". The final track found on this bonus disc is an alternate take of the single "Darts Of Pleasure" retitled from the song lyric "Words So Leisured". I personally find this second disc to be a waste, considering the fact that these tracks could just be part of one CD.
The Original Album: From the minute you hear the opening guitar strum of "Jacqueline" you know that you will be in for a treat. Suddenly, out of the acoustic guitar melodies of the intro, the bass kicks, then so does heavily distorted guitar. Magnificently composed. Track number two, "Tell Her Tonight" is a highly infectious, funky track with a great guitar riff. The Singles: The very first single we heard from Franz was the smash hit "Take Me Out". No wonder this song became a hit! From it's opening lyric "So if you're lonely. . ." you are hook. Right before the chorus begins, the instrumentation breaks down to a crawl, and then the fun begins. "The Dark Of The Matineè" was released as a single as well. Probably the most controversial single released from this album has to be "Michael". The song seemed to be a homosexual, erotic theme for the gay community, and law officials were certain to point that out. In all reality, the song was written about one of the bands friends who got drunk at a bar and began hitting on a man. "Darts Of Pleasure" comes next. "This Fire" was the very last single to be released from the album, and proved to be a hit.
This is a great album and I highly recommend that you try it out. March 11, 2006

Heard it on madden-now enfatuated

This was a great album i like every song on this cd, i have not bought their sophmore cd hopefully a slump is not in the future. February 6, 2006

It's A Love-It Or Don't-Get-It Album. I Have The Bliss Of Understanding The Love-It Side

There is not a single song that can be described as bad on this album. Sure, the background singing in TELL HER TONIGHT is terrible, but besides that, what is there to complain about? I've noticed from the reviews that a lot of people love this album or just don't get it. Luckily I am one of the love-it people, and maybe you are too if you give the album a chance.

JACQUELINE--This song starts out slow and soft and you're not sure if you care to listen to the rest of the song. But 40 seconds into the song, it picks up and turns itself into an awesome rock song with some serious guitar playing and drumming. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy.

TELL HER TONIGHT--While this song is the worst song on the original album, it still maintains not being bad nevertheless. The "home demo" on the album DARTS OF PLEASURE, however, is so bad that it's hilarious. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy

TAKE ME OUT--This was the song that Franz Ferdinand performed on one of the worst episodes of Saturday Night Live that I've ever seen that got me into the band's music. The awesome lead guitar and great tune are perfection. A must to hear. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy.

THE DARK OF THE MATINEE--The best song on the album. It even outdoes TAKE ME OUT. The lyrics are a bit soft, but the chorus is awesome and so is the music. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy.

AUF ACHSE--This is the softest song on the album, and it still is good nevertheless. The singing, piano, and bass all add up to make a good song. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy.

CHEATING ON YOU--This fast paced song is probably better than TELL HER TONIGHT, but nothing else on the album. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy.

THIS FIRE--A very good song. Very fast paced, though not nearly as much as CHEATING ON YOU. The drums go very good with the guitar rythem. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, and Paul Thompson.

DARTS OF PLEASURE--This song is also very good, but not quite as much as THIS FIRE. It transits well between the soft rock and the hard rock. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos and Paul Thomson.

MICHAEL--This song was based on an experience of a friend of the band's. It has good rock, especially the lead guitar playing. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy.

COME ON HOME--A relatively good song, though the chorus isn't that great. It's no match for TAKE ME OUT or THE DARK OF THE MATINEE, but it's still a good song. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy

40'--I was first introduced to this song from the trailer of IN GOOD COMPANY, and recognized it immediately when I heard it. It's a pretty good song, featuring the soon-to-become- frequent la-la-la-la-la-las. (They are featured frequently in the next Franz Ferdinand album, YOU COULD HAVE IT SO MUCH BETTER). Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy.

THIS FFFIRE--I really don't see much of a difference between this song and THIS FIRE. The assemblance of the lyrics is a bit different, but otherwise it almost sounds exactly the same. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy and Paul Thomson.

VAN TANGO--The only Franz Ferdinand song so far to not be sung by Alex Kapranos. And it's a bit evident why. Nick McCarthy's voice isn't bad for singing, but he sings the song with a high pitch and lazy sound. He works better for backup, though it is always interesting to hear a song not sung by the lead singer. Featuring vocals by Nick McCarthy, Alex Kapranos, and Paul Thompson.

SHOPPING FOR BLOOD--Okay, probably the worst song on the album. I haven't listened to it much, but I don't like it from what I've heard. Alex Kapranos's voice just wasn't meant to sing so low and rough. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos, Paul Thompson, and Nick McCarthy.

ALL FOR YOU, SOPHIA--This song is rather repeatative, but it is appreciative after the last song. The chorus really goes deep into being repeatative, with the same four words being being repeated over and over and over again. Featuring vocals by Nick McCarthy and Alex Kapranos

WORDS SO LEISURED--This song takes some of the words from DARTS OF PLEASURE, and puts them to a slow, soothing melody. However, I think they overdid the soothingness and slowness. It's just not enough of a song now. Featuring vocals by Alex Kapranos. January 6, 2006

Some very good new-wave influenced alternative pop-rock

Franz Ferdinand is another entry into today's trendy "new-wave-influenced-alternative-pop-rock". Their first self-titled album is full of fun and catchy songs, but they aren't interesting or thought-provoking enough to truly make it a classic and an essential own (the album doesn't seem to have much soul to it). I can't put my finger on it but there's also something about the songs that make it kind of cheesy (they don't sound..."serious", and this hurts the rating). A lot of the songs are memorable lyrically simply because they're simple and catchy (it's easy to sing along) - they're definitely not deep, though. The musicianship is occasionally interesting but in a generic kind of way. All things aside, however, there is a high probability that you'll like this album, so for that reason alone I'd recommend buying it. The bonus tracks help, but not by much. Not an essential album but worth getting if you have the extra cash. Recommended.

Highlights include:
the whole album! January 4, 2006

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