Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
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CD Details
Artist: Franz FerdinandEdition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2004-04-20
Music Label: Sony
Product features:
- Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
- jacqueline
- tell her tonight
- take me out
- matinee
- auf acshe
- cheating on you
- this fire
- darts of pleasure
- michael
- come on home
- 40 ft
Music reviews of Franz Ferdinand
Music Review: This album is SPECTACULAR!!!
Rating: 5 Stars
I just bought this album a few weeks ago (I'm about to buy their new one as well) and as the title suggests it
is extraordinary. I only just bought this album because I was unsure about it when Take Me Out was
released over here, but since Franz Ferdinand made Don't You Wanna Go (I know it's off their new album),
I told myself I had to have this album, and the next. I am so glad I did too, because the music is again
fabulous. It's catchy, and you find yourself wanting to sing along to all the songs even if you are only
hearing them for the first time, and don't know the words. Sometimes it gets a little repetitive now and then,
but most of the time that's what makes the song catchy in the first place. The band was also kind enough to
put the lyrics in the CD's booklet. One of the many interesting things about Franz Ferdinand is that in about
every song they start off with one tune, and rhythm, but then about 30 seconds into the song they suddenly
change it to something completely different. Another point of interest about Franz Ferdinand is that you
can't try to look at it, the first time you hear it, with a critic's eye because you will hate the CD. The critic's
eye will come with listening to the songs a few times first; just sit back and enjoy the music the first time
you hear the CD though. Now that I've said all that I would like to talk about each of the songs individually.
1. Jacqueline: This song is a perfect example of the tune suddenly changing into something different. From
the first 30 seconds of it (and from the title for that matter) you think it's going to be a slow song about a girl
named Jacqueline. Afterwards though the bass gets into the song, and starts the "real","first" lines of the
song. The beat that goes on past the first verse is very catchy, and if you listen to the 30 second clip you will
see a little of what I'm talking about. 30 seconds however is not enough to really get the feel of the song, I
would say you need a good minute to really grab ahold of what the song is about. The song itself is about a
group of bachelors or friends who like to take as much time to enjoy life as possible. This is all obvious
once you hear the chorus "...It's always better on holiday, so much better on holiday. That's why we only
work when we need the money..." The guitar work is top notch, and I think it was very smart how they
disguised the "real" song. Overall I would give this song five stars, because it's smart, catchy, and not at all
repetitive.
2. Tell Her Tonight: This song is I think one of the smartest on the album. When you first hear it you may
not even be able to understand the words, but just take one peek into the song booklet, and you'll see what
it's about. The song as far as I can see is about a couple who want to have sex with each other for the first
time. All the words are about the subtle hints they drop each other. Only the title makes this a little
mysterious. Questions arise in your mind such as "What does he mean by 'Gonna have to tell her tonight?'"
and when you first read, or hear the lyrics "Could he be a stalker?" The guitar work is about average for
Franz Ferdinand, so there's not much more to say in that area. Keep in mind though that average for them is
still very good. As a song I didn't much care for it, but the lyrics are what make it so good. Overall I would
give this song four stars, the first three were because the song was not repetitive, and because it was a good
song. The last star was because it was very smart, but since I didn't like it as much as the others on this
album it didn't get a full five stars.
3. Take Me Out: This of course is the song that most people have probably heard already, from this album.
It has been played on television, and the radio for a couple of reasons. The first reason is of course for the
song, and musical purposes. The next reason was for commercial purposes. People have probably seen the
PSP commercial where it seems that you are trapped inside the system, whilst different people play games
on you. It is another example of how Franz Ferdinand change the tune in the middle of the song. If you
know what I'm talking about please skip to the next description. For those of you who don't know, the song
starts off with a fast rhythm, but slows down to the pace the band will use for the rest of the song. I like the
way that the change the pace, and it is one of my favorites of this album. The guitar work is a little
repetitive, but that is why it's catchy. Sometimes it can get annoying if you are singing along, when the
chorus comes along because they take so much time before they finally get around to saying, "Take me
out." Overall I would give this song four stars. It would have received five stars, but the thing with the
chorus, and it is a little repetitive. Just some tiny little things, but I will cut them some slack, and only take
off one star because it's their first album.
4. The Dark Of The Matinee: This is my favorite song from this CD. It's about a guy, in either High School
or College who doesn't much care for schoolwork, and would much rather see a movie. He does however
meet a girl who he falls in love with, and invites her to come to the Matinee with him. Whether she does go
to the Matinee with him is unknown, but in the last verse he tells of how his life was hard when he met her,
but it's easy now. The guitar work is pretty good, and this is one of the few songs that doesn't skip from one
tune to the next. It gets a little repetitive now and then but for the most part it stays on a solid beat. One of
the main reasons I think for the guitars being a little repetitive is that it sounds as though it's taken from an
old traditional Scottish dance, and so maybe it was originally a bit repetitive to accommodate for the
dancers. The fact that it doesn't skip from tune to tune doesn't diminish the appeal of the song though, in fact
it enhances it somewhat, and makes it seem unique. It of course isn't unique in that respect, because of a
number of other songs such as Tell Her Tonight, and Darts Of Pleasure, but I will get to that later. Overall I
would give this song five stars; it's catchy, not too repetitive and it has that nice traditional sound to it.
5. Auf Acshe: This song wasn't one that appealed to me very much. It is a good song, but I just don't like the
type of Techno-ish dance music that this is. The song seems to be about a man admiring a woman, but for
some reason he is stopped from being with her. Nothing in the song however gives any clue as to why he is
stopped, but that kind of is the point of the song. It's mysterious, and somewhat dark-sounding, but overall
pretty good. The guitar work could use some improvement, but this song didn't focus on guitars so much.
As I said earlier it has that dark and mysterious quality, which is achieved by using a strings setting on a
synthesizer. The way I see it though this is a very good song for the album because like Tell Her Tonight it
adds a bit of variety by taking out the guitars a little, and replacing them with a synthesizer. Overall I would
give this song five stars, because it's good, and it again adds some variety.
6. I'm Cheating On You: This song like many others on this album is very smart. It is basically one big
contradiction of itself, and with lines like "...Good-bye girl, because I love you..." that fact is very apparent.
So many lines like that make the song seem a little confusing after a little while, but that's mainly the point.
It's about telling the person you love, that you are really in love with someone else. The guitar work is not
repetitive at all, which makes it seem better than it is, although it's good to start with. Something about this
song though just doesn't seem as good as most of the rest of the album, but it is smart none the less. Overall
I would give this song four stars. Again it's there first album so there's bound to be room for improvement.
This song still is as smart as the rest of the CD, which is a good thing. But hey there's always a few songs
that you don't like on an album anyway, so it doesn't really matter if I don't think this song is as good. My
opinion is final though, so on to the next song.
7. This Fire: This song is very clever, because of the chorus. It's about a guy who is about to go out for a
night on the town, but he says that he has a fire inside of him (metaphorically speaking of course). The
chorus later goes on to say that the fire is out of control, and it's going to burn the city. Now I think that
anybody with half, no a quarter of a brain can figure that one out. The chorus can be a little repetitive, but as
I've said before it's there first album so I won't give the band too much grief for that. The guitar work is
good, but of course that's good for them, because again they're good to start with. The chorus seemed to be
a little faster than the verses, and it was interesting how they were able to put the two parts together in a
logical way, whilst not subtracting from the music. It was just a little short for my tastes, and I think it may
have benefited from at least one more verse. Overall I would give this song five stars. Although it's a little
repetitive it's catchy, and I suppose it's meant to be a dance song, so being repetitive is not without
justification. The clever metaphor of the chorus was really what won this five stars though, even if the
metaphor is a commonly used one Franz Ferdinand took it a little bit further than it has been taken before.
8. Darts Of Pleasure: This song is another one of my favorites. The music focuses almost solely on the
guitars, which, unlike other bands is a little unusual for Franz Ferdinand. The words to the verses have an
interesting touch to them. They seem to be about a woman who is just pure evil, but a closer look at the
lyrics reveals that it is not talking about the woman, but the person, or thing, responsible for bringing the
woman into the world to begin with. Since the music is almost completely tied in with the guitars the guitar
work is good. It really portrays a feeling of great anger towards this thing who sends or sells this evil
woman. Although it is a good song it does have it's bad points. For one I didn't like the length of it, it was
again just too short for me. This song was another one that could have benefited from a few extra verses.
Overall I would give this song five stars. The clever disguising of the real subject is something I'm fond of,
and this song gave it to me. It wasn't repetitive at all, so that's very good.
9. Michael: This song is yet again very clever. It is about two men dancing together in a dance club, the
only thing is that there are no women with them. What is the only conclusion you can reach then? Well the
answer is that they're both gay. All the words talk about how the one man cannot stand to live without the
other. Of course it does this in a way that is mainly seen as taboo, which makes it clever. The music is good
switching from the fast-paced chorus to the slower verses, and this is another one of the songs that is not
repetitive in the least. Although it only has two verses it was strangely just the right length for me. Overall I
would give this song five stars, mainly because of the content. Normally in a song like this you would be
talking about a girl being the only thing a man can't be without. Making it a guy was all to clever, and I
applaud the mind(s) who thought that one up.
10. Come On Home: This song is another one of my favorites. It is again basically one big contradiction.
All the verses consist of a man begging his girlfriend to come home, but he also says for the girl to stay
away because he likes being lonely. It has a very meloncholy sound to it, and does a good job of making it
sound as if the guy really wants his girlfriend back with him. As some other people have mentioned the
guitars are a little weak in this song, but that is sort of the point. The reall instrument is the organ, which has
the moving part all throughout the song. I also liked how the band was able to join together the two
instruments so well. This song also wasn't repetitive at all so that was a definite plus. Overall I would give
this five stars, because of Franz Ferdinand's ability to make the song sound as if the guy wants his girlfriend
back. It's only when you look deep into the song that you see the real purpose, and content.
11. 40': This song is another very good song. It is the only one on the album that I can't figure out the
meaning of. All the lyrics are almost completely nonsensical. Talking about salt drying on this guys arms,
and having the sun burn it off, first off that's gross, and second WHAT?!! The guitar work is good however,
and more than makes up for the fact that the lyrics are an enigma wrapped in a mystery and topped off with
a big question mark. The solo at the beginning of the song does sound a little like pick-axes chipping away
at some stone in a quary, so maybe that's what it's about. Whichever way you look at it though it is still a
good song and I give it five stars.
Overall I would say that this is a great album. Although there are a few songs that are better than others that
is true of any album and you shouldn't judge by that. As for being repetitive in places, I say that since it's
their first album the band is allowed to make some mistakes [just don't do it again (just kidding!)]. In
conclusion I think that anyone who likes good music should buy this album, even if you've already bought
their second one.
Description of Franz Ferdinand
Glasgow's art-damaged rock quartet Franz Ferdinand - named for the Austro-Hungarian Archduke whose murder sparked World War I - features bassist Bob Hardy, guitarist Nick McCarthy, drummer Paul Thomson, and singer/guitarist Alex Kapranos. This is there 20Franz Ferdinand is an unrelentingly smart, fluffy, and fun debut. This Scottish four-piece plays vaguely angular, guitar-heavy post-pop that makes you want to dance around the room while playing air guitar. It's the ideal hipster guilty-pleasure music. This is what the Rapture and Interpol would sound like if they wrote songs half as good as those they rip off, or the Strokes if their parents had sent them to art school instead of the fashion academy. Every song on here is so blatantly derivative it sounds almost original, like a Blur without the gloomy hangover. It's too early yet to tell if this is just a band for the moment or one for the ages--but who really cares with pop music, anyway? Songs like "Darts of Pleasure," "Come on Home," "Take Me Out," and "Cheating on You" are so good they will surely appeal even to those without slanty, messy haircuts. --Mike McGonigal
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