You Could Have It So Much Better

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You Could Have It So Much Better
Studio album by Franz Ferdinand
Released	3 October 2005
Recorded	Scotland and New York City, Spring 2005
Genre	Indie, Post-punk revival
Length	41:21
Label	Domino
Producer(s)	Franz Ferdinand, Rich Costey
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link NME 9/10 link The Observer link musicOMH.com (Positive) link Pitchfork Media (8.3/10) 10/03/05 PopMatters (7/10) link Q (#231, Oct. 2005, pp. 108-9) Robert Christgau (A-) [1] Xdafied link Rolling Stone [2]
Franz Ferdinand chronology
Franz Ferdinand (2004)	You Could Have It So Much Better (2005)

You Could Have It So Much Better is the second album by British indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, released 3 October 2005 in the United Kingdom (see 2005 in British music).

Contents 1 Repetition of the title 2 Chart success 3 Reception 4 Track listing 4.1 Bonus tracks 5 Personnel 6 Music sample 7 Release details 8 Miscellanea 9 External link

[edit] Repetition of the title

Initially it was reported that the album would simply be eponymous like the debut album, 2004's Franz Ferdinand. Singer Alex Kapranos explained, "The whole point is that the album doesn’t have a title. We decided quite a while ago that we didn’t want to give any of the albums titles, they were just going to be called 'Franz Ferdinand'."

He added, "The albums are going to be identified by their colour schemes rather than a title. The contrast of different colours creates a different mood. We experimented with different combinations of colours and this one stuck. At one level they looked good together, and they capture the mood of this record quite well."

However, on 1 August it was revealed that the band had changed their minds and decided to give the album a name. At first they revealed that the title Outsiders was considered before the current title was decided upon.

As drummer Paul Thomson explained, "I was thinking something similar, but that 'You Could Have It So Much Better' would have been even greater. We talked about how we liked that idea a lot and that it was a real shame that the album wasn't going to have a title. Then we started laughing when we realised that the album hadn't been manufactured yet and we could change it after all." The title was also initially reported as the lengthy You Could Have It So Much Better... With Franz Ferdinand. Official fansite news article

[edit] Chart success

The album was the first chart topping album for both the band and their label, Domino Records, in the UK. In the weeks after being released, the album fell first to 5, then 9, 15, and 24, before resting at #40 in the charts. On 25 December 2005, the album had risen to #37 in the charts. A week later, on 1 January 2006, the album had risen again to #24 in the official UK album charts, but fell two spots to #26 the following week before rising again to #23 on 15 January. A week later, the album had fallen again to #26. On 29 January the album had fallen a further six spots to #32. The album fell out of the top 40 altogether the week of 5 February.

The album has reached Gold Status in the United States (sales 500,000 - 1/26/2006)

[edit] Reception

• Rolling Stone (No. 985, p.75) - 3.5 out of 5 stars - "You Could Have It So Much Better" shows deeper roots in the first wave of white electric dance music: specifically the crunchy-guitar R&B and arch-garage songwriting of 1965-67 Kinks...."
• Spin (p.65) - Ranked #3 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "Their second disc builds on the kraut-disco of their debut, but frontman Alex Kapranos' dubious sensitivity makes 'You could have it' so much better than its predecessor." (p.132) - "Kapranos' voice is a marvelous wide-eyed sneer....[The album] sounds exactly like what you'd expect, with pumping disco beats and lookin'-sharp guitars on track after propulsive track." - Grade: B+ Entertainment Weekly (No. 844, p.147) - "...Shows Franz Ferdinand working harder and sounding bigger, befitting their stature as rock's saviors of the moment...." - Grade B+
• Mojo (p.58) - Ranked #11 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2005" - "An imperious state-of-the-nation address delivered with ease."(p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Musically, the palette has grown without getting out of hand. Lead guitarist Nick McCarthy appears to have an inexhaustible well of singable guitar riffs: pungent, perfunctory, and hardly ever pretty..."
• Vibe (p.210) - "It overflows with danceable beats and catchy hooks.

[edit] Track listing

All tracks written by Franz Ferdinand, 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

[edit] Bonus tracks

• "Your Diary" – 3:08 (Japan release, also a B-side on the British CD single for "Do You Want To")
• "Fabulously Lazy" – 2:55 (Japan release, also a B-side on the British Maxi-CD single for "Do You Want To")
  • Lead vocals performed by Nick McCarthy.
• "Do You Want To" (Live at Princes Street Gardens Edinburgh, iTunes only exclusive) – 3:42

[edit] Personnel

• Alex Kapranos - lead guitar, lead vocals
• Nick McCarthy - rhythm guitar, vocals, keyboards
• Bob Hardy - bass
• Paul Thomson - drums, percussion, backing vocals

[edit] Music sample

[edit] Release details

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalog	Notes
Japan	28 September 2005	Sony Music Japan	CD	EICP-555
	7 December 2005		CD	EICP-575	Japanese reissue
	1 February 2006		2CD	EICP-595/596	Japanese edition with bonus disc You Could Have It So Much Better & Better
United Kingdom	3 October 2005	Domino	LP	WIGLP161
			CD	WIGCD161
			CD/DVD	WIGCD161X
United States	4 October 2005	Domino / Epic Records	LP	E94800
			CD	EK94800
			DualDisc	EN97725	Contains the material featured on the UK CD/DVD edition

[edit] Miscellanea

• The song You're the Reason I'm Leaving is believed to be a dual-meaning track, partly about the rivalry between UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and chancellor Gordon Brown. The song contains the lyric: I'd no idea that in four years I'd be hanging from a beam behind the door of number ten, singing "fare thee well, I am leaving, yes I leave it all to you". "Number ten" here refers to 10 Downing Street, the address of the UK Prime Minister. Four years is the typical length of a Parliament.

[edit] External link

• You Could Have It So Much Better e-card

Franz Ferdinand
Alex Kapranos | Robert Hardy | Nicholas McCarthy | Paul Thomson
Discography
Albums and extended plays: Darts of Pleasure | Franz Ferdinand | You Could Have It So Much Better
Singles: "Darts of Pleasure" | "Take Me Out" | "The Dark of the Matinée" | "Michael" | "This Fire" | "Do You Want To" | "Walk Away" | "The Fallen" / "L. Wells" | "Eleanor Put Your Boots On"
DVDs: Franz Ferdinand
Related articles
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria | Domino Records | Tore Johansson | Rich Costey
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