''You Could Have It So Much Better'' is the second studio album by Scottish
indie rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
band
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Fr ...
. It was first released on 28 September 2005 in Japan, and later on 3 October in the UK, through the
Domino Recording Company
Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...
. Recorded in both
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and their own studio in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
with producer
Rich Costey
Rich may refer to:
Common uses
* Rich, an entity possessing wealth
* Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling
** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting
Places United States
* Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...
, the album spawned four UK top 30 singles: "
Do You Want To
"Do You Want To" is the lead single from Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand's second studio album, '' You Could Have It So Much Better'' (2005). It was released 19 September 2005 and charted at number four on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, ...
", "
The Fallen", "
Walk Away" and "
Eleanor Put Your Boots On
"Eleanor Put Your Boots On" is a song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was released as the fourth single from their second album, ''You Could Have It So Much Better'', on 17 July 2006. The single version of the song is a new versio ...
."
The album became the band's first UK number-one album, and although
their debut album was relatively successful in the United States, going platinum and reaching number 32, ''You Could Have It So Much Better'' managed to reach number 8 and earn gold status in the United States. The cover design is modeled on
Alexander Rodchenko
Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ро́дченко; – 3 December 1956) was a Russian and Soviet artist, sculptor, photographer, and graphic designer. He was one of the founders ...
's 1924 portrait of
Lilya Brik. It was produced by Rich Costey and Franz Ferdinand.
History
Initially it was reported that the album would simply be eponymous like the debut album, 2004's ''
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Fr ...
''. Singer
Alex Kapranos
Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley (born 20 March 1972) is a Scottish musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and author. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand. He has also been a part of the ...
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. First, they revealed that the title ''Outsiders'' was considered before the current title was decided upon.
As drummer
Paul Thomson
Paul may refer to:
* Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Ch ...
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 realized 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''. The album's cover art is inspired by the works of
Alexander Rodchenko
Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ро́дченко; – 3 December 1956) was a Russian and Soviet artist, sculptor, photographer, and graphic designer. He was one of the founders ...
, the Russian avant-garde photographer and collage pioneer. In particular, the cover image is a direct copy of Rodchenko's of
Lilya Brik.
The song "You're the Reason I'm Leaving" is believed to be a dual-meaning track; it can be read as a typical relationship-centered song, but also as being a lighthearted political commentary on the rivalry between former UK
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
and former UK Prime Minister (then-
Chancellor of the Exchequer)
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...
. 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 was the typical length of a parliament before
five-year fixed term legislation was passed in 2011.
"The Fallen" was used by the
NFL on Fox for promos during the 2011 NFL season.
Chart performance
The album was the first chart topping album for both the band and their label,
Domino Recording Company
Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...
, in the UK. In the weeks after being released, the album fell first to number 5, then number 9, number 15, and number 24, before resting at number 40 in the charts. On 25 December 2005, the album had risen to number 37 in the charts. A week later, on 1 January 2006, the album had risen again to number 24 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
, but fell two spots to number 26 the following week before rising again to number 23 on 15 January. A week later, the album had fallen again to number 26. On 29 January, the album had fallen a further six spots to number 32. The album fell out of the top 40 altogether the week of 5 February.
Entering and peaking at number 8, the album has sold 378,000 units in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, somewhat below the sales success of the band's 2004 debut, although it was certified gold.
Critical reception
''You Could Have It So Much Better'' received universal acclaim from music critics, with a score of 83 out of 100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
.
Nitsuh Abebe of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' complimented the band on returning with a "big ridiculous stomper, a song whose hooks get so happily ballroom-glam you'd almost think they stole them from the Sweet or the Bay City Rollers–the kind of song most bands wouldn't be able to pull off without telegraphing a whole lot of irony and embarrassment".
Will Hermes of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' wrote that the album "shows Franz Ferdinand working harder and sounding bigger, befitting their stature as rock's saviors of the moment",
while
David Fricke
David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' noted that the album "shows deeper roots in the first wave of white electric dance music: specifically the crunchy-guitar R&B and arch-garage songwriting of 1965–1967 Kinks".
''
Spin''s Andrew Beaujon stated that it "sounds exactly like what you'd expect, with pumping disco beats and lookin'-sharp guitars on track after propulsive track", and the magazine later ranked it the third best album of 2005 and called it "so much better than its predecessor" thanks to Kapranos' "dubious sensitivity".
Track listing
Personnel
*
Alex Kapranos
Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley (born 20 March 1972) is a Scottish musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and author. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand. He has also been a part of the ...
– lead guitar, keyboards, lead vocals
*
Nick McCarthy
Nicholas John McCarthy (born 13 December 1974 in Blackpool, England) is an English-German musician. His main focus is on songwriting and song production. He is also a guitarist, singer and keyboard player.
McCarthy was the guitarist, backing/ ...
–
rhythm guitar, vocals, keyboards
*
Bob Hardy – bass guitar
*
Paul Thomson
Paul may refer to:
* Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Ch ...
– drums,
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
, backing vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Notes
References
External links
''You Could Have It So Much Better'' e-card
{{Authority control
2005 albums
Domino Recording Company albums
Epic Records albums
Franz Ferdinand (band) albums