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Franz Ferdinand
 
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Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand | Format: Audio CD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (157 customer reviews)
Price: £3.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Audio CD (9 Feb 2004)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Domino
  • ASIN: B00014TQ7S
  • Other Editions: MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (157 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,457 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
Listen  1. Jacqueline 3:51£0.79
Listen  2. Tell Her Tonight 2:19£0.79
Listen  3. Take Me Out 3:59£0.79
Listen  4. The Dark Of The Matinée 4:05£0.79
Listen  5. Auf Achse 4:21£0.79
Listen  6. Cheating On You 2:38£0.79
Listen  7. This Fire 4:16£0.79
Listen  8. Darts Of Pleasure 3:01£0.79
Listen  9. Michael 3:23£0.79
Listen10. Come On Home 3:48£0.79
Listen11. 40' 3:24£0.79

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Touted as being the first great album of 2004, Franz Ferdinand's eponymous debut may be the secret weapon that'll kick-start the British fight against the White Strokes. Though they have a reputation as being bohemian art-obsessed dilettantes, they're at the vanguard of the Art Wave scene, and possess a fierce determination to change the face of modern music--their twin aims: to bring back cerebral rock that makes you want to dance, and to bring frontline music back home (witness exclusively British lyrics such as "I'm on BBC 2 now; telling Terry Wogan how I made it"). So what weapons do these four skinny lads engage to galvanise the UK music scene? Unsurprisingly, they roll out the big guns of Britpop past. "Cheating on You" bounces like early Blur; "Come on Home" soars like pre-OK Computer Radiohead; "Michael" flirts with Suede-esque sexual androgyny; and "Matinee" sleazes onto you like Pulp at their most lascivious.

Though they draw on the past, they do so wisely, injecting voguish angular 80s synth-pop with old-fashioned heart and soul. Their debut embraces the experimental, featuring time-signature changes and mid-song tempo drops, yet its solidity prevents it from consignment to the gratuitously quirky bin. If you feel that the Rapture lack a sense of drama and Interpol lack joy and energy, then Franz Ferdinand are the boys for you. Their stated ambition is to erase the Archduke Franz Ferdinand from the annals of history and replace him in the collective consciousness with themselves. Archduke who? --Paul Eisinger

BBC Review

If you believe what you read, Franz Ferdinand are Glasgow's answer to The Strokes. Only they don't really sound like The Strokes. Or look like them. Or have much in common with them at all. It's all a bit confusing, really. Surely this, their eponymous debut album, can't live up to comparisons with Is This It? Or can it?

Well...yes, frankly. Glasgow's next big things have come up with a cracking debut, taking elements from all over the place. Funky guitar playing that would make Nile Rodgers proud; wonderful harmonised vocals; a simple-but-effective drum sound; sexy, throbbing basslines; and a keyboard sound so cheesy that you could bait a mousetrap with it. And it works. I'm not much of a dancer, but this album makes me want to get up and do a little jig - all hips, elbows and twitchy head movements. A Jarvis Cocker impersonation, if you like...

There's not a bad track on the album, so trying to pick standout tracks is more or less arbitrary. My current favourites are "The Dark Of The Matinee" for its strange tale of art-school passion, and the fact that it name-checks Terry Wogan (!). And "Come on Home" because it's got great lyrics and a wonderfully lame keyboard sound. (An hour ago my favourites were "Michael" and "Tell Her Tonight" - give me another hour and I'll have changed my mind again, I'm sure...)

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. Alex Kapranos and co. have got the formula just right. A pinch of this and a smattering of that from here, there and everywhere. "Come on Home" and "Auf Acshe" could be distantly related to Blondie's "Atomic" while "Tell Her Tonight" sounds a bit like "Boogie Nights" (in a good way). The whole album sounds sort of familiar. Despite this, it's always unmistakably Franz Ferdinand. But that's usually the way with great albums isn't it? --Simon Fernand

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Customer Reviews

157 Reviews
5 star:
 (89)
4 star:
 (34)
3 star:
 (11)
2 star:
 (12)
1 star:
 (11)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (157 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect? No. But Much Better Than Most., 13 Feb 2004
This review is from: Franz Ferdinand (Audio CD)
Ok, it's difficult to keep control amongst the hype but I'm going to try to do just that. Yes, the emergence of Franz Ferdinand is extremely exciting - in fact, I've not been this enthusiastic about the emergence of any band in the last five years (with the possible exception of The Coral).

And yes, this is a very good debut. Like all great music, it's influenced by the past but not in thrall to it, mixing past sounds to find a spin of its own. And, with Franz Ferdinand, it is the pop edge to the music that sets it apart from Hot, Hot Heat, Radio 4 etc.

For the first five songs, the album's practically flawless. "Jacqueline" is brilliant, catchy, anthemic and with a great slogan in the chorus. "Tell Her Tonight" is a great little song, the kind of thing which doesn't stand out from the rest but fits in nicely and complements the album - the musical equivalent of your friend who doesn't really say much but you know your entire group of mates wouldn't be the same without them.

"Take Me Out" everyone knows about but still sounds great, especially in the way that it seems to directly mock the Strokes and other bands of the garage revival by spending a minute playing the song how they would play it and then exploding it into something else entirely. "Dark Of The Matinee" is my favourite (and rumoured to be the next single), from it's great (almost classic rock) riff to its incredibly boucy, 2tone-esque chorus of escapism, to great lines such as "I time every journey to bump into you, accidentally". "Auf Achse" is a great moment of keyboard-led pop, moving yet somehow cold and sinister.

After that, there is a slight dip. "Cheating On You" is okay but not up to the previous standard while you start to wonder whether anyone would ever have noticed if "This Fire" didn't exist (and, if so, whether they'd be upset about the fact). It's not that "This Fire" is bad, so much as unremarkable, especially within this setting.

Fortunately, just when you are starting to despair the album springs to life with the catchy punk-pop of "Darts Of Pleasure" and album standout "Michael" which somehow manages to be dance, rock and pop simultaneously with a lyric of brilliant ambiguity.

The final two tracks on the album "Come On Home" and "40 '" are, to be honest, good album tracks but far from out-standing.

Essentially, whilst this album has its flaws, it fully deserves the five-star review for being an incredibly ambitious and exiciting album where any flaws tend to come from taking too many risks rather than not enough. Rather, like The Coral's debut, in that respect (although the two sound in no way similar)

Unfortunately (at least at present), the latter band have so far failed to live up to the promise of their debut and currently seem to be doomed to repeat their debut album, each time less risky, each time not quite as good.

Time will always tell, but one hopes Franz Ferdinand will not suffer the same fate.

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80 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Debut, 10 Feb 2004
By sheepnut (Southwest England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Franz Ferdinand (Audio CD)
I have just listened to the album for the first time in the last half an hour. I was very impressed. I loved "Take Me Out" and "Darts Of Pleasure" when I saw them on the music channels, but with all the hype, it was obviously going to be hard for Franz Ferdinand to meet expectations. They have met mine. There are a few weak tracks, (I didn't particularly like "Tell Her Tonight") and the lyrics could do with some work, (although I have only just heard it once, it may grow on me). The best track apart from the two singles, I would say is Matinee. It has the same sort of catchiness of Take Me Out, with a more complex tune.

PS. I would like to ask people not to review albums they haven't even heard, as the two bad reviewees obviously haven't. If you don't like the singles, don't tell us you hate the albums. Nobody likes everything, and we don't need people putting up unhelpful reviews. If you have bought (and listened to it) the album, and don't like it, then review it by all means.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A great listen!, 30 Nov 2004
This review is from: Franz Ferdinand (Audio CD)
I bought this CD on the basis of listening to the more well known hits such as "Take me Out" and "This Fire". I had also listened to a few extracts on their website, which had all seemed like good tunes.
When i recieved the cd i listened to it once, and then reset it so i could listen all over again. Since then it has become one of my favourite cd's, it's hard to describe what makes it such great music to listen to, but i would definately recommend buying it. Or if you are undecided definately check out the website or search for "Franz Ferdinand" in google, which will give you the chance to listen to breif extracts from the songs.
If you have only heard "Take me Out" or "This Fire" and are worried that the others won't be as good you needn't worry, almost all the others are just as good. Altho "Take me out" is still my favourite track :).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Take me anywhere!
I don't know why I waited so long to buy this album - it's great! If you like noisy guitars, smart key changes and interesting lyrics, buy this record! Read more
Published 13 months ago by E. Woods

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT DEBUT ALBUM
great debut album from franz ferdinand including the more popular tracks "dark of the matinee" and "take me out" etc.. Read more
Published 14 months ago by P. Coleman

5.0 out of 5 stars Arch-Dukes of Rock
This album is a true great; the best British band since Blur, these Art School Scottish Rockers are witty, pretentious and sharply dressed - this is what pop music should be -... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Captain Pugwash

5.0 out of 5 stars So Bloomin Catchy!
At the moment, I've only reviewed the most essential CDs in my record collection, and this is up there.

I hate the indie scene. Read more
Published 20 months ago by MDD

5.0 out of 5 stars Best band of the 21st century, so far.
The 2 FF albums are the best albums of the 21st century, so far. Catchy tunes, crisp guitar/vocals/drums, no dud tracks. Read more
Published on 19 July 2008 by Bawbers

3.0 out of 5 stars .
On 25 October, 2004, legendary DJ John Peel passed away. Perhaps I was too young to appreciate his impact and the sheer passion for music he possessed, but, nonetheless, I have... Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2007 by 77

5.0 out of 5 stars Franz Tastic!
A brilliant summer rock album that is smooth, catchy, and energetic. You will really love the tunes and the lyrics. Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2007 by Mr. William Oxley

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever lyrics, tight rock music, upbeat, great for summer
Take Me Out and Matinee plus possibly Michael, three singles, are the best moments on this album, but the energy and metronomic synchopation that characterises FF and the whole... Read more
Published on 29 July 2007 by Brian Levine

5.0 out of 5 stars Best. Album. Ever.
What an album! I got this as soon as it was released (back in '04) and after three years it is still one of the best if not THE best albums I own. Read more
Published on 8 Jun 2007 by Eoghan88

4.0 out of 5 stars Take me out, I want to eat lachfisch
'Take Me Out' is the real stand out track, to me it moved everything so far forward in terms of structure and energy that Franz Ferdinand themselves couldn't keep up. Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2006 by robot_tourist

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