Franz Ferdinand (album)

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Franz Ferdinand
Studio album by
Franz Ferdinand
Released9 February 2004
RecordedJune–July 2003[1]
StudioGula (Malmö)[1]
Genre
Length38:49
LabelDomino
Producer
Franz Ferdinand chronology
Franz Ferdinand
(2004) 		You Could Have It So Much Better
(2005)
Singles from Franz Ferdinand
  1. "Darts of Pleasure"
    Released: 8 September 2003[4]
  2. "Take Me Out"
    Released: 12 January 2004[5]
  3. "The Dark of the Matinée"
    Released: 19 April 2004[6]
  4. "Michael"
    Released: 16 August 2004[7]
  5. "This Fire"
    Released: 4 October 2004[8]

Franz Ferdinand is the debut studio album by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, first released on 9 February 2004 through the Domino Recording Company. It was recorded during 2003 at Gula Studios in Malmö, Sweden, with Tore Johansson, who produced the majority of the album, with two tracks produced by the band themselves. It entered the United Kingdom album charts at number three in February 2004 and contains the UK top ten singles "Take Me Out" and "The Dark of the Matinée" as well as UK top 20 hit "Michael".

Franz Ferdinand won the 2004 Mercury Music Prize and was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards. The album has since sold over 3.6 million copies worldwide,[9] with over 1.27 million copies in the United Kingdom[10] and at least 1 million copies in the US (corresponding to Platinum).[11]

Reception[edit]

Critical[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Blender[14]
The Guardian[15]
Los Angeles Times[16]
Mojo[17]
NME9/10[18]
Pitchfork9.1/10[19]
Q[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
Uncut[22]

Franz Ferdinand received universal critical acclaim, holding a score of 87 out of 100 on review aggregator site Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 31 reviews.[12] Simon Fernand of BBC Music wrote that 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."[23] Anthony Thornton of NME cited Franz Ferdinand as the latest act in a line of art school rock bands with "the absolute conviction that rock 'n' roll is more than a career option" and praised the album as "the latest and most intoxicating example of the wonderful pushing its way up between the ugly slabs of Pop Idol, nu metal and Britons aping American bands."[18] Heather Phares of AllMusic said that Franz Ferdinand "ends up being rewarding in different ways than the band's previous work was, and it's apparent that they're one of the more exciting groups to come out of the garage rock/post-punk revival."[13] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album a three-star honorable mention rating and quipped of the band: "Young enough to only work when they need the money, a musical tradition worth fighting for".[24]

Franz Ferdinand is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[25] and was placed at number two on Planet Sound's Best Albums of 2004 list. Clash[26] placed "Franz Ferdinand" at No.14 in its list of the top albums from 2004 to 2009. Online music magazine Pitchfork placed Franz Ferdinand at number 101 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[27]

Commercial[edit]

Franz Ferdinand had a positive commercial performance. The album entered the UK album charts at number 3 in February 2004 and at number 12 on the Australian ARIA album charts in April 2004. The album entered the Billboard 200 album charts on 26 April 2004, and climbed slowly, peaking at number 32 in December 2004.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy, unless noted otherwise. All tracks are produced by Tore Johansson except "Tell Her Tonight" and "This Fire", produced by Franz Ferdinand.

Franz Ferdinand (standard edition)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jacqueline"Bob Hardy, Kapranos, McCarthy3:49
2."Tell Her Tonight" 2:17
3."Take Me Out" 3:57
4."The Dark of the Matinée"Hardy, Kapranos, McCarthy4:03
5."Auf Achse" 4:19
6."Cheating on You" 2:36
7."This Fire" 4:14
8."Darts of Pleasure" 2:59
9."Michael" 3:21
10."Come on Home" 3:46
11."40'" 3:24
Total length:38:49
Franz Ferdinand (limited edition bonus disc - live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, 07/11/2003)[28]
No.TitleLength
1."Cheating on You" 
2."Jacqueline" 
3."Tell Her Tonight" 
4."Shopping for Blood" 
5."Take Me Out" 
6."Love and Destroy" 
7."Truck Stop" 
8."This Fire" 
9."Michael" 
10."Darts of Pleasure" 

All tracks are written by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy, except when noted

Franz Ferdinand (limited edition bonus disc)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."This Fffire" 3:32
2."Van Tango" 3:26
3."Shopping for Blood"Kapranos, McCarthy, Paul Thomson3:34
4."All for You, Sophia"Kapranos, McCarthy, Hardy3:00
5."Words So Leisured" 2:18

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's CD cover and liner notes.[29]

Franz Ferdinand
Artwork
  • Vivian Lewis – back cover
  • Joe Dilworth – band photo
  • Roxanne Clifford – black and white photo
  • Martin Clark – label photo
  • Franz Ferdinand and Matthew Cooper – other artwork
Production
  • Tore Johansson – producer
  • Franz Ferdinand – producer (2, 7)
  • Jens Lindgård – engineer
  • Stefan Kvarnström – engineer
  • Steve Rooke – mastering (Abbey Road)

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[60] Platinum 70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[61] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[62] Gold 50,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[63] Gold 20,000^
Germany (BVMI)[64] Gold 100,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[65] Gold 20,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[67] 4× Platinum 1,290,000[66]
United States (RIAA)[11] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history[edit]

Country Date Label Format Catalog
United Kingdom 9 February 2004 Domino Records 12" WIGLP136
CD WIGCD136
CD 2 WIGCD136X
United States 9 March 2004 Domino Records 12" DN027
CD E92441
CD 2 EK93630
Japan 2 June 2004 Sony Japan CD EICP 370

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Doyle, Tom (June 2004). "Recording Franz Ferdinand". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  2. ^ Else, D. (2007). Great Britain. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74104-565-9.
  3. ^ Barlow, Eve (6 February 2018). "Franz Ferdinand Nearly Called It Quits—and Came Back Brasher and Gutsier Than Ever". GQ. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  4. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 6 September 2003. p. 27.
  5. ^ "B&S Take Franz Out!". NME. 4 November 2003. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  6. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 17 April 2004. p. 27.
  7. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 14 August 2004. p. 29.
  8. ^ "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1575. 1 October 2004. p. 20.
  9. ^ "Classic Scottish Albums, Series 4: Franz Ferdinand". BBC. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  10. ^ Jones, Alan (23 September 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: Avenged Sevenfold sell 21K to land first No.1 album". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  11. ^ a b "American album certifications – Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand". Recording Industry Association of America.
  12. ^ a b "Reviews for Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  13. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  14. ^ Catucci, Nick (April 2004). "Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand". Blender (25): 126. Archived from the original on 22 November 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  15. ^ Petridis, Alexis (30 January 2004). "CD: Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  16. ^ Hilburn, Robert (7 March 2004). "A sly, wry wink from Scotland". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  17. ^ "Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand". Mojo (124): 95. March 2004.
  18. ^ a b Thornton, Anthony (16 February 2004). "Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand". NME. Archived from the original on 12 December 2005. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  19. ^ DiCrescenzo, Brent (8 March 2004). "Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  20. ^ "Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand". Q (212): 102. March 2004.
  21. ^ Walters, Barry (7 April 2004). "Franz Ferdinand". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  22. ^ "Smart Bomb". Uncut (82): 88. March 2004. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  23. ^ Fernand, Simon. "Review of Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand". BBC Music. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  24. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Franz Ferdinand". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
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