Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (Bonus CD) (Spec) (Dig)
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Free Music Notes for Franz Ferdinand (Bonus CD) (Spec) (Dig)
Free Music Review: Fantastic Debut
Hit: 5 Stars
Franz Ferdinand's music is incredibly powerful and unique. There's just something about it that makes you want to just stand up and dance. This "Special Edition" of the bands self-titled debut comes with a bonus disc containing five tracks that were left off of the original pressing. The five tracks are "This Fffire", which is a remix of the single found on the original album. Next up is the funky b-side "Van Tango" which, as the title suggests, is a great song to dance to. Track three on the second disc is another b-side which was left off of the album, "Shopping For Blood". This a great song, with a great beat, and great lyrics. Next up is yet another b-side, "All For You, Sophia". The final track found on this bonus disc is an alternate take of the single "Darts Of Pleasure" retitled from the song lyric "Words So Leisured". I personally find this second disc to be a waste, considering the fact that these tracks could just be part of one CD.
The Original Album: From the minute you hear the opening guitar strum of "Jacqueline" you know that you will be in for a treat. Suddenly, out of the acoustic guitar melodies of the intro, the bass kicks, then so does heavily distorted guitar. Magnificently composed. Track number two, "Tell Her Tonight" is a highly infectious, funky track with a great guitar riff. The Singles: The very first single we heard from Franz was the smash hit "Take Me Out". No wonder this song became a hit! From it's opening lyric "So if you're lonely. . ." you are hook. Right before the chorus begins, the instrumentation breaks down to a crawl, and then the fun begins. "The Dark Of The Matineè" was released as a single as well. Probably the most controversial single released from this album has to be "Michael". The song seemed to be a homosexual, erotic theme for the gay community, and law officials were certain to point that out. In all reality, the song was written about one of the bands friends who got drunk at a bar and began hitting on a man. "Darts Of Pleasure" comes next. "This Fire" was the very last single to be released from the album, and proved to be a hit.
This is a great album and I highly recommend that you try it out.
Free Music Review: Good Stuff
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm not a music expert by any means, but Franz Ferdinand strike me as a cross between The Clash and The Cure, with more modern Interpol-esque elements thrown in. What results is a highly (re)listenable, original, catchy sound that'll satisfy that need to listen to some "Good Stuff".
A friend of mine suggested I listen to Interpol, so I ordered a couple of their albums off of Amazon and thought they were decent, although it seemed something was missing. Amazon always lists similar artists underneath any given CD, and I saw that Franz Ferdinand was listed. Having never heard of them, I offhandedly read a couple reviews and promptly forgot about them... until a few months later when I saw their CD combined with a bonus CD at a local "City" of the "Circuit" variety during their bi-annual $9.99 CD sale. I picked it up not expecting anything, but I gotta tell you -- I love it!
The bonus CD is really the deal-maker, with a faster-tempo'd rerecording of This Fire (it's entitled This Fffire on the bonus CD) that's much catchier than the great, original version (it makes me think of "That Thing You Do", which started out as a slow song until Guy sped it up; some songs were born to be fast... "That Thing You Do" and "This Fire" are two of them). "Van Tango" is fun and one of the better songs on the two-CD album, along with "All For You, Sophia", which is currently my favorite Franz Ferdinand Song. "Words So Leisured", while not their best work, is interesting as sort of a "respin" of "Darts of Pleasure", track number 8 on the main CD.
The main album, also, isn't lacking great songs. I've greatly enjoyed "Take Me Out", an instanly recognizable song (after the 45-second introduction), even if you've never heard it before. "This Fire", of course, is excellent, and "Auf Achse" will have you pressing the repeat button a few times.
The rest of the songs are all good; some may like the others even more than the ones I've suggested, proving that there's something good for everyone here.
Free Music Review: AMAZING album
Hit: 5 Stars
Without a doubt, this is the single best album of 2004. And NOT because of their 2 hits- "Take Me Out" and "This Fire."
The album is great because it's almost a re-invention of indie rock. Franz has such a unique indie sound that one can't help but be drawn in. After "Take Me Out" hit such high heights, I decided to check the album out... and to my initial surprise, I was absolutely blown away. I dare a true rock fan to listen to the album and find even ONE bad song.
Franz is also an interesting band because of their lyrics- one song can have entirely one dimensional (and rather repetitive) lyrics, while the next song will have true meaning. If you want songs with great lyrics definitely check out "The Dark of the Matinee" (my personal favorite song on the album) and "Come On Home." Those songs have some true feeling.
The rhythms of EVERY song are just great. They really make you want to move and (for me) they just make you so happy. It really is a cheer-you-up kind of album.
While I am certainly not trying to present Franz as some kind of earth-shattering new sound/band/movement- I AM saying this is just a great listen. Their unique sound has given me new hope in indie rock (along with a great band named Kasabian- check them out, too) and I can tell they have some staying power (check out Franz's new album- You Could Have It So Much Better- it's also great, even though it sounds similar to this one).
So, if you've only heard their singles and hits, check out the whole album- it'll be a pleasant surprise. I know it was for me.
Free Music Review: me (music critic): it'll do for now. me (personal): i love it.
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm likely giving an extra half-star due to bias, but really, this double-CD is a lot of fun. The bonus disc's full of songs that are easily as good as the main album and actually bring more of the band's personality into light. They take from many influences: one minute they sound like the Kinks (or the obvious Talking Heads tint), the next I'm hearing the Jewish folk song, "Hava Nagila"!
Yet what I find these guys do especially well is create an atmosphere. There's dark, flirtatious humor in Alex Kapranos's voice, and his writing is rather witty. They also know how to make each and every song catchy, and at once just far enough from the mainstream edge to be considered by music lovers of all kinds. So while this album isn't technically a masterpiece, I find it another in a line of those which respects music for what it is: an art form that represents the musician. You may not dig their sound, but at least it's authentic.
Highlights: The Dark of the Matinee, Come On Home, This Fffire.
Free Music Review: Cute
Hit: 5 Stars
I was originally going to give this album four stars, but then I listened to the bonus disc. Believe me, the material on the bonus disc is better than much of the album material. It's less produced and more raw, and gives you a better feel for the actual talents of the band.
The album itself is a cute and fun collection of some of the best pop music I've heard in a long time. It's got a unique sound, it's got a beat and you can dance to it. Yes, the album does sound like it is one really long song, but it's a good song.
Stand-out tracks are "Auf Achse", "Darts of Pleasure", "40'" and of course the singles.
But really, the album doesn't do this band justice. It's good, but the bonus material really makes you believe they're more than just a shallow pop band. And I personally think they are.