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

History

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.^[1]

The song You're the Reason I'm Leaving is believed to be a dual-meaning track, partly about the rivalry between Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and current UK Prime Minister 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.

Chart performance

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)

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 1965–1967 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.

Track listing

All tracks were written by Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy and Paul Thomson, with vocals provided by Alex Kapranos except where noted.

1. "The Fallen" – 3:42 (Audio file "Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen.ogg" not found)
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 (Audio file "Franz Ferdinand - Eleanor Put Your Boots On.ogg" not found)
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

Bonus tracks

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

B-sides

• "Get Away"
• "Your Diary"
• "Fabulously Lazy"
• "Sexy Boy"
• "Brown Onions"
• "Jeremy Fraser"
• "Wine in the Afternoon
• "Ghost in a Ditch"
• "What You Meant" (acoustic)

Personnel

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

Release details

Album singles

• "Do You Want To"
  • Released: 19 September 2004
  • Chart positions:
    • #4 (UK)
    • #76 (US)
    • #9 (US Modern Rock Tracks)
    • #36 (Brazil Hot 100)
• "Walk Away"
  • Released: 5 December 2005
  • Chart positions:
    • #13 (UK)
    • #14 (Brazil Hot 100)
• "The Fallen / L. Wells"
  • Released: 3 April 2006
  • Chart positions:
    • #8 (UK)
    • #39 (US Modern Rock Tracks)
• "Eleanor Put Your Boots On"
  • Released: 17 July, 2006
  • Chart positions:
    • #30 (UK)