You Could Have It So Much Better

引领庞克复古运动‧蔚为时尚强势音浪‧畅快聆听煽动性强烈之欢乐音韵 ME评为：「彻底扩展其音乐版图的绝佳专辑」、Entertainment Weekly则称赞：「多么值得注意Franz Ferdinand再度飙奏令人信服的乐音」、The New York Times奉上：「开创新格局，精采再呈现」 这几年吹起振兴庞克复古风潮，在英国市场成了蔚为时尚的强势音浪，师承自八十年代Post-Punk的精良要素、处处宣泄令人闻之起舞的强烈节奏，为已稍成欲振乏力的Brit-Pop，带出畅快聆听的煽动性强烈之欢乐音韵，Franz Ferdinand的崛起，无疑为新世纪乐种冠上新的注解，更沾染出深具前瞻性的音乐图像。来自格拉斯哥由主唱/吉他手Alex Kapranos、贝斯手Bob Hardy、吉他手Nick McCarthy与鼓手Paul Thomson四位年轻摇滚客，原本只是想制造些让那漂亮美妹能够摇摆起舞的音乐，想不到就是这么简单的出发点，却引起四面八方一面倒之高评，以及添入全民共舞般的奇绚彩度。2004年首张同名专辑不仅在英国榜有着季军佳绩，接连三首单曲都打入单曲榜Top20之林中，就连美国市场也相继沦陷在Franz Ferdinand魅力下，站上流行专辑榜Top32，成名畅销作”Take Me Out”也登上全美现代摇滚榜NO.3的位置，全球一整年累积销售量急速突破三百万张。 趁着全球效应的余温尚存之际，Franz Ferdinand推出第二张专辑【You Could Have It So Much Better…With Franz Ferdinand】，甫发行立刻空降全英金榜冠军，专辑风格诚如团员所言：不想再重复已经作过的东西，操作同样的音乐意义何在？更多的感动与热情是这次的主要诉求，当然不改欢乐的本性，依然有着相当跳的节奏环肆其中，请到制作/混音大师Rich Costey(New Order、Bloc Party、Fiona Apple)主镇掌舵。首支获得英国单曲榜Top4以及快速挺入美国现代摇滚榜前15名的”Do You Want To”，依然相当对味的呈现Disco-Punk曲韵，舞光十射的蔓延气氛至”This Boy”身上；散发如同披头四般舒缓轻愉小品”Eleanor Put Your Boots On”，清新的气息，是专辑中相当抢眼之小品。然而就在乐迷引颈长盼之际，早已获得NME评为：「彻底扩展其音乐版图的绝佳专辑」、Entertainment Weekly则称赞：「多么值得注意Franz Ferdinand再度飙奏令人信服的乐音」、The New York Times奉上：「开创新格局，精采再呈现」等佳评如潮之字眼加附。   You Could Have It So Much Better is the second studio album by Glaswegian indie rock band Franz Ferdinand that was first released 3 October 2005 in the United Kingdom. Recorded in both the United States and their own studio in Glasgow with producer Rich Costey, the album gave birth to the release of four UK Top 30 singles "Do You Want To" on 23 August 2005, "The Fallen / L. Wells", "Walk Away" and "Eleanor Put Your Boots On." The album became the band's first UK #1 album and although their debut album was relatively successful in the USA, going platinum and reaching #32, You Could Have It So Much Better managed to reach #8 and earned gold status in the States. The cover design is modeled on Alexander Rodchenko's 1924 portrait of Lilya Brik. It was produced by Rich Costey and Franz Ferdinand. Opting not to fix what broke them, You Could Have It So Much Better serves up more of the stylish, angular sound that worked so well on Franz Ferdinand's debut. After years of rehearsing in abandoned Glasgow warehouses and playing in relatively obscure groups like the Yummy Fur, it's perfectly understandable why the band chose not to mess with a good thing -- and why they chose to follow up the breakthrough success of Franz Ferdinand so quickly. But, after a year and a half of near-instant acclaim and constant touring, Franz Ferdinand return with songs that just aren't as consistently good as the album that made them so successful in the first place. A lot of You Could Have It So Much Better feels like a super-stylized caricature of the band's sound, with exaggeratedly spiky guitars, brooding crooning, and punky-yet-danceable beats. This isn't an entirely bad thing: "The Fallen" begins the album with a wicked, gleeful welcome back that embraces the jaunty mischief running through most of Franz Ferdinand's best moments, while "I'm Your Villain" effortlessly nails the darkly sexy vibe they strived for on Franz Ferdinand. Meanwhile, the famous friends, arty parties, and "shocking" homoeroticism of "Do You Want To" -- which feels more like a victory lap than a comeback single -- play like knowing, tongue-in-cheek self-parody. However, too many tracks on You Could Have It So Much Better are witty and energetic in the moment but aren't especially memorable. "You're the Reason I'm Leaving," "What You Meant," "This Boy," and the oddly anti-climactic finale, "Outsiders," are Franz-lite -- not at all bad, but not as good as even their early B-sides and certainly not up to the level of "Take Me Out." What helps save the album from being completely predictable are slower moments like the pretty, jangly "Walk Away" and atmospheric, piano-driven songs such as "Fade Together" (which really should've been the final track). Best of all is "Eleanor Put Your Boots On," a gorgeous, Beatlesque ballad that suggests that if Franz Ferdinand have songs this good in them, they're selling themselves, and their fans, short with most of the songs here (you could have it so much better, indeed). Not so much a sophomore slump as a rushed follow-up, You Could Have It So Much Better probably would've been better if Franz Ferdinand had waited until they had a batch of songs as consistent as their first album, but as it stands, it's still pretty good.