Franz Ferdinand (album)
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Franz Ferdinand is the debut studio album by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, first released on 9 February 2004<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with over 1.27 million copies in the United Kingdom<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and at least 1 million copies in the US (corresponding to Platinum).<ref name=riaa/>
Reception
Critical
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.<ref name="MC"/> 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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."<ref name="NME"/> 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."<ref name="Allmusic"/> 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".<ref name="Christgau">Template:Cite web</ref>
Franz Ferdinand is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and was placed at number two on Planet Sound's Best Albums of 2004 list. Clash<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Commercial
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
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. Template:Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's CD cover and liner notes.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
- Franz Ferdinand<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Alex Kapranos – lead vocals, guitar
- Nick McCarthy – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
- Bob Hardy – bass guitar
- Paul Thomson – drums, percussion
- 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 Template:Small
- Jens Lindgård – engineer
- Stefan Kvarnström – engineer
- Steve Rooke – mastering Template:Small
Charts
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Weekly charts
| Chart (2004–2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 31 |
| European Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 13 |
| Greek Albums (IFPI)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 29 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 18 |
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|
Year-end charts
| Chart (2004) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 51 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 41 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 96 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 71 |
| French Albums (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 84 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 90 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 25 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 17 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 111 |
| Chart (2005) | Position |
|---|---|
| French Albums (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 119 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 45 |
Certifications
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References
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