You could have it so much better with Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand, the multi-awarded, multi-nominated and also tremendously commercial debut album, came out nearly two years ago. It sounds very cliché but the young band’s music was like a breath of fresh air that brought on smiles and lots of involuntary foot-tapping. Very well done.

I am sure that the boys were still enjoying their heady encounter with stardom when they were confronted with the reality that they had to come up with album number two. All well and good. They write and arrange their own materials anyway. But then there was the fact that because of the success of the first, much was expected out of their sophomore outing.

Well, it now looks like despite all the touring, media blitz and awards shows they had to attend, Franz Ferdinand was adequately prepared for the challenges of their second album. Given the results, I will not be surprised if they are now also prepared for their third. Entitled You Could Have It So Much Better, the second album is ingeniously entertaining. It echoes much of the first and shows what aspiring pop stars could do if only they would take time to study the great works of those that came before.

Confident, perky and youthful, the music is the type you expect to hear after somebody yells tugtugan na! It is a solid invitation to a rocking good time and as they sing out in the first cut Fallen, "what’s a little destruction." At times like these, we can certainly use some.

There is really nothing new or innovative about the music of Franz Ferdinand. What this quartet excels in is the ability to take assorted influences and twist, divide, add to or mix together to come up with something of its own. The results are excellent. Admittedly they have a wealth of materials to turn back to and they have chosen R&B laced punk, Brit-pop and good old rock and roll as their base.

The early music of the Beatles, down to that cute English accent, is the first thing they bring to mind, most so in cuts like Eleanor Put Your Boots On and Fade Together. Then it is Blondie who heats things up in This Boy where I can almost hear Debbie Harry’s distinctive shouts and whispers. Why I even hear David Bowie in Walk Away. So how would you like to go look for the Kinks?

You Could Have It So Much Better moves from one hook-filled tune to another. Other cuts are Do You Want To, Evil and a Heathen, You’re The Reason I’m Leaving, Well That Was Easy, What You Meant, I’m Your Villain and Outsiders. It is such a joy to listen to and I recall getting the same reaction from the first album. Now with the sophomore hump safely hurdled, I know we will continue to hear more of the like and maybe others as well from Franz Ferdinand. Remember, playing juvenile rock and roll was how the Beatles and most great bands started.

Franz Ferdinand is Alex Kapranos on guitar and vocals, Robert Hardy on bass, Nick McCarthy on guitar and Paul Thompson on drums. They come from Glasgow, Scotland and named their band after two great Austrian emperors. Why, so? Nobody knows. Maybe it is just moxie from the daring. Aside from their music, they are also known for their trendsetting wardrobe.

Meanwhile at Billboard Magazine’s list of top 100 singles in the USA, those in the Top 10 are the following: Temperature by Sean Paul; Bad Day by Daniel Powter; So Sick by Ne-Yo; You’re Beautiful by James Blunt; Be Without You by Mary J. Blige; Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield; Lean With It Rock Wit It by Dem Franchize Boyz featuring Lil Peanut & Charlay; I’m in Love (Wit a Stripper) by T-Pain featuring Mike Jones; Yo (Excuse Me Miss) by Chris Brown and Check On It by Beyonce featuring Slim Thug.

The Top 10 in the Billboard 200 list of top albums are High School Musical the original movie soundtrack; Back to Bedlam by James Blunt; My Ghetto Report Card by E-40; In My Own Words by Ne-Yo; Reality Check by Juvenile; Some Hearts by Carrie Underwood; Youth by Matisyahu; The Legend of Johnny Cash by Johnny Cash; From Under the Cork Tree by Fall Out Boy; and Curious George, another movie soundtrack featuring the music of Jack Johnson.