Album · Franz Ferdinand
You Could Have It So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand
You Could Have It So Much Better is an album by Franz Ferdinand, released in 2005. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 50 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Do You Want To”, on 34 lists with a best position of #10.
You Could Have It So Much Better, Franz Ferdinand's second album, landed on Domino on 3 October 2005 in the UK, a few days after its Japanese release, and it proved the Glasgow band's jerky, angular dance-rock was no one-off. Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy and Paul Thomson co-produced it with Rich Costey, working between New York City and their own studio back home.
It's faster, rougher and cockier than the Mercury-winning debut: "Do You Want To" struts and preens with a sneer, "The Fallen" bristles with nervy guitars, "Walk Away" slows the pace to a louche sway, and "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" softens things further. All four went top 30 at home. It became their first UK number-one album, reached number 8 in America on its way to gold, and earned Grammy nominations for Best Alternative Album and for "Do You Want To". The cover borrows its look from Alexander Rodchenko's 1924 portrait of Lilya Brik.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from You Could Have It So Much Better on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Do You Want To | 34 | #10 | – | 2005–2022 | |
| 2 | The Fallen | 14 | #15 | – | 2005–2014 | |
| 3 | Walk Away | 2 | #29 | – | 2005–2006 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.