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*''[[The Guardian]]'' {{rating|3|5}} [http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jan/18/franz-ferdinand-album-review-stuck-circle-line/ link]
*''[[The Guardian]]'' {{rating|3|5}} [http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jan/18/franz-ferdinand-album-review-stuck-circle-line/ link]
*''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' {{Rating|3.5|5}} [http://www.spin.com/reviews/franz-ferdinand-tonight-franz-ferdinand-dominoepic link]
*''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' {{Rating|3.5|5}} [http://www.spin.com/reviews/franz-ferdinand-tonight-franz-ferdinand-dominoepic link]
*''Sun On The Sand'' (5.1/10) [http://sunonthesand.net/?p=1703 link]
*''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' {{Rating|3|5}} [http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/franz_ferdinand/reviews/12631 link]
*''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' {{Rating|3|5}} [http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/franz_ferdinand/reviews/12631 link]
| Last album = ''[[You Could Have It So Much Better]]''<br />(2005)
| Last album = ''[[You Could Have It So Much Better]]''<br />(2005)

Revision as of 07:03, 9 February 2009

Untitled

Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is Franz Ferdinand's third album. It was released through Domino Records on 26 January 2009 in the UK.[2] "Ulysses" was released on the 19 January 2009 as the first single[3] and is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.[4] It is a concept album loosely based around a night of partying and the morning effects after. The album has generally been well received by music critics.[5]

Production

Recording history

Although having written about eight songs while on tour in 2005, Alex Kapranos decided to write new tunes because he wanted the album to be "...quite new, to be quite different sounding from everything we've ever done before."[6] Despite having recorded their sophomore album in a blitz, Kapranos stressed that the band wanted to take their time. He voices, "This time we wanted to spend more time developing, and also, I suppose, allowing songs and sounds to evolve more before we ended up writing an album, and absorbing more music and ideas and, I suppose, life itself. And when I say life, I mean life off the road, because I wouldn't classify life on the road as real life."[7] Franz Ferdinand began working on their third studio album in early 2007.[8] Franz Ferdinand was supposed to record the album with producer Brian Higgins, yet in March 2008, the two entities parted ways. The drummer, Paul Thomson, says "We wrote with Higgins for a while and initially we thought we'd work more with him but it didn't really work out. We just realized that we're not really a pop group." However, they also commented they have not given up on the pop concept.[9] Some songs of the album were written and recorded in the old town hall of Govan, Scotland. The band first moved in, following a year of touring in support of their second album and mostly used it for storing and rehearsing.[10]

Musical style

The album has reportedly been inspired by the "heavy dub sound of Jamaican reggae stars."[11] Alex Kapranos also stated the album has a "streak of electronica" but is still a mix of influences. He also commented it has "..the heavy bass and space echo you would find on a dub mix."[12] In a Rolling Stone interview, Kapranos stated the album is more of a dance than a rock record.[13] In an interview with Billboard.com, Kapranos said "It's the opposite of punk/pop, which took something that was wonderful and removed all the dirt." He also said the band is using Russian Polyvox synthesizers.[14] The album has somewhat of an African influence according to an XFM article in which Alex reeled, "We're one of these bands that are always gonna sound the same no matter what we do, but there are other influences there. I guess the drums are a little different, Paul has been listening to a lot of African stuff so that's gonna come through."[15] The song "No You Girls" uses a human skeleton for percussion.[16] "Tonight is more of a concept album that explores the highs and lows associated with an evening of debauchery. This album covers all its bases from the initial excitement of the early evening to the numbness of the morning after", writes one reviewer.[17]

Cover art and album title

The artwork for the album is a photograph taken by Søren Solkær Starbird just after midnight behind the Barrowlands Ballroom in Glasgow. Talking to NME, drummer Paul Thomson said, "We wanted to get a Weegee vibe – that famous New York crime scene photographer from the '40s and '50s."[18] Subsequently, it is part of a series where the band are taking photos with photographers in different cities they end up in. On the band's blog, they mention the series of photos as 'imaginary crime scenes, invaded by the photographer', and 'a slice of night frozen by flash'.[19]

It was announced on 20 September 2008 that they had finished work on the album but still had no title for it. On 7 October 2008, reporter Michael Hogan from Vanity Fair interviewed Alex and Paul, who confirmed the title of their third album to be Tonight: Franz Ferdinand,[20] with NME reporting the album's amended title and release date a week later.[21]

Release

In August 2008, Franz Ferdinand released "Lucid Dreams" through iTunes and made it available for listen on their official website. It is also featured on the Madden NFL 09 soundtrack.[22] The band, however, stated on their website that "Lucid Dreams" was not a single.[23] The track on the album will differ from this version.

"Ulysses" was chosen to be the first single and was released 19 January 2009. The song received first airplay at BBC Radio 1 on 17 November 2008. It was made available on the iTunes Store in North America on 2 December, and in the UK on 18 January 2009.

A live version of "What She Came For" was released as a free download on the NME Music website's Franz Ferdinand page on 18 December 2008.[24] On January 9, "No You Girls" was released on iTunes. On January 13, it was released as a free download on MySpace Music. On January 22, "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" was made available for streaming through the band's official MySpace Music profile.[25]

Blood

For its release on January 26, the album is available as a box set which includes the whole album on six 7-inch vinyl singles and as a 2 disc limited edition. These special editions are only available in Europe and include a bonus disc called Blood which contains dub versions of the tracks from the album.[26] All of the Blood track titles are taken from lyrics within their original songs, with the exception of "Katherine Hit Me", whose title refers to lyrics from both "No You Girls" and "Katherine Kiss Me".

Reception

Critical Reception

Tonight received generally positive reviews, marking an average score of 71 on Metacritic.[5] Clash magazine commented that it could be "the band's most complete work to date. Worth the wait, and in all honesty better than we could ever have hoped for."[27] The Financial Post states that "Tonight is the band's best album: Paradoxically, they've allowed themselves a degree of release from their characteristic tension by creating structures within which they can cut loose."[28]The Telegraph commented on how Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is a melody-packed re-affirmation of everything that has made the band so popular hitherto, but with a highly contemporary-sounding, keyboard-driven edge.[29] The Trades stated that "this [album] is an evolutionary step for the band rather than a revolutionary one. Smart and danceable, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand proves that Franz Ferdinand are the masters of dance-rock."[30]

Uncut's and The Guardian's reviews were less enthusiastic. Uncut commented that the album sounds dry and superficial, and the songs are too similar to each other and other Franz Ferdinand songs. The Guardian stated that "A flawless debut album is first a blessing and then a curse." "Tonight is fine, but will you still love them tomorrow?" This was echoed by the review in the Daily Mail, which described the album as "a sterile, unwelcoming affair that fails to pack the band's usual punch."

Commercial Reception

The album debuted at number two on the UK Album Chart, as well as number nine on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., selling about 31,000 copies in its first week of release. This makes it the bands most successful album chart-wise.[31]

Track listing

All songs were written by Franz Ferdinand.

Personnel

Chart peak positions

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_h32f8w
  2. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/franz-ferdinand/40441
  3. ^ Franz Ferdinand announce new single - NME.com
  4. ^ http://myspace.com/franzferdinand
  5. ^ a b http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/franzferdinand/tonight
  6. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/franz-ferdinand/26134
  7. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/12/28/in-the-studio-franz-ferdinand-say-third-album-is-more-dance-than-rock/
  8. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/franz-ferdinand/26134
  9. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/mar/27/news.franzferdinand
  10. ^ http://living.scotsman.com/features/Franz-Ferdinand-interview-Sounds-of.4901718.jp
  11. ^ http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/entertainment-catch-all/2008/08/22/exclusive-scots-stars-franz-ferdinand-ready-to-reveal-new-sound-at-connect-86908-20706919/
  12. ^ http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/entertainment-catch-all/2008/08/22/exclusive-scots-stars-franz-ferdinand-ready-to-reveal-new-sound-at-connect-86908-20706919/
  13. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/12/28/in-the-studio-franz-ferdinand-say-third-album-is-more-dance-than-rock/
  14. ^ http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/01/franz-ferdinand-working-on-third-album.html
  15. ^ http://www.xfm.co.uk/news/2008/franz-ferdinand-name-new-single
  16. ^ Franz Ferdinand drum with human bones - The Guardian, 10 October 2008 (The song referred to in this article as "Kiss Me", an abbreviation of "Katherine Kiss Me", later became known as "No You Girls")
  17. ^ http://ventvox.com/?p=2086
  18. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/franz-ferdinand/41288
  19. ^ http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/blog_band/index.php
  20. ^ http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2008/10/an-obama-fundraiser-my-big-franz-ferdinand-scoop.html
  21. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/franz-ferdinand/40441
  22. ^ http://fireglo.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/franz-ferdinand-new-song-called-lucid-dreams/
  23. ^ http://franzferdinand.co.uk/blog_band2/index.php
  24. ^ http://www.nme.com/franzferdinand
  25. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/franz-ferdinand/42256
  26. ^ http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/albums/15-10-08/tonight-franz-ferdinand/
  27. ^ http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/franz-ferdinand
  28. ^ http://www.financialpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=1211826
  29. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/andrewperry/4313059/Franz-Ferdinand-back-to-blow-away-the-blues.html
  30. ^ http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=10833
  31. ^ a b Hasty, Katie and Keith Caulfield. "Springsteen Has 'Dream' Debut Atop Album Chart". billboard.com. February 4 2009.
  32. ^ http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Franz+Ferdinand&titel=Tonight%3A+Franz+Ferdinand&cat=a
  33. ^ "Australian Album Charts (English)".
  34. ^ Suomen virallinen lista
  35. ^ "Japanese Album Charts (English)". Oricon Style. Retrieved 2009-1-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  36. ^ http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=94

References

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