Rednex, Sex & Violins (1995, Zomba Records)
There
are times when musicians get restless and turn to other cultures for
inspiration: Paul Simon famously paired his folk sensibilities with African
rhythms to create his landmark album Graceland,
while George Harrison was known for bringing traditional Indian instruments
into recording sessions with The Beatles. But perhaps the most adventurous
cross-cultural experiment in recent memory is Rednex’ debut album Sex & Violins, an astonishing fusion
of North American country music and Eurodance.
When
Rednex’ first single Cotton-Eye Joe burst
onto the scene in 1994, the general public was stunned by its seamless fusion
of old-west folklore and floor-filling dance beats. Critics, of course, didn’t
know what to make of such a bold combination and sneeringly dismissed it as a
‘novelty hit’. The public blindly followed this closed-minded mentality and
from then on Rednex were cursed with the label ‘one-hit wonders’.
Had
anyone bothered to listen to rest of the album when it came out the following
year, they would have found a rich tapestry of intricate storytelling,
heartfelt performances and mid-nineties-style techno. Classic tales of cattle-rustling, feuding clans,
square-dances and old saloons really bring to life Rednex’ native land of
Sweden, and the lyrics show a near-mastery of old-western slang: “Once you could hear the older sucker lingo
show / Thought I ever gonna see my old pop in an oak” vocalist Göran
Danielsson sings in Old Pop in an Oak,
a convincing – and heart-wrenching – tale of an old man who lives in a tree.
But
while many songs tugged at the heartstrings, Rednex still recognised the
importance of getting toes a-tappin’. The liner notes are generous enough to
provide a ‘DJ Smartchart’, alerting DJs to the number of seconds before the
vocals enter on all thirteen songs, as well as a ‘HIT WARNING!’ label on no
less than five tracks. Rednex clearly envisioned a world in which dancefloors
from Idaho to Stockholm were united under a transcontinental groove; instead,
DJs rejected their generosity with cold indifference and the entire album was
ignored.
When
we think of classic folk storytelling we think of names like Cash, Young and
Dylan, and had history gone a different way, Danielsson and Ljungberg would be
on that list alongside them. Sadly, outside of the occasional office party or
school disco, their music has been forgotten, and the world is all the poorer
for it.
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