Sex & Violins
1995 studio album by Rednex
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Sex & Violins (also known on later US releases as Cotton Eye Joe (Sex & Violins)) is the debut studio album by Swedish Eurodance group Rednex, released on Jive Records in February 1995.
| Sex & Violins | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 February 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 46:59 | |||
| Labels | ||||
| Producers |
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| Rednex chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Sex & Violins | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 Edited original cover for initial US release | ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 Alternative cover for later US releases | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Billboard | (favorable)[2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | D[3] |
| Knoxville News Sentinel | [4] |
| Music & Media | (favorable)[5] |
| Music Week | [6] |
| Smash Hits | [7] |
Content
Female vocals on the album are provided by Annika Ljungberg; due to a disagreement with the other band members, she left the band after the release of the album's fifth single, "Rolling Home", in 1996, to start a solo career. The album was a commercial success, including the hit dance single "Cotton Eye Joe".
For its US release, the album was retitled Cotton Eye Joe (Sex & Violins) and received new cover art – presumably due to the possible offensive nature of the original artwork depicting a golden shower. In it an unseen person urinates into a chamber pot onto which the band members' faces are superimposed. Initially, the album cover was edited to leave out the stream but with the yellow liquid remaining. This would be substituted for wholly original artwork for a short time, which depicted a desert landscape with cacti warped by heat haze, but returned to the unedited original cover after a single pressing.[8]
Critical reception
David Browne from Entertainment Weekly said, "For sheer audaciousness, it’s not surprising that the record is garnering such attention. Where else can you hear a barn-dance staple gone techno, complete with dance-diva wailing and manic banjos and fiddles?"[3] Pan-European magazine Music & Media stated, "What started off as a good joke with 'Cotton Eye Joe', could now very well become the best promotion for what is euphemistically called "New American Music". Dance can definitely bring country music closer to the masses than any strategic marketing campaign could before the Rednex popped up."[5] Neil Spencer from The Observer wrote, "Swedish barn-dance disco: an initially amusing joke (chart-topping 'Cotton Eye Joe') repeated to the point of inanity."[9] Jordan Paramor from Smash Hits was very negative to the album, giving it one out of five, but praised 'Wish You Were Here' as a "very lovely ballad".[7]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cotton Eye Joe" |
| Reiniz | 3:14 |
| 2. | "Hittin' the Hay" |
|
| 3:17 |
| 3. | "Riding Alone" | Øban |
| 3:27 |
| 4. | "Wish You Were Here" | Teijo | 3:56 | |
| 5. | "Mary Lou" |
|
| 3:38 |
| 6. | "Old Pop in an Oak" | Reiniz | Reiniz | 3:32 |
| 7. | "Nowhere in Idaho" | Teijo | Teijo | 4:05 |
| 8. | "The Sad But True Story of Ray Mingus, the Lumberjack of Bulk Rock City, and His Never Slacking Strive to Exploit the So Far Undiscovered Areas of the Intention to Bodily Intercourse from the Opposite Species of His Kind, During Intake of All the Mental Conditions That Could Be Derived from Fermentation" ("Harder Than Your Husband" on Spotify[10]) |
|
| 2:21 |
| 9. | "Fat Sally Lee" | Reiniz | Reiniz | 3:16 |
| 10. | "Shooter" |
|
| 3:44 |
| 11. | "McKenzie Brothers" |
|
| 4:28 |
| 12. | "Rolling Home" |
| Ericsson | 4:22 |
| 13. | "Wild and Free" |
| Hansson | 3:39 |
| Total length: | 46:59 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Cotton Eye Joe" (Slide to the Side Mix) |
| Reiniz | 4:14 |
| Total length: | 51:13 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Cotton Eye Joe" (Madcow instrumental version) |
| Reiniz | 4:49 |
| 15. | "Old Pop in an Oak" (extended mix) | Reiniz | Reiniz | 5:39 |
| 16. | "Ropin' a Cow" (radio edit) | Öban | Öban | 3:15 |
| Total length: | 60:42 | |||
Notes
- ^[a] signifies a co-producer
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "The Ultimate Rednex Megamix" | 5:45 |
| 15. | "Rolling Home" (New Version) | 4:41 |
| 16. | "Old Pop in an Oak" (DJ Cerla + Moratto Remix) | 5:08 |
| 17. | "Old Pop in an Oak" (West Side Story) | 3:30 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hieroglyph (Game)" |
Personnel
- Accordion – Ari Haatainen and Henrik Widén
- Banjo – Gary Johansson, General Custer, and Kjell Johansson
- Bass – Björn Lagberg
- Drums – Anders Lövmark, Animal, and Heffa
- Guitar – Anders Hellquist, Boba, Bonne Lövman, Clint Eastwood, and Henrik Jansson
- Steel guitar – Uffe Sterling
- Harmonica – Ove Sandberg
- Piano – Henrik Widén
- Violin – Bosse Nilsson
- Vocals – Anders Hansson, Annika Ljungberg, Björn Lagberg, Camena, Camilla Molinder, Chris Sylvan Stewart, Cool James, Currey, Göran Danielsson, Hanna Wannagárd, Henrik Widen, Hoss, Janne Ericsson, Jean-Paul Wall, Jeanette Söderholm, Joe Cartwright, Lotten Andersson, Ludde, Michelle Anenberg, Monte Reid, Pat Reiniz, Stefan Cevaco, Sir Een, Thomas Hegert, and Zeb Macahan
- Whistle – Jean-Paul Wall
Production
- Producers – Pat Reiniz, Janne Ericsson, Anders Hansson, Denniz Pop, Max Martin, David Millington, Stefan Sir Een, L. Teijo, Anders Hellquist, and Thomas Hegert
- Engineering assistant – Jacob Schultze
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Sales and certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[31] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[32] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[33] | Platinum | 62,213[33] |
| Germany (BVMI)[34] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[35] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[36] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Sweden (GLF)[37] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[38] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
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* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||