Oil of Olé

 

Well, now that Christmas in July (and August) is over, I can get back to other things, and one of those things is this amazing album cover I found back in July.  I have no idea when I originally bought this, but I found it in the stacks a month or so ago, and it seared itself into my head.  I thought I recognized the artist based on a few covers posted by my buddy Buster many years ago, and sure enough, I was right.  I didn't remember the name, but the color palate is pretty unmistakable.  Fred Steffen is the guy's name, you can see his highly-stylized autograph in the lower right corner of the cover above, and you should really check out the selection of album covers he created in his career.  In case you think maybe I went crazy with the saturation slider, nope, I didn't even touch it.  This is as close as I could get the scan to look like the 10" LP sitting right here on my keyboard.  It is bright!  And lurid!  What is going on here?  A nearly naked lady is dancing and some cat-guys are squatting behind her while blowing some kind of blue smoke.  I guess this is how the music of The Harmonicats is supposed to make you feel.  Well, maybe.  You'll have to download it and see for yourself.  For your listening and viewing pleasure, please download and enjoy Olé-South Of The Border With The Harmonicats AKA Olay! (Mercury 10" 33 RPM MG 25193, Mono, 1954).  The title of this LP is different everywhere you look, so I'm just going with what it says on the front cover.

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