Bloodsuckers RARE 1977 FUNK LP on Guinness MINT ORIG

$

110

BLOODSUCKERS  rare self-titled Country / Rock / Disco / Funk record on the  GUINESS Records label, GNS 36077
Jacket is in VG++ condition, with no obvious wear on the front or back,  minor corner wear, minor edge-wear, a small crease on the upper-right corner, and the lower-right corner is "promo corner-cut". The spine and seams are intact, and there's no writing, no stamps, no stickers or sticker-residue. Vinyl is VISUALLY Graded: Vinyl looks Near-Mint, looks unplayed and super-clean. Clean labels.
This is a "promotional" pressing with DJ Not For Sale PRINTED on the labels, and was probably never even released commercially except in limited quantities: "(Guinness Records Discography): Tax shelter record label set up by Prelude Records. The records were never meant to be sold, but the label accountant enabled a cousin in Florida to make some cash by setting him up as a wholesale dealer. See Dellwood Records."
We found the following description of this music and the history of the artist, at the "bad cat records" website: "Gawd only knows where Guinness came up with the "Bloodsuckers" nameplate.  I don't have the faintest idea what image they were trying to market, but it certainly didn't seem to tie into this mix of funk, Latin, rock, and soul moves.  Not that a tax scam label like Guinness was actually interested in accurate marketing or record sales.     This is nothing more than speculation on my part, but I'm guessing that producer Gil Veda and songwriter Gil Sepulveda (credited with penning all nine tracks) were one and the same.   I tracked down a couple of online references where the two names are used interchangeably.  Anyhow, Veda's MySpace site and while there was no mention of this particular release, here's what the native of Puerto Rico had to say about his musical career: "I arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, while traveling as a Continental Singer [anyone got a clue what that means]. I soon made numerous appearances at the world famous Ryman Auditorium where I was the first Spanish artist to sing country music. Introduced on stage by famed record producer and steel guitarist Pete Drake, I fell in love with the city of Nashville and decided to continue my artistic career in the "Athens of the South". My first recording was with the Jordanaires, at the historic RCA Studio B on Music Row."  So overlooking Guinness' hideous marketing effort and equally appalling cover art, what did this one actually sound like?   - Overlooking the cheesy synthesizer, 'Right On More Love' opened the album with a nice slice of Memphis-styled soul.  Great slinky vocal with tasteful and punchy horns, and a blazing fuzz guitar solo made it something Booker T, Steve Cropper,  Isaac Hayes, and Dave Porter would have been proud to be associated with.  Highly commercial too boot ! - 'I Still Love You' found Veda/Sepulveda slipping into Latin ballad mode.  The funny thing is that the results were surprisingly impressive.  Unlike most of his contemporaries, the man had the sense to not over-sing, giving the song a nice, low-keyed vibe.  Only complaint was the sappy spoken word segment. - Time to show he could rock out ... 'The Mind' offered up a nice mixture of funky and hard rock moves.  Had Santana recorded this one it would have been a massive hit ! - 'The Hookee-Woodo-Koo' would have made The Meters proud.  Nice slice of New Orleans-styled gumbo funk.  Great guitar throughout. - Veda/Sepulveda has one of those voices that had a chameleon-like quality and on 'Raining Now In Nashville' he showed the could cop the moves of a 60 year old soulster.  Great ballad. - Intended as a 'big' statement complete with Gospel backing chorus, 'Love While You Can Today' was the first real disappointment due in part to the fact it never really developed into anything memorable. - A straightforward pop ballad, 'Love Is You and Me' served to showcase Veda/Supulveda's wonderful voice, but the song was simply too bland to make much of an impact. - Back to soul, 'This Time We Got To Make It' was probably the standout performance.  Killer Memphis soul moves. - Underscoring his chameleon-like moves, 'Sweet Waters of the River' sounded like a slice of Chinn-Chapman power pop ...  easy to image a band like Sweet covering this one.  Shame it faded out so early as it also had tremendous commercial potential.   You can never tell with these Guinness releases, but this one was so musically diverse, it almost sounded like a demo that had been recorded to showcase Veda/Sepulveda's songwriting and performance talents.  Very nice and one of the more impressive Guinness releases.  Wonder if he knows it was actually released?"
Here's the "Bloodsuckers" track listing: (side 1) 1.) Right On More Love   (Gil Sepulveda) -  2.) I Still Love You   (Gil Sepulveda) -  3.) The Mind   (Gil Sepulveda) -  4.) The Hookee-Woodo-Koo   (Gil Sepulveda) -    (side 2) 1.) Raining Now In Nashville   (Gil Sepulveda) -  2.) Love While You Can Today   (Gil Sepulveda) -  3.) Love Is You and Me   (Gil Sepulveda) -  4.) This Time We Got To Make It   (Gil Sepulveda) -  5.) Sweet Waters of the River   (Webb Pierce & Gil Sepulveda) - 
Please click HERE  to see all the great Funk, Soul & Disco records in our LOTSOFRECORDS eBay store.
We will gladly combine shipping to $ave you money on postage!