Darondo - Disc of the day

Darondo
Let My People Go

(Luv N’Haight, 2006)

In the early ’70s, Al Green wasn’t the only dude who sounded like Al Green.

In the early ’70s, Bay Area player, scenester and mythmaker William Pulliam recorded sparingly and in a slinky, relaxed, honeydripping funk style which was a vocal dead ringer for the Reverend Al Green. Unearthed and spruced up, the nine tracks here make his Darondo alter-ego a welcome rediscovery. You’ll likely spin through these emotions – first, it’s a spoof (possibly by Prince, how come he didn’t come up with Legs, a paean to pegs’n’pins?, and True); second, it’s an absolute affront to Al. But you’ll almost certainly end up fascinated, and will play Let My People Go as much as …Gets Next To You. In addition to the various shades of Green, there are whiffs of Marvin Gaye (title track) and Sly Stone, but Al is the model, and Darondo’s expert reconstructions of the Rev’s pitch, tone and phrasing are sincerely flattering. Local rumour has it that Pulliam was a pimp. He certainly became a local cable TV star in the ’80s, hosting Darondo's Penthouse After Dark, Doze Comedy Videos, and the children's program Tapper The Rabbit, then lit out for Fiji before returning to teach physical therapy and achieve “unearthed” status thanks in part to DJ Gilles Peterson’s Digs America compilation. It’s a eccentric story reflected in this round-up of spunky, colourful funk.

Geoff Brown

Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 19/07/2008