Let My People Go

Say what you will about the obsessive record collector set, as long as they continue to dust off treasures on the order of Let My People go they remain essential to our collective wellbeing. William Darondo Pulliam was a Bay Area “Gentleman of Leisure” who, when not preoccupied with his recreational activities, found the time to record three sublime singles for miniscule local labels in the early ‘70s. Were it not for the perseverance of record collector Gilles Peterson, whose Gilles Peterson Digs America brought Darondo’s work back into the public eye last year, these remarkable recordings would have remained largely unheard. On Let My People Go the folks at Love N’ Haight have compiled the entirety of Darondo’s recorded output, a body of work which, though small, compares favorably with the best soul and funk of the era. Darondo sings with an assured but frog throated tenor reminiscent of Sly Stone at his most restrained, and a delivery that recalls Al Green at his most intimate. Darondo’s talent was broad enough to encompass the rough and tumble Old Testament funk of the title track, the confessional midnight soul of “Didn’t I”, and the celebratory strut of “How I Got Over”. Darondo may not have gotten his proper dues back in the day, but the release of Let My People Go should correct this historical oversight.