In retrospect, I should have rated Young Love's effort a little lower. Only a third of the album really stood out - the other two thirds were one half mediocre and one half uninspiring dreck. Those four good ones I really liked, though, and it pushed the album's quality a little higher in my mind than it should have. Such is hindsight.
February may be a little late for sharing 2006's hidden gems, but punctuality has never been my strong suite. So, starting today, I'll post three albums you(maybe) and I missed out on in 2006. One of which would have been my number one album of the year - by Secretariat lengths - if I had heard it when it was released in August.
Here's the first, more to follow:
Artist: Darondo
Album Title: Let My People Go
Record Label: Ubiquity/Luv N' Haight
Release Date: 1.24.2006
Bands Web Site: http://www.ubiquityrecords.com/darondo.html
Sound: Soul, Funk R&B
Similar Artists: Al Green, The Isley Brothers, Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone
John Legend wasn't the only artist to release a beautiful piece of anachronistic music in 2006; little known(except to hardcore soul and funk devotees) singer Darondo's album Let My People Go sounds like Al Green circa 1972. Which makes sense since Al Green isn't just an influence of Darondo's, but a contemporary. Known only to San Francisco area musicians in the early seventies, Darondo was expected to be the next big thing in soul. Then, he simply disappeared from music. A rumored pimp and confirmed late night television host in San Francisco, it seems between Watergate and the death of Luther Vandross the man did everything but record music(even hosting a children's television show, Tapper The Rabbit).
Luckily for us, Darondo was resurrected by UK DJ Gilles Peterson when he took Darondo's single "Didn't I" and made it the opening track for his Digs America compilation. The renewed interest in the man who once rode around the bay area in a white Rolls Royce and wore only tailor made suits(a perfect man to be a musician; a player before there were playas) led label Luv N' Haight to compile the six tracks from Darondo's three early seventies singles that up until now, were the entirety of his musical output, and throw in three previously unreleased tracks. Lean without any filler at those nine tracks, Let My People Go is musical time capsule.
The title track itself is a nugget of past troubles, with Darondo's Green-like falsetto echoing the plight of his starving people, while fools in rocket ships pretend to be Superman. NASA hasn't been a scapegoat for progressives for some time, but it's still a fantastic put-down of our social priorities when forcefully delivered by Darondo, even if most of us are hearing it 25 years too late.
Darondo's social commentary begins and ends with that first track, however, and he gets right into the soul staples: lust, love, and longing. "Legs" crackles with sexiness, and whereas "Let My People Go" is more soul, this is where the funk kicks in. Throughout the record there are hints of funk, blues, and jazz. While this record does wear its influences on its sleeve(especially after 25 years to listen to Al Green and Sly Stone), at no time do you think "I've heard this before, done better". The man demonstrates himself to be a living instrument, not a cheap imitator. He delivers vocals reminiscent of not only the aforementioned Green and Ronald Isley, but also a latter day Marvin Gaye. Whatever the song, Darondo crafts his sweet voice to fit it.
Since none of the material here is new(Darondo provided backing vocals and some guitar for the unreleased tracks), this album wasn't widely considered among the top albums of 2006. A shame, but maybe that minor snub and the renaissance Darondo is enjoying will ultimately lead to some new material. Even if it takes three decades and an English record collector to emerge, I'll be waiting for that record.
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