Darondo
Listen To My Song: The Music City Sessions
(Omnivore Recordings)

The gregarious powder keg of 70’s funk-fused rhythm and blues simmers with a bona-fide electricity as a stomping ode to yesteryear on Listen to My Song: The Music City Sessions. Super tightly-wound grooves, dizzying guitars and sky-high horns ignite the heady storm of raw soul that is Darondo. The blues slouch of “I’m Lonely” toils inside its own aggravation of stylistic heart-rending pain given way to the howl of self-pity, desperation and loss decorated with violins and drear. The hummingbird flutes of “Do You Really Love Me” have a laid-back, breezy, genteel charm that seduces into a complicated yet carefree curiosity. Musically meticulous rhythms of this 70’s gut-punch is real grainy yet striking. Darondo has this wicked ability to move his vocals along the linings of the song, reaching high octaves and dipping down to a low baritone. Darondo, is William Pulliam. He was born in Berkeley, California and his first single was released in 1970. He later opened for James Brown and quickly exited the music business, but his name was still kept alive by audiophiles and DJs. His 1973 single “Didn’t I” was featured on an episode of AMC’s hit series Breaking Bad. It is hard not to walk away smitten by the elegant appeal of brash classic soul. It took being found by Bay Area music expert Justin Torres that led to a 2005 return. Darondo moves recklessly and openly, musically and soulfully and in that space is where this diamond shines.