Darondo – Didn’t I (7" Vinyl)

Even those suspicious of soul fans' thirst for obscure tracks should hear this one. Didn't I is transcendent, up there with the best of Curtis Mayfield or Al Green.

It's a washed-out guitar ballad, Darondo's harmonies recalling Sly Stone circa There's a Riot Goin' On, laced with a dash of the Temptations' Just My Imagination. Darondo's yearning falsetto and his late-night strumming sound queasy and unreachable, like Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti 35 years too early. The simplest of string arrangements, a smidgen of flute – there's not much to it, really. It almost sounds unfinished.

William "Darondo" Pulliam's music career stalled after three flop singles on the Music City label in the early 70s. His activities over subsequent decades are mysterious, though by his own admission he led a colourful life in the San Francisco Bay area, including a brief stint presenting cable TV shows.

Interest in Darondo was revived by Gilles Peterson, who played Didn't I on his Radio 1 show. Now Ace Records has included the track on Listen to My Song: The Music City Sessions, describing Darondo as "one of the greats". Didn't I shows that's no exaggeration. - Jon Dennis, Guardian

Tracklist

A Didn’t I
B Saving My Love

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