Darondo - I Want Your Love So Bad

When Gilles Peterson says it's good, it's usually pretty damn good. Known for unearthing and championing countless talents from the musical ether throughout his career, last year he unleashed Darondo upon the masses from the depths of forgotten 70's soul. The 2005 compilation record Gilles Peterson Digs America featured a heavenly slice of genuine genius soul music by the name of "Didn't I" as the opener and it quickly became something of an instant classic. On the strength of just one tune, considerable interest for the mysterious Darondo grew to a fever pitch until Luv N' Haight gathered the entirety of his output for the artist's first proper release earlier this year. Let My People Go consists of A and B tracks from three 45s and a trio of unreleased demos, and that's it - he stopped recording before he barely started, even after opening for the likes of James Brown and Filmore Slim.

The record is everything you'd want in amateur soul music - dark, creative, a little sloppy but endlessly engaging and funky. Outstanding tracks like How I Got Over, Sure Know How To Love Me, My Momma And My Poppa and Let My People Go make the set worth hearing if not owning. I Want Your Love So Bad was the B side on the original How I Got Over 7" and it's a lovely midtempo groove with loose wurlitzer and B3 fills and druggy vocals. Darondo had the musical sense of Sly Stone, a voice like Al Green, a 9 track legacy and likely a book's worth of interesting stories from his short time in the spotlight. Thanks to Luv N' Haight and Mr. Peterson his talents can finally shine for all to see, even if it's 30 years overdue.