Ned Doheny – Hard Candy | Flea Market Funk

And now for something completely different, kind of. Soul comes in many different forms, shapes sizes and colors. While the rest of the world was giving themselves to disco, Malibu stalwart and canon couch surfer Ned Doheny was injecting blue-eyed soul into his yacht rack filled tunes. That’s right, while the rest of Southern California was wearing platforms and sequins or surfing while stoned to soft rock, Doheny managed to release this notorious, under appreciated cult classic, Hard Candy in 1976. This original record featured popular musicians like The Eageles, Linda Ronstadt, and the entire Tower of Power horn section to name a few. However, it bombed. No one knows why. It did, however, gain a cult following and was bootlegged horribly time after time. Now while this is a bit off of the beaten path, this record is often considered the finest blue-eyed soul record of all time. Produced by Steve Cropper, this is an obscure record someone like Dilla might have sampled if he were still alive. It’s got the right amount of soul, but yet one hear the influence of mid-70’s classic rock well knowns throughout. There are definitely some good melodies as well as drums (what we look for here at FMF) on this one. Here’s the rub: All vinyl record label Be With Records will be releasing Hard Candy proper on September 1. Pressed up on audiophile 180g vinyl with a full color jacket and gorgeous inner sleeve, this limited edition of 500 will go fast. Put on your captains hat and rock out on your houseboat with this one folks.