Rachelle Spector to release album produces and arranged by hubby Phil Spector

Legendary music man Phil Spector’s first recording project in three decades is the debut CD for his wife Rachelle Spector, which he produced and arranged. Titled Out of My Chelle, the disc features 10 tracks of upbeat, mainstream adult pop, with hints of R&B, rock and dance. It is scheduled for release on the independent label Genius 4Ever Records with distribution through Rocket Science/RED. The album will be available for digital download on June 8 at Amazon, iTunes and other digital retailers and in stores on July 20.

"I trusted her with my life and songs and production,” Spector says of his wife. "She's fantastic on this album."

The first single is “Here In My Heart,” the perfect pop vehicle for Rachelle’s effervescent vocal and her naturally positive attitude. The lyrics carry a particularly special meaning for her as well, since she and her husband of four years live not only more than 100 miles apart, but in what only can be described as two entirely separate worlds.

“Like the lyric says,” Rachelle notes, her bubbly outlook turning serious, ‘no matter where you are, you’re here in my heart.’ Phil is actually far away, but he's still the shining light in my life, and I can always feel him here with me.”

She is referring of course to the fact that her husband is currently in prison after being convicted of murder—a crime for which Rachelle, who is well-versed in more than 40,000 pages of testimony spanning two trials, steadfastly and convincingly asserts his innocence.

When they met at L.A. hot spot Dan Tana’s in 2003, a few years after Rachelle moved to Los Angeles from Beaver Falls, Penn., to pursue her singing career, she had no idea who Spector was, in terms of his stature in the industry, nor was she aware of the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman at his home a few months earlier.

By the time she knew the details, her impression of Spector was vastly different from the man the media portrayed. She fell in love with a man she describes as “witty, smart and cute,” and after a three-year courtship, they married in September 2006. They began work on the CD a couple of months later.

The recording process took more than two years with sessions taking place during downtime from the first and second trials. The resulting 10 songs, blend shades of R&B, rock, dance and disco over a multi-layered pop instrumentation, but remain a distinct musical departure from the producer’s renowned “Wall of Sound” orchestrations.

In addition to “Here in My Heart,” standout cuts include the synth-heavy R&B jam “Free,” and the gospel-tinged ballad “Baby Believe,” with it’s lush arrangement bringing in just the right amount of acoustic guitars, lap steel, strings and piano. The disc quickly shifts gears to the rock-influenced “Got Me Where You Want Me,” a highlight of Rachelle’s live set, while “That Boy,” couples a pop/dance vibe accentuated by the exotic sounds of sitar, strings and harp. Out of My Chelle closes with the Beatle-esque pop of “Are You Willing,” and the pop ballad “How Can You.”

For Rachelle, the release of her debut CD is just one of her main goals for 2010. She anticipates performing live in select cities later this year and of course she is anxious and hopeful for a release with even more meaning: That a successful appeal on her husband’s behalf will bring him home.