Bw Panel

These two albums are part of a clutch of albums Michael made when he was between record companies and which he recorded for his own production company Rural Retreat Records. Rural Retreat West Virginia, on the old Virgin Creeper Line, was the subject of one of O.Winston Link's famous "train" pics of whom MC is a huge fan. We made the pilgrimage on one of our US road trips hence the name. 2xCD + Booklet in 6 panel Digipack with sleeve notes by Andru Chapman.

Prior to becoming the iconoclastic vocalist who would revolutionize the role of women in rock & roll during the 1980s, Cyndi Lauper fronted Blue Angel, a retro-rock quintet that was all too short-lived. Their sound recalls all that is good (OK, great) about the superbly crafted early-'60s pop music genre – especially female-led units such as the Angels and the Ronettes. Producer Roy Halee perfectly re-creates Phil Spector's Wagner-ian "Wall of Sound" on the upbeat "I Had a Love" – complete with timpani interjections and percussive castanet flourishes – as well as "Just the Other Day," throwing in more than a hint of a reggae shuffle backbeat.