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DEXTER WANSEL — Voyager

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Album · 1978

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Artist picture of Dexter Wansel

Dexter Wansel

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Album review: DEXTER WANSEL – Life On Mars / What The World Is Coming To / Voyager / Time Is Slipping Away

Share the post "Album review: DEXTER WANSEL – Life On Mars / What The World Is Coming To / Voyager / Time Is Slipping Away"

DEXTER WANSEL - Life On Mars/What The World Is Coming To/Voyager/Time Is Slipping Away

BGO Records www.bgo-records.com [Release date 31.03.23]

Back in the day (mid to late 1980s), I was a closet listener to Robbie Vincent’s BBC Radio 1 show when he would frequently implore his audience to “open the fridge and freezer door” when the funk music he played got too “hot.”

I am sure Dexter Wansel was a staple in his playlist.  During my sometime fixation with jazz funk  in the late 1970s and 1980s I wasn’t really aware of Wansel.  He actually made his name contributing to the “Philadelphia Sound” made popular by Gamble & Huff (The O’Jays, Billy Paul et al) for whom he arranged  and produced several artists.

But it was his debut Life On Mars in 1976 that established him as a solo contender and not least the superb title track which features the Instant Funk rhythm section.  The vocals are mere embellishments to what is basically forward thrust jazz funk instrumentals characterised by Wansel’s deft keyboard playing.

Some like ‘Stargazer’ have a blaxpoitation-like film theme quality.  The addition of MFSB (with whom Wansel had worked in the live situation) and their characteristic sweeping strings is another feature.  A track like ‘Theme From The Planets’ showed that Wansel had fully embraced the early use of synthesisers.

A year later What The World Is Coming To mixed vocal and instrumentals but again enhanced throughout by the MSFB strings as displayed on the opening track ‘First Light Of The Morning’.

Whilst the vocal-led tracks are, to be honest, of their time and fairly uneventful (although showcasing future solo star Jean Carn) it is perhaps unsurprising that the instrumentals kick ass such as the brass-led ‘Ode Infinitum’ and the lighter weight ‘Disco Lights’.  A track like ‘What Is The World Coming To’ demonstrates a softer side with flugelhorn solo from Al Harrison and children playing in the background.

Wansel was evidenty inspired by the wider universe (his band were called The Planets), and the liner note to his 1976 debut was a quote from his patron Leon Gamble decrying space travel when “Man has not mastered his existence on earth.”

1978′s Voyager came after the launch of two spacecraft tasked with performing studies of Jupiter and Saturn but with the added novelty that each carried a “golden disc” with music and spoken word recordings to inform any extra-terrestrials.

Wholly instrumental albums are notoriously a difficult commercial proposition (but are arguably more durable over time) and were less likely to achieve chart status.  Whilst the vocal tracks on ‘Voyager’  are distinctly average when compared to contemporaries it didn’t stop the album becoming Wansel’s most successful and with reasonable Billboard chart placings.

However, it’s the instrumental stuff that shines.

The fast moving title track and ‘Time Is The Teacher’ are both a showcase for the band’s new addition on sax, George Howard.  On the former there is even a rock-tinged guitar solo! And ‘Latin Love (Let Me Know)’ extends this further and reminds me of the contemporaneous ‘Streamline’ album released by Lenny White which fused rock and funk.

The final album in this series (and the final album for Philadelphia International Records) in 1979 Time Is Slipping Away included the classic ‘The Sweetest Pain’ featuring Terri Wells and The Jones Girls (who had a hit in 1981 with Wansel’s song ‘Nights Over Egypt’).  But for the rest it’s fairly average disco fodder.

The turning point for disco funk would come in 1979 when a “Disco Sucks” campaign in the US reacted to the genre’s persistence.

For those, like me, who missed out on Dexter Wansel first time round this is a great overall package with some real highlights (and with the usual exemplary liner note from Charles Waring although sadly not based on a recent interview).  ***1/2

Review by David Randall

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Dexter Wansel to return after 17 years with "Flight Crew To Mars"

dexter wansel voyager album

(May 18, 2021) Deep soulheads can skip some of the explanatory paragraphs below, because you know all the information that I’m about to write. But, on the other hand, it may just be a good refresher for some folks, because one of my all-time favorite songwriters and producers, the great Dexter Wansel, is returning to record after more than a decade and a half.

The iconic songwriter, producer and musician last released an album in late 2004, the quietly self-issued  Digital Groove World, which was thoroughly enjoyable. It it has been an awful long time since he graced us with that disc, but on June 22 he returns with the brand new album, The Story of the Flight Crew To Mars . Check out his teaser video below.

Philadelphia is justifiably considered by most to be the center of Soul Music perfection during the 70s, and the "Mighty Three" -- Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell -- have rightly received a great amount of credit for the development of the "Sound of Philadelphia," sometimes overshadowing the great artists from the O'Jays to the Blue Notes, but almost always unfairly pushing out the great musicians, writers, arrangers and producers who helped make that sound great.

Mr. Wansel is known to some as Philly keyboardist who released a number of successful albums in the 70s, including most notably  Life on Mars  and  Voyager .  His love of advanced technology and the fusion of rock, soul, dance and jazz led to a number of interesting pieces that drew for him a loyal following.  However, Wansel may be more notable for the great contribution he quietly made to the Philly Sound.

Wansel met Gamble and Huff while he was the leader of the group Yellow Sunshine.  He signed on as a session keyboardist at G&H's Philadelphia International Records and began his climb within the organization during the mid-70s.  His luscious arrangements and strong production led to increasingly important projects within the organization, including albums by the Jacksons, Lou Rawls, Phyllis Hyman, Teddy Pendergrass and MFSB (the house band at PIR, for which Wansel served as conductor).  And his songwriting may have been even better.  Along with regular songwriting partner Cynthia Biggs El, he penned numerous classic Soul songs ranging from "Nights Over Egypt" for the Jones Girls to the haunting "Hurry Up This Way Again" for the Stylistics. 

By the early 80s, the consistency of Wansel's compositions had arguably surpassed Gamble and Huff, and much of the uneven output of PIR during the 80s was modestly anchored by gorgeous Wansel ballads like "I Really Need You Now" (sung by the O'Jays), "You're Leaving" (the Stylistics) and perhaps his most revered composition, "If Only You Knew" (Patti LaBelle).

In the 90s, as PIR was crumbling, Wansel stayed around, helping on a number of compilations and the scant new projects that came around.  He also did some outside arranging, such as on three discs by Gospel harpist Jeff Majors.  His last major work at PIR was putting together 2003's controversial O'Jays compilation,  Together We Are One .  Like many at PIR, he never received public attention or credit commensurate with his significant contributions, but to those in the Soul Music world he is known as one of the great Soul songwriters, producers and arrangers of his era.

As will be the case with a lot of music fans, I’m anxiously awaiting The Story of The Flight Crew to Mars. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.

by Chris Rizik

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Dexter Wansel

  • The Sweetest Pain
  • Time Is Slipping Away · 1979
  • Theme from the Planets
  • Life on Mars · 1976
  • First Light of Morning
  • What the World Is Coming To · 1977
  • I'll Never Forget (My Favorite Disco)
  • Life on Mars
  • New Beginning
  • You Can Be What You Wanna Be
  • One Million Miles from the Ground
  • Rings of Saturn
  • Time Is the Teacher
  • Voyager · 1978
  • What the World Is Coming To
  • Nights Over Egypt
  • Nights Over Egypt - Single · 2019
  • Together Once Again

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Keyboardist/arranger/producer/recording artist Dexter Wansel can be heard throughout the catalog of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records. His skills can be heard on non-PIR sides like Jermaine Jackson's "Where Are You Now" from his gold LP Let's Get Serious and "Tonight" from Junior's Acquired Taste LP. His frequent songwriting partners were Cynthia Biggs, Bunny Sigler, and T. Life. A synth pioneer, Wansel's first LP arranging assignment was several tracks on Carl Carlton's 1975 LP, I Wanna Be With You, produced by Bunny Sigler. A Biggs/Wansel song, "The Sweetest Pain," a duet between Wansel and Jean Carn, originally a 1979 single from Wansel's Time Is Slipping Away LP, was a popular radio-aired LP from Loose Ends' Zagora LP. Two of Carn's LPs, When I Find You Love (entirely produced by Wansel) and Sweet and Wonderful, and Jean Carn and Happy to Be With You were issued on a two-album single CD by U.K. label Westside Records in early 1999. When Wansel was 12 years old, he got the job of a gofer for the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia, going to get sandwiches and clothes out of the cleaners for the various acts that performed at the venue like Stevie Wonder and Patti Labelle. Many years later, Wansel would co-write a number one R&B hit for Labelle. In 1975, Wansel met Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff when he was a member of a band called Yellow Sunshine, which also boasted guitarist Roland Chambers who would later become a part of MFSB, the house band for Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International Records. Becoming a part of the staff creative collective, Wansel began arranging, playing keyboards, and writing songs for the label's acts including the O'Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, and the Intruders, among others. When Patti Labelle signed with PIR, she recorded Wansel's "Shoot Him on Sight," a song Wansel intended for Jackson Browne, on her 1981 album The Spirit's in It. A song Wansel co-wrote with Kenneth Gamble and Cynthia Biggs, the lovely unrequited love ballad "If Only You Knew," held the number one R&B spot for four weeks in early 1984. It was on her I'm in Love Again LP, which went gold, hitting number four R&B. A partial list of Wansel-associated sides would include Jean Carn's popular radio-aired LP tracks "I'm in Love Once Again," "You Are All I Need" (music by Instant Funk), "Where Did You Ever Go," "Free Love," and the dance classic "Give It Up"; Shirley Jones' "Last Night I Needed Somebody" and "She Knew About Me"; The Jacksons' "Keep on Dancin'," "Living Together," "Do What You Wanna Do," and "Jump for Joy"; The Stylistics' "Hurry Up This Way Again,"; keyboardist Patrice Rushen covered "Hurry Up This Way Again"; The O'Jays' dreamy ballad "I Really Need You Now"; Phyllis Hyman's radio-aired track "Living All Alone"; The Jones Girls' "We're a Melody", the exotic "Nights Over Egypt," "Love Don't Ever Say Goodbye," and "Why You Wanna Do That to Me"; Archie Bell and the Drells' "Old People"; and Evelyn "Champagne" King's "Till I Come Off the Road" and the radio-aired LP track ballad "The Show Is Over." Wansel's own charting LPs were Life on Mars from summer 1976 (includes two tracks with Instant Funk, "Life on Mars" and "You Can Be What You Wanna Be"), What the World Is Coming To, Voyager (with its great space-age oriented graphics) from spring 1978, and Time Is Slipping Away from 1979. Several tracks from his LPs were radio-aired LP tracks (the lushly orchestrated "Theme From the Planets," the spacy, funky "Disco Lights") and some songs -- "Together Once Again," "One Million Miles From the Ground," and "Holdin' On" -- are still in singers' repertoire today. "Holdin' On" was a radio-aired LP track from actor Lawrence Hilton Jacobs' self-titled album produced by Lamont Dozier. "Global Warming" from the 1991 PIR/Zoo/BMG CD Universe Featuring Dexter Wansel received some airplay on smooth jazz radio stations. During the '90s, Wansel continued to work with the reactivated Philadelphia International Records and occasionally toured. Dexter Wansel-related releases are Grover Washington, Jr. Ultimate Collection, Heaven & Earth-That's Love, Best of MFSB: Love Is the Message, and Best of the Intruders. ~ Ed Hogan

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Dexter Wansel

Keyboardist/arranger/producer/recording artist Dexter Wansel can be heard throughout the catalog of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records. His skills can be heard on non-PIR…

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  3. Now, Voyager: Big Break Collects Dexter Wansel’s “Philadelphia

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  1. Dexter Wansel

    "Voyager" by Dexter WanselListen to Dexter Wansel: https://DexterWansel.lnk.to/listenYDSubscribe to the official Dexter Wansel YouTube channel: https://Dexte...

  2. Voyager

    Voyager by Dexter Wansel released in 1978. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic. New Releases. Discover. Genres Moods Themes. Blues Classical Country. Electronic Folk International. Pop/Rock Rap R&B. Jazz Latin All ... Voyager by Dexter Wansel released in 1978. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards ...

  3. Dexter Wansel

    From 1978 through 1980, Dexter Wansel was the A+R Director for Philadelphia International Records where he oversaw many album releases by the label's artists including MFSB'S Mysteries Of The World, and The Stylistics, Hurry Up This Way Again, under the direction of Gamble and Huff. His LP Time Is Slipping Away, recorded in 1979, produced his ...

  4. Voyager by Dexter Wansel (Album, Jazz-Funk): Reviews, Ratings, Credits

    Voyager, an Album by Dexter Wansel. Released in 1978 on PIR (catalog no. JZ 34985; Vinyl LP). Genres: Jazz-Funk, Synth Funk. Rated #1131 in the best albums of 1978. Featured peformers: Dexter Wansel (producer, lead vocals, fender rhodes electric piano, guitar, mini moog, synthesizer, Polymoog, percussion), Derrick Graves (bass), Steve Goldstein (grand piano, mini moog, fender rhodes, Clavinet ...

  5. Dexter Wansel

    Voyager Dexter Wansel. Released 2017. Voyager Tracklist. 1. All Night Long Lyrics. 3. ... More Dexter Wansel albums Time Is Slipping Away. What the World Is Coming To.

  6. VOYAGER

    Title-track from his 1978 Philadelphia International album "Voyager".

  7. Dexter Wansel

    Dexter Wansel - "Voyager" (2018) I`ve just recently purchased a "sealed copy" of this great little funky LP,it was TIGHTLY Skink Wrapped so some of you will KNOW what I`m about to say - yes it has the dredded "re-release defects"(!) ... Classic album. Sorely underrated. Highlights include "Solutions" featuring Mumia Abu Jamal as the voice of ...

  8. ‎Voyager by Dexter Wansel on Apple Music

    Album · 1978 · 7 Songs. Sign In Search. Listen Now Browse Radio Search Try Beta. Sign In Voyager Dexter Wansel. R&B/Soul · 1978 Preview ... Listen to Voyager by Dexter Wansel on Apple Music. Stream songs including "All Night Long", "Solutions" and more.

  9. DEXTER WANSEL Voyager reviews

    Voyager is a funk jazz music album recording by DEXTER WANSEL released in 1978 on CD, LP/Vinyl and/or cassette. This page includes DEXTER WANSEL Voyager's : cover picture, songs / tracks list, members/musicians and line-up, different releases details, buy online: ebay and amazon, ratings and detailled reviews by some experts, collaborators and members.

  10. Dexter Wansel Discography

    Dexter Wansel. Philadelphia-born musician, keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, conductor, synthesist, producer and recording artist, whose talents have left an indelible mark on the world of contemporary music. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (August 22, 1950), Wansel's journey into the realm of music began at an early age.

  11. Dexter Wansel

    Voyager (LP, Album, Stereo) Philadelphia International Records , Philadelphia International Records , Philadelphia International Records PIR 82786 , S PIR 82786 , JZ 34985

  12. Dexter Wansel

    Album: 'Voyager' (Philadelphia International Records 1978)Credits:Bass - Derrick GravesCongas - Larry WashingtonDrums - Billy JohnsonGuitar [Rhythm] - Herb S...

  13. Dexter Wansel: albums, songs, playlists

    Voyager . Dexter Wansel. Voyager. 08:10 Composers: Dexter Wansel - Steve Gold - Lemuel Harper - George Howard - Derrick Graves - Billy Johnson - Herb Smith ... Albums (P) 2022 Sony Music Entertainment 25-02-2022 Life on Mars (OPOLOPO Remix) ... Dexter Wansel - Steve Gold - Lemuel Harper - George Howard - Derrick Graves - Billy Johnson - Herb ...

  14. Very Best of Dexter Wansel

    Voyager (1978) Time Is Slipping Away (1979) Captured (1986) Digital Groove World (2004) AllMusic Review. User Reviews. Track Listing. Credits. Releases. ... Very Best of Dexter Wansel by Dexter Wansel released in 1999. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.

  15. Now, Voyager: Big Break Collects Dexter Wansel's "Philadelphia

    The latter is notable for bearing the first credit on one of Dexter's albums for lyricist Cynthia Biggs, soon to become his usual writing partner. In early 1978, Wansel was appointed in an A&R capacity at PIR. That year's solo release Voyager further emphasized Wansel's progressive keyboard textures and expanded song structures. He enlisted the ...

  16. Dexter Wansel Lyrics, Songs, and Albums

    Voyager . 2017 Time Is Slipping Away. 1979 What the World Is Coming To. 1977 Life on Mars. 1976 Keyboard Riffs for DJ's Volume 2 ... What is the most popular album by Dexter Wansel?

  17. Dexter Wansel

    Dexter Wansel - Voyager. More images. Label:Philadelphia International Records - JZ 34985: Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Pitman Pressing. Country:US: Released:1978: Genre: ... Classic album. Sorely underrated. Highlights include "Solutions" featuring Mumia Abu Jamal as the voice of the news announcer. (Mumia reported the news at 10 before each ...

  18. Album review: DEXTER WANSEL

    The final album in this series (and the final album for Philadelphia International Records) in 1979 Time Is Slipping Away included the classic 'The Sweetest Pain' featuring Terri Wells and The Jones Girls (who had a hit in 1981 with Wansel's song 'Nights Over Egypt'). But for the rest it's fairly average disco fodder.

  19. Voyager/Time Is Slipping Away

    Submit Corrections. Voyager/Time Is Slipping Away by Dexter Wansel released in 1999. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.

  20. Dexter Wansel

    View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1978 Vinyl release of "Voyager" on Discogs.

  21. Dexter Wansel to return after 17 years with "Flight Crew To Mars"

    Mr. Wansel is known to some as Philly keyboardist who released a number of successful albums in the 70s, including most notably Life on Mars and Voyager. His love of advanced technology and the fusion of rock, soul, dance and jazz led to a number of interesting pieces that drew for him a loyal following.

  22. ‎Dexter Wansel

    Find top songs and albums by Dexter Wansel including The Sweetest Pain, Theme from the Planets and more. ... Voyager (with its great space-age oriented graphics) from spring 1978, and Time Is Slipping Away from 1979. Several tracks from his LPs were radio-aired LP tracks (the lushly orchestrated "Theme From the Planets," the spacy, funky "Disco ...

  23. Dexter Wansel Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More

    Explore Dexter Wansel's discography including top tracks, albums, and reviews. Learn all about Dexter Wansel on AllMusic. New Releases. Discover. Genres Moods Themes. Blues Classical Country. Electronic Folk International. Pop/Rock Rap R&B. Jazz Latin All ... Explore Dexter Wansel's discography including top tracks, albums, and reviews. Learn ...