Album of the day. I'm still reeling over the recent passing of one of the towering innovators of the Philly sound, Dexter Wansel. Summarizing the man's gifts barely, if at all, scratches the surface of his vast musical legacy. A true exemplar of a musican's musician, he wore many hats: Philly soul demigod, "space funk" voyager, synthesizer whiz, Afrofuturist, electronic music pioneer, prolific songwriter, arranger, producer, Philly historian and educator. Just as his celestial brew of jazz, funk, disco, and R&B was a foundational insitution that helped usher Black music as know it into the future and beyond, he knew no bounds. Many have lavished praise on his 1976 debut, Life on Mars—and rightfully so, as it and the other three solo works he cut for Philadelphia International reflect the far-reaching sonic ambition and freedom of '70s Black music. But for some reason, his second album, 1977's What the World is Coming To has gotten the most replay value of his work lately.
Something as pathbreaking, outré, and escapist as Life on Mars would be a tough act to follow in anyone's hands, but Dexter Wansel kept pushing his "space-funk" cosmos to new avenues. What the World is Coming To continued in the vein of its predecessor with a greater aim at disco and soul, which he certainly excelled at. Locked in step with his Planets band with contributions from Jean Carn, drummer Idris Muhummad, and MFSB, the album turns gears from smooth jazz-funk instrumentals with Wansel's wicked analog keyboard passages ("First Light of the Morning" and "Ode Infinitum") to goregous ethereal ballads ("Holdin' On" and the poignant title instrumental) to upbeat disco jams ("Disco Lights" and "Dance With Me Tonight") to reggae excursions ("Going Back to Kingston Town") to spiritual jazz-rock ("Dreams of Tomorrow.") A eclectic voyage through and through as the man behind it. Rest peacefully, Dexter.