Philippe Wynne
Band members Related acts
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- Philippe Wynne (RIP 1984) -- vocals
supporing musicians (1977) - Rubin Bassini -- percussion - Carla Benson -- backing vocals - Evette Benton -- backing vocals - Ken Bischel -- synthesizers - Angelo Carlis -- horns - Suxanne Ciani -- synthesziers - Maurice Davis -- horns - Cornell Dupree -- guitar - Gordon Edwards -- bass - Steve Gadd - drums - Edward Gooch -- horns - Ron Grolnick -- keyboards - Leo Harrison -- horns - Barbara Ingram -- backing vocals - Steve Kahn -- guitar - James Kelly -- backing vocals - Marion Lampkin -- keybaords - Will Lee -- bass - Jeff Mirnov -- guitar - Cetrice Nathaniel -- backing vocals - Larry Nozero -- horns - Ed Nuccilli - horns - Guy Patterson -- guitar - Robert Pittman -- backing vocals - Preacher -- guitar - Cathy Sanders -- backing vocals - Marion Sanders -- backing vocals - Wonzie Sanders -- backing vocals - Stuart Sanders -- horns - Ted Smith -- drums - David Spinozza -- guitar - Gordon Stump -- horns - Johnny Surls -- backing vocals - Richard Tee -- keyboards - John Trudell -- horns - Jeerry Weiner -- guitar - Michael Wynn -- keybaords
supporting musicians: (1980) - Marcus Belgrave -- horns - Kenny Birch -- guitar - Fred Boldt -- horns - Frank Bryant -- bass - Angelo Carlisi -- horns - Gordon Carlton -- guitar - David Lee Chong -- keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals - Jessica Cleaves -- backing vocals - Dennis Coffey -- guitar - Rodney Curtis -- bass - Maurice Davis -- horns - Ray Davis -- backing vocals - Ron Ford -- backing vocals - Larry Fratangelo -- percussion - John Glover -- keyboards - Michael Hampton -- guitar - Willie Hampton -- guitar - Elo Harrison -- horns - Shirley Hayden -- backing vocals - Sheila Horne -- backing vocals - Telma Hopkins -- backing vocals - Gary Hudgins -- keyboards - Arnold Brimstone Ingram -- keyboards - Ted Jackson -- horns - Cheryl James -- backing vocals - Robert Johnson -- backing vocals - Jerry Jones -- drums - Tyrone Lampkin -- drums - Jeanette McGruder -- backing vocals - Bruce Nazarian -- guitar, bass - Stevie Pannell -- backing vocals - Michaal Payne -- backing vocals - Chanta Payne -- backing voclas - Rudy Robinson -- keyboards - Ernie Rodgers -- horns - Jerome Rodgers -- backing vocals - Gary Shider -- guitar - Carl Small -- percussion - Donnie Sterling -- bass - Gordon Stump -- horns - Mike Sutter -- horns - John Trudell -- horns - Joyce Vincent -- backing vocals - Andre Williams -- backing vocals - Bernie Worrell -- keyboards, synthesizers
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- The Afro Kings - The Spinners
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Genre: soul Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Starting All Over Company: Cotillion Catalog: SD
9920 Country/State: Detroit, Michigan Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 2577 Price: $20.00
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Released shortly after Philippe Wynne left The Spinners (replaced by John Edwards for "Spinners 8"), 1977's self-produced, "Starting All Over" had one thing going for it - Wynne's remarkable voice. Shame he wasn't smart enough to recognize his own limitations and ask for help from the likes of Thom Bell. Musically the album offering up a mixture of Wynne originals (something he wasn't allowed to pursue when a member of The Spinners) and outside material.
As Phillippe Wynne's solo debut, this is one of those album's that's likely to leave a lot of folks unhappy. Anyone who loved him as a member of The Spinners was liable to be disappointed by the set's lack of shimmering pop melodies and heartbreaking ballads. That's not to say the album wasn't pop-oriented; rather with the exception of the single 'Like a Loser Needs a Winner (You're All I Need)', 'That's Alright Too' and the mid-tempo ballad 'Lisa' it lacked the kind of instantly memorable melodies The Spinners built their careers on. Tracks like 'Hobo Stew', 'Hats Off To Mama' and 'Take Me As I Am' found Wynne seemingly trying too hard to prove his solo credentials. At the other end of the spectrum, anyone who was a fan of Wynne's forthcoming George Clinton partnership was going to find this set's middle of the road ambience irritating. The voice remained instantly recognizable, but much of them time it was wasted on sub-par material.
"Starting
All Over" track listing: 1.) Starting All Over (Alan Thicke - Philippe Wynne) - 5:06 rating: ** stars One of two tunes co-written with then-manager Thicke, as much as I love Wynne's voice, the title track sounded like something penned for a Friday evening television theme song. Hideously lame and MOR-ish - it seemed to go on and on and on ... Speculation, by I'm guessing this one was intended to ease his Spinners fans into the solo career. Shame it was such a lame tune. 2.) Waiting On a Letter From Home (Joe Jefferson - Charles Simmons) - 3:51 rating: *** stars The first time I heard 'Waiting On a Letter From Home' I hated it. It was the song itself, rather the shrill and intrusive female backing vocals. Over the years I've learned to ignore the backing vocalists which helps make the song better. 3.) Think of Your Thoughts as Children (Philippe Wynne) - 6:37 rating: *** stars 'Think of Your Thoughts as Children' was one of two tunes that recreated that special Spinners sound. Admittedly this one was way heavy on the cheesy sentimentality factor - course that was the case for alot of The Spinners catalog. 4.) Hobo Stew (Philippe Wynne) - 5:16 rating: ** stars Geez, this one would have been too cutesy for The Spinners ... 5.) Hats Off To Mama (Philippe Wynne) - 3:15 rating: ** stars 'Hats Off To Mama' could have been a Spinners tune - a bad Spinners tune, but a Spinners tune. Saccharine in its sentimentality ,I think mama would have smacked Wynne up the side of the head after hearing this lame tune.
(side 2) 1.) Like a Loser Needs a Winner (You're All I Need) (Philippe Wynne) - 3:45 rating: **** stars For anyone who was a fan of Wynne's Spinners catalog, the clumsily titled 'Like a Loser Needs a Winner (You're All I Need)' was the tune you'd been waiting for. With a sweet and memorable melody that would have made Thom Bell smile, it was sheer bliss for a Spinners fan ... As you can tell, I'm a Spinners fan ... I'm guessing that's why Cotillion tapped it as the leadoff single:
- 1977's 'Like a Lose Needs a Winner (You're All I Need)' b/w 'Hats Off To Mama' (Cotillion catalog number 44217)
2.) That's Alright Too (Philippe Wynne - Brian Russell - Brenda Russell) - 4:47 rating: **** stars 'That's Alright Too' also captured that special sound Thom Bell surrounded The Spinners with. In fact, this was probably the album's most Spinners-like performance. Wynne's pseudo-Gospel testifyin' delivery and the whispery arrangement made it a song that would not have sounded out of place on a Wynne-era Spinners album. 3.) Take Me As I Am (Joe Jefferson - Charles Simmons - Hawes) - 6:26 rating:*** stars 'Take Me As I Am' was a bit slow, a bit pedestrian, and a bit MOR-ish, but Wynne had such a great voice. I even liked the scatting segment on this one. 4.) Lisa (Alan Thicke - Phillippe Wynne) - 4:32 rating: **** stars Another Spinners mid-tempo ballad with a heart-tugging lyric. 5.) Starting All Over (Reprise) (Alan Thicke - Phillippe Wynne) - 0:43 rating: ** stars Once was enough ...
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Genre: soul Rating: 4 stars **** Title: Wynne Jammin' Company: Uncle Jam Catalog: JZ
36843 Country/State: Detroit, Michigan Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: includes original inner sleeve Available: SOLD Catalog ID: SOLD 240 Price: SOLD $20.00
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Three decades after "Wynne Jammin'" came out and I'm still scratching my head trying to understand how it managed to fall by the commercial wayside. Sadly, in a small way I guess I was partially responsible for its failure. In high school and college I was a massive Philppe Wynne fan. I owned most of The Spinners catalog (my friends didn't know it) and I thought Wynne's voice was just amazing - totally unlike anything else in soul. And then he quit The Spinners and hooked up with George Clinton and the extended Funkadelic empire ... I remember trying to get my mind around it (I didn't realize it, but Wynne's connections with the Clinton musical family went back to the mid-'60s when he was a member of Bootsy Collins' band The Pacesetters). I even bought his first solo album (1977's "Starting All Over") and just couldn't make the transition. Perhaps I should have tried a little harder.
His second solo release, 1980's "Wynne Jammin'" found Wynne surrounded by George Clinton and the Parliament/Funkadelic family. Clinton produced much of the album and wrote several of the tracks with scores of his sidekicks playing on the seven tracks. While tracks like Wynne's remake of Funkadelic's 'Never Gonna Tell It' and We Dance So Good Together'' were far funkier than anything he'd recorded with The Spinners, Wynne managed to hold his own throughout the collection, ensuring this wasn't simply another slice of Clinton madness - in fact on a couple of these tracks ('You Gotta Take Chances' and 'Put Your Own Puzzle Together') Wynne recalled The Spinners at their prime. Hardcore George Clinton fans probably weren't enthralled, but I'll tell you it's a wonderful album - 'We Dance So Good Together ' should have been a massive hit for Wynne.
"Wynne
Jammin'" track listing: 1.) Never Gonna Tell It (George Clinton - Bernie Worrell) - 12:38 rating: **** stars I'll readily admit that it took me awhile to get my ears around Wynne doing funk (okay, maybe it was better labeled lite-funk) - I was just so accustom to hearing his unique voice on old-school soul numbers. That said, 'Never Gonna Tell It' was the track that showed me the error of my ways. Yeah, clocking in at over twelve minutes it was way too long, but this is where George Clinton-styled funk and Wynne's special voice came together in near perfection. Funky soul ? Soulful funk ? Beats me, but it sure makes me want to jump around and Michael Henderson turned i some killer lead guitar. The track was tapped as the leas-off single; divided into two parts for the 45 format. 2.) Put Your Own Puzzle Together (J Dean - John Glover) - 4:15 rating: **** stars The album's most readily commercial outing, 'Put Your Own Puzzle Together' sounded a great deal like a Thom Bell Spinners endeavor. With one of those insanely catchy melodies and Wynne doing his best 'testify' vocals ....Gosh, it made you realize how friggin' good those mid and late-'70s Spinners were. And yes, Uncle Jam tapped it as the album's second single. rating: **** stars 3.) You Make Me Happy (You Got The Love I Need) (Philippe Wynne) - 3:46 rating: *** stars I loved the cheesy opening synthesizers, but the rest of 'You Make Me Happy (You Got The Love I Need)' sounded like a subpar Spinners tune. In spite of some nice Spinners-styled backing vocals, this one simply didn't sound fully developed. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it simply could measure up with some of the other performances. What was with the sandpaper rhythm that came through on the left channel ?
(side 2) 1.) We Dance So Good Together (J Glover - John Dean) - 5:35 rating: **** stars If you want to hear how good Wynne could be, 'We Dance So Good Together' was a great place to start. Yeah, complete with anonymous female backing singers the song started out sounding like a throwaway dance tune, but when the track got going, it was mesmerizing - incidiously catchy melody coupled with Wynne's amazing voice. When he throws in some scat moves towards the end of the song ... perfection. I'm guessing that was Dennis Coffey opening up song and hitting the rhythm moves throughout the song ... 2.) Hotel Eternity (Gary Hudgins - Darryl Clinton - Philippe Wynne - Robert Johnson) - 5:30 rating: ** stars While the ballad 'Hotel Eternity' had some mildly entertaining lyrics ("love's credit card"), the overall effect was pretty bland - the adult contemporary lite-jazz they play in office lobbies readily comes to mind. 3.) Breakout (Pjilippe Wynne) - 5:05 rating: *** stars One of two Wynne originals, 'Breakout' was probably the funkiest thing Wynne ever wrote. I remember reading somewhere that Wynne was actually kind of a badass guy who'd had several brushes with the law (much to the displeasure of the other members of The Spinners). I'm guessing there was a certain autobiographical edge to this one ... Nice dance number.
4.) You Gotta Take Chances (J Dean - John Glover) - 4:43
rating: **** stars
As seen above, the album spun off a pair of singles:
- 1980's 'Never Gonna Tell It' (Part 1) b/w 'Never Gonna Tell It' (Part 2) (catalog Uncle Jam catalog number ZS9 9900) - 1980's 'Put Your Own Puzzle Together' b/w 'You Make Me Happy' (Uncle Jam catalog number ZS6 9902)
A great, overlooked early-'80s soul album ... such a shame that four years later Wynne was dead of a heart attack.
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