WILLIAM TOPLEY
''MIXED BLESSING''
JULY 7 1998
52:02
1/Wake up (Your Dream Sounds So Sad)
Dominic Miller / William Topley/3:56
2/Sycamore Street
William Topley / Colin Vearncombe/4:20
3/Song of a Seabird
Dominic Miller / William Topley/4:56
4/Sophia
William Topley / Colin Vearncombe/4:32
5/(I Don't Wanna Go) Uptown
Dominic Miller / William Topley/3:58
6/Drink Called Love
Dominic Miller / William Topley/4:34
7/Soul Love/Feat. Cutty Ranks
Luke Brighty / Kevin Hime-Knowles / Cutty Ranks / William Topley / Mike 4:07
8/Sweetheart
William Topley/4:39
9/Highway Five
Luke Brighty / Kevin Hime-Knowles / William Topley / Mike Westergaard/3:46
10/Delta Rain
William Topley/6:05
11/Hurricane Room
William Topley/7:09
Eddie Bayers /Drums
Luke Brighty /Guitar
Geoff Dunn /Drums
James Eller /Bass
Kevin Hime-Knowles /Bass
Bruce Hornsby /Accordion, Guest Artist
Dann Huff /Guitar (Electric)
Jim Kimberley /Drums, Keyboards, Percussion
Donna McElroy /Vocals (Background)
Terry McMillan /Percussion
Dominic Miller /Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Percussion, Producer
Steve Nathan /Keyboards
Don Potter /Guitar (Acoustic)
Cutty Ranks / Performer
Shola /Vocals (Background)
Lisa Silver /Vocals (Background)
Mark Taylor /Keyboards
William Topley /Vocals
Soozie Tyrell /Violin
Colin Vearncombe /Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background)
Willie Weeks /Bass
Mike Westergaard /Keyboards, Percussion
REVIEW
by MacKenzie Wilson
Singer/songwriter William Topley and Sting session man/guitarist Dominic Miller exude a passionate bluesy seduction on Mixed Blessing. This collection includes seven songs by Topley's former band, the Blessing, as well as four new solo tracks from the British country-soul man himself. He delivers a Southern drawl matching the grit of Tom Waits ("Sycamore Street"), holds a soul-tinged heartache ("Sweetheart"), and struts with a sassy swagger on the twangy sweetness of "A Drink Called Love." Reflective and soul-searching, Topley doesn't wallow in the process. His craftsmanship as a solo act and as a bandleader showcases his attractive musical mix. He's not wholeheartedly reserved, although he seeks solace in a common peace. He doesn't slow down either, hearkening like a brooding Nick Cave on "Wake Up (Your Dream Sounds So Sad)." Life's lessons are his template, and Mixed Blessing is Topley's finest inclusion to what he's capable of. He doesn't sell himself short...ever.
BIOGRAPHY
by John Bush
William Topley is a deep-voiced British vocalist with heady literary influences and a taste for the bluesy sound of America's Deep South, as well as the Caribbean rhythms of Jamaican reggae. The leader of the Blessing for two early-'90s albums, Topley earned several fans in the American music industry, including MCA executive Luke Lewis. After Lewis became the president of Mercury Nashville, he signed Topley to a recording contract. Another admirer, longtime Muscle Shoals keyboard session man and producer Barry Beckett, was hired to oversee recording in Nashville for Topley's debut album Black River, released in early 1997. Mixed Blessing, which followed in 1998, exuded a passion for Southern black soul and a gritty country drawl. A year later, Topley toyed around with folk aesthetic and signature loops of Americana for Spanish Wells. The new millennium, however, proved to be Topley's time of rediscovery. Not one to totally stick with what always works, Topley continued his musical experiments, playing with reggae and Cuban sounds inside his deepest songwriting yet for Feasting with Panthers (Lost Highway) in early 2002. Sea Fever and west coast dates with Mark Knopfler followed in 2005.
''MIXED BLESSING''
JULY 7 1998
52:02
1/Wake up (Your Dream Sounds So Sad)
Dominic Miller / William Topley/3:56
2/Sycamore Street
William Topley / Colin Vearncombe/4:20
3/Song of a Seabird
Dominic Miller / William Topley/4:56
4/Sophia
William Topley / Colin Vearncombe/4:32
5/(I Don't Wanna Go) Uptown
Dominic Miller / William Topley/3:58
6/Drink Called Love
Dominic Miller / William Topley/4:34
7/Soul Love/Feat. Cutty Ranks
Luke Brighty / Kevin Hime-Knowles / Cutty Ranks / William Topley / Mike 4:07
8/Sweetheart
William Topley/4:39
9/Highway Five
Luke Brighty / Kevin Hime-Knowles / William Topley / Mike Westergaard/3:46
10/Delta Rain
William Topley/6:05
11/Hurricane Room
William Topley/7:09
Eddie Bayers /Drums
Luke Brighty /Guitar
Geoff Dunn /Drums
James Eller /Bass
Kevin Hime-Knowles /Bass
Bruce Hornsby /Accordion, Guest Artist
Dann Huff /Guitar (Electric)
Jim Kimberley /Drums, Keyboards, Percussion
Donna McElroy /Vocals (Background)
Terry McMillan /Percussion
Dominic Miller /Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Percussion, Producer
Steve Nathan /Keyboards
Don Potter /Guitar (Acoustic)
Cutty Ranks / Performer
Shola /Vocals (Background)
Lisa Silver /Vocals (Background)
Mark Taylor /Keyboards
William Topley /Vocals
Soozie Tyrell /Violin
Colin Vearncombe /Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background)
Willie Weeks /Bass
Mike Westergaard /Keyboards, Percussion
REVIEW
by MacKenzie Wilson
Singer/songwriter William Topley and Sting session man/guitarist Dominic Miller exude a passionate bluesy seduction on Mixed Blessing. This collection includes seven songs by Topley's former band, the Blessing, as well as four new solo tracks from the British country-soul man himself. He delivers a Southern drawl matching the grit of Tom Waits ("Sycamore Street"), holds a soul-tinged heartache ("Sweetheart"), and struts with a sassy swagger on the twangy sweetness of "A Drink Called Love." Reflective and soul-searching, Topley doesn't wallow in the process. His craftsmanship as a solo act and as a bandleader showcases his attractive musical mix. He's not wholeheartedly reserved, although he seeks solace in a common peace. He doesn't slow down either, hearkening like a brooding Nick Cave on "Wake Up (Your Dream Sounds So Sad)." Life's lessons are his template, and Mixed Blessing is Topley's finest inclusion to what he's capable of. He doesn't sell himself short...ever.
BIOGRAPHY
by John Bush
William Topley is a deep-voiced British vocalist with heady literary influences and a taste for the bluesy sound of America's Deep South, as well as the Caribbean rhythms of Jamaican reggae. The leader of the Blessing for two early-'90s albums, Topley earned several fans in the American music industry, including MCA executive Luke Lewis. After Lewis became the president of Mercury Nashville, he signed Topley to a recording contract. Another admirer, longtime Muscle Shoals keyboard session man and producer Barry Beckett, was hired to oversee recording in Nashville for Topley's debut album Black River, released in early 1997. Mixed Blessing, which followed in 1998, exuded a passion for Southern black soul and a gritty country drawl. A year later, Topley toyed around with folk aesthetic and signature loops of Americana for Spanish Wells. The new millennium, however, proved to be Topley's time of rediscovery. Not one to totally stick with what always works, Topley continued his musical experiments, playing with reggae and Cuban sounds inside his deepest songwriting yet for Feasting with Panthers (Lost Highway) in early 2002. Sea Fever and west coast dates with Mark Knopfler followed in 2005.
