Hourglass (America album)
| Hourglass | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by America | ||||
| Released | May 17, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Genre | Pop, rock | |||
| Length | 48:16 | |||
| Label | American Gramaphone | |||
| Producer | Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, Steve Levine | |||
| America chronology | ||||
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Hourglass is the thirteenth original studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by American Gramaphone in 1994 (see 1994 in music). This was America's first new studio album since 1984's "Perspective". Two singles released from the album, "Young Moon" and "Hope", did get some airplay in the U.S. but neither charted. The two songs did receive even more airplay in Europe. The song "Hope" became a theme song for the TJ Martell Foundation and was recorded by a group of country music stars in a fundraising effort for the Foundation. The recording of "You Can Do Magic" included here is not the hit version but a re-recording that is very similar.
It is the first America album since the departure of Dan Peek to resume the tradition of giving their albums titles beginning with "H", which had been their practice from Homecoming to Harbor. Three subsequent studio albums have continued this tradition before 2011's Back Pages broke with it once more.
Actor/musician Bill Mumy contributed to this album, co-writing 'Sleeper Train' and 'Greenhouse' and providing additional guitar work.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
Allmusic gave a positive review of the album, asserting that it "sounds both familiar and fresh" and that the songs are uniformly excellent, a surprise for a band as old as America. They particularly noted that the opening track "Young Moon" "is as good as any of the group's hits."[1]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Young Moon" | Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell | 4:27 |
| 2. | "Hope" | Beckley | 5:21 |
| 3. | "Sleeper Train" | Bunnell, Bill Mumy, Robert Haimer | 4:20 |
| 4. | "Mirror To Mirror" | Beckley | 4:08 |
| 5. | "Garden Of Peace" | Beckley, Bunnell | 4:21 |
| 6. | "Call Of The Wild" | Beckley | 3:17 |
| 7. | "Whole Wide World" | Bunnell | 3:25 |
| 8. | "Close To The Wind" | Beckley, Steve Levine | 5:33 |
| 9. | "Greenhouse" | Bunnell, Mumy, Haimer | 2:35 |
| 10. | "Ports-Of-Call" | Beckley, Bunnell | 4:11 |
| 11. | "Everyone I Meet Is From California" | Dan Peek | 2:51 |
| 12. | "You Can Do Magic" | Russ Ballard | 3:44 |