America's 18th album, Hourglass, sounds both familiar and fresh.
The familiarity arises because of the duo's history of hits, although, by the time it was released, they had not had a hit on the music charts in over a decade.
The freshness comes from a well-produced album with some surprisingly good songs.
The album opens with "Young Moon," which is as good as any of the group's hits.
The final selection on the album is a faithful re-recording of one of their biggest hits, "You Can Do Magic." In between are ten fine, listenable songs, which is rare for a group that has been together for as long as America.
Tunes that standout include "Hope," "Close to the Wind," and "Whole Wide World." "Everyone I Meet Is From California," by former group member Dan Peek, is also included.
Hourglass features string arrangements by Chip Davis, of Mannheim Steamroller fame, and vocals by the late Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys.
Note that America continues their tradition of naming their albums with words starting with the letter "H.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Young MoonGerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell | America | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | HopeGerry Beckley | America | Play | 05:21 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 3 | Sleeper TrainDewey Bunnell, Robert Haimer | America | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | Mirror to MirrorGerry Beckley | America | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | Garden of PeaceGerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell | America | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | Call of the WildGerry Beckley | America | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | Whole Wide WorldDewey Bunnell | America | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 8 | Close to the WindGerry Beckley | America | Play | 05:33 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 9 | GreenhouseDewey Bunnell, Robert Haimer, Bill Mumy | America | Play | 02:35 | 5 MB | 17 MB |
| 10 | Ports-Of-CallGerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell | America | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | Everyone I Meet Is from CaliforniaGerry Beckley, Dan Peek | America | Play | 02:51 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 12 | You Can Do MagicRuss Ballard, Gerry Beckley | America | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 48 mins | 110 MB | |||||
| 48 mins | 312 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | America | Primary Artist |
| 2 | Russ Ballard | Composer |
| 3 | Gerry Beckley | Arranger, Bass, Composer, Drum Programming, Drums, Drums (Bass), Engineer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Harmonica, Keyboard Programming, Keyboards, Mandolin, Percussion, Percussion Programming, Producer, Vocals |
| 4 | John Boylan | Programming |
| 5 | Dewey Bunnell | Arranger, Composer, Guitar, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | Ron Dabbs | Engineer |
| 7 | Chip Davis | Arranger, Orchestration, String Arrangements |
| 8 | Henry Diltz | Photography |
| 9 | Joe Gastwirt | Mastering |
| 10 | Joey Gulizia | Congas, Percussion |
| 11 | Robert Haimer | Composer |
| 12 | Jennifer Hersch | Art Direction |
| 13 | David Hirsch | Art Direction |
| 14 | The Hour Glass | Primary Artist |
| 15 | The Hourglass | Performer |
| 16 | Willie Leacox | Drums |
| 17 | Steve Levine | Arranger, Drum Programming, Engineer, Keyboards, Producer, Programming |
| 18 | Hank Linderman | Assistant Producer, Engineer, Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (Steel), Lap Steel Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Mark Linett | Mixing |
| 20 | Bill Mumy | Composer |
| 21 | Brad Palmer | Guitar (Bass) |
| 22 | Dan Peek | Composer |
| 23 | Jeff Sheehan | Engineer |
| 24 | Doug Van Sloun | Engineer |
| 25 | Carl Wilson | Vocals (Background) |
| 26 | Michael Woods | Guitar (Electric) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |