1. Young Moon
2. Hope
3. Sleeper Train
4. Mirror To Mirror
5. Garden Of Peace
6. Call Of The Wild
7. Whole Wide World
8. Close To The Wind
9. Greenhouse
10. Ports-Of-Call

Having really lost out in the 80's, America decided to return again in the 90's; After all, the 90's was far more sympathetic to 70's-ish folk and rock than the spandex decade. America were treading a little carefully here, trying to mix their 80's sound with their 70's sound, without fully going back to their roots.

Actually, one thing noticeable here is that Dewey's songs are very 70's and folky, while, except for "Call of the Wild" Gerry's song are more synth-rock. Synth rock doesn't really suit their style, I would say.

Dewey's slew of folk-rock gems, "Sleeper Train", "Garden of peace" and "Whole wide world", while having a more electronic rhythm than, say, "Ventura Highway", they are, essentially, as good as anything in their heyday. On top of that you get the powerful "Young Moon", with "Greenhouse" a semi-failed attempt at a more rocking sound.

Gerry tries to be a bit fashionable here, with really slick production on his songs, but it doesn't suit. "Ports of call"... this song is absolutely terrible. I know it's meant to be really nice, but it falls flat. "Close to the wind" sounds a lot like "Coastlines" from "Alibi", but the vocals get a bit buried in the mix, during the verses, and suddenly leap out at you during the chorus... if they'd put as much effort into the verse as the chorus then this song might work better. "Hope" is a really good song but "Mirror to Mirror"... yikes! The intro just screams 1988, but it actually pains me to pick on this song, the chorus is one of the best choruses to any America song.

Despite some people claiming that latter-day albums from this band aren't very good, "Hourglass" has A LOT to offer. Their biggest fault is that they don't really understand what their strengths and weaknesses are, often dabbling in styles that don't suit them, but this is a good listen.
1. Young Moon
2. Hope
3. Sleeper Train
4. Mirror To Mirror
5. Garden Of Peace
6. Call Of The Wild
7. Whole Wide World
8. Close To The Wind
9. Greenhouse
10. Ports-Of-Call

Having really lost out in the 80's, America decided to return again in the 90's; After all, the 90's was far more sympathetic to 70's-ish folk and rock than the spandex decade. America were treading a little carefully here, trying to mix their 80's sound with their 70's sound, without fully going back to their roots. Actually, one thing noticeable here is that Dewey's songs are very 70's and folky, while, except for "Call of the Wild" Gerry's song are more synth-rock. Synth rock doesn't really suit their style, I would say. Dewey's slew of folk-rock gems, "Sleeper Train", "Garden of peace" and "Whole wide world", while having a more electronic rhythm than, say, "Ventura Highway", they are, essentially, as good as anything in their heyday. On top of that you get the powerful "Young Moon", with "Greenhouse" a semi-failed attempt at a more rocking sound. Gerry tries to be a bit fashionable here, with really slick production on his songs, but it doesn't suit. "Ports of call"... this song is absolutely terrible. I know it's meant to be really nice, but it falls flat. "Close to the wind" sounds a lot like "Coastlines" from "Alibi", but the vocals get a bit buried in the mix, during the verses, and suddenly leap out at you during the chorus... if they'd put as much effort into the verse as the chorus then this song might work better. "Hope" is a really good song but "Mirror to Mirror"... yikes! The intro just screams 1988, but it actually pains me to pick on this song, the chorus is one of the best choruses to any America song. Despite some people claiming that latter-day albums from this band aren't very good, "Hourglass" has A LOT to offer. Their biggest fault is that they don't really understand what their strengths and weaknesses are, often dabbling in styles that don't suit them, but this is a good listen.