Hourglass

Performer: James Taylor (Soft Rock)
Artist: Sting; Shawn Colvin; Ross Traut; Yo-Yo Ma; Valerie Carter; Branford Marsalis; David Lasley; Stevie Wonder; Michael Brecker
Engineer: Frank Filipetti
Producer: Frank Filipetti; James Taylor
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: HOURGLASS is an Enhanced CD containing both a full audio program as well as multimedia computer files. Personnel: James Taylor (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, penny whistle); Valerie Carter, David Lasley, Kate Markowitz, Arnold McCuller, Shawn Colvin, Jill Dell'Abate, Sting (vocals); Bob Mann (guitar); Dan Dugmore (pedal steel guitar); Ross Traut (high strung guitar); Mark O'Connor (fiddle); Yo-Yo Ma (cello); Stevie Wonder (harmonica); Branford Marsalis (soprano & alto saxophones); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Clifford Carter (keyboards); Jimmy Johnson (bass); Edgar Meyer (acoustic bass); Carlos Vega (drums, percussion). Recorded at Chalker's Creek, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts; Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, California; Right Track Studios, New York, New York. HOURGLASS won the 1998 Grammy Awards for Best Pop Album and for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. This is a multi-channel Super Audio CD playable only on Super Audio CD players. Personnel: James Taylor (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, penny whistle); Valerie Carter, David Lasley, Kate Markowitz, Arnold McCuller, Shawn Colvin, Jill Dell'Abate, Sting (vocals); Bob Mann (guitar); Dan Dugmore (pedal steel guitar); Ross Traut (high strung guitar); Mark O'Connor (fiddle); Yo-Yo Ma (cello); Stevie Wonder (harmonica); Branford Marsalis (soprano & alto saxophones); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Clifford Carter (keyboards); Jimmy Johnson (bass); Edgar Meyer (acoustic bass); Carlos Vega (drums, percussion). Recorded at Chalker's Creek, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts; Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, California; Right Track Studios, New York, New York. HOURGLASS won the 1998 Grammy Awards for Best Pop Album and for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. This is a Super Audio CD playable only on Super Audio CD players. James Taylor stopped pushing himself into new musical and lyrical territories in the late '70s, so it doesn't come as a great surprise that Hourglass, his first studio album in six years, doesn't offer anything new -- it's a collection of pleasant, melodic, simple songs about love, family, and social activism. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since Taylor has a gift for such material, and on Hourglass, he sounds as good as ever. The music, in many ways, has greater depth than previous records, since it features cameos from such heavy hitters as Stevie Wonder, Yo-Yo Ma, Shawn Colvin, Michael Brecker, Mark O'Connor, and Branford Marsalis. There are a few songs that fall a little flat, failing to make much of an impression one way or the other, but on the whole, Hourglass is a nice addition to his catalog. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine James Taylor is the godfather of the sensitive singer-songwriter movement of the '70s that clogged the charts with introspective folk-rock ballads and kept scores of troubadour manques up to their well-studied navels in champagne and caviar. He was the Nirvana to that generation's Bush and Stone Temple Pilots, an innovator besieged by imitators. But his '70s-godhead status hasn't hurt him any; he just keeps confessing and crooning on. HOURGLASS more or less follows the path of the last several Taylor releases: precisely articulated, carefully constructed songs that favor soft, muted colors over anything too brash or aggressive; and sinuous, literary songs delivered in Taylor's smooth, relaxed croon. True to form, Taylor pushes all the right boomer buttons on HOURGLASS. The opening cut begins with Richard Nixon's impeachment, and then turns into the kind of inward-looking self-exploration that is Taylor's specialty. James Taylor is the godfather of the sensitive singer-songwriter movement of the '70s that clogged the charts with introspective folk-rock ballads and kept scores of troubadour manques up to their well-studied navels in champagne and caviar. He was the Nirvana to that generation's Bush and Stone Temple Pilots, an innovator besieged by imitators. But his '70s-godhead status hasn't hurt him any; he just keeps confessing and crooning on. HOURGLASS more or less follows the path of the last several Taylor releases: precisely articulated, carefully constructed songs that favor soft, muted colors over anything too brash or aggressive; and sinuous, literary songs delivered in Taylor's smooth, relaxed croon. True to form, Taylor pushes all the right boomer buttons on HOURGLASS. The opening cut begins with Richard Nixon's impeachment, and then turns into the kind of inward-looking self-exploration that is Taylor's specialty.

Rolling Stone (5/29/97, p.49) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...HOURGLASS glows with the wistful contentment of a man who has lived fully and learned well....change and rebirth are recurring themes..." Rolling Stone (5/29/97, p.49) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...HOURGLASS glows with the wistful contentment of a man who has lived fully and learned well....change and rebirth are recurring themes..." Entertainment Weekly (5/23/97, p.64) - "...contains few musical surprises. But fans will find it utterly warm and comforting....And his happiness at just singin' is palpable." - Rating: B Entertainment Weekly (5/23/97, p.64) - "...contains few musical surprises. But fans will find it utterly warm and comforting....And his happiness at just singin' is palpable." - Rating: B

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