Hourglass (James Taylor album)

Updated on Nov 22, 2024

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Released May 20, 1997 Label Columbia Release date 20 May 1997		Length 51:51 Artist James Taylor

Recorded December 1996Chalker's Creek, Martha's Vineyard, MassachusettsWestlake Audio, West Hollywood, CaliforniaRight Track Studios, New York City Hourglass(1997) Greatest Hits Volume 2(2000) Producers Frank Filipetti, James Taylor Genres Rock music, Pop music, Folk music, Country pop Awards Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Similar James Taylor albums, Rock music albums

James taylor enough to be on your way

Hourglass is singer-songwriter James Taylor's fourteenth studio album. Taylor's first studio album in six years was released in 1997 to glowing notices. It built upon the success of his previous effort, New Moon Shine.

Hourglass was an introspective album that earned Taylor his best critical reviews in almost twenty years. The album's lyrics focused largely on Taylor's troubled past and family. "Jump Up Behind Me" paid tribute to his father's rescue of him after The Flying Machine days, and the long drive from New York City back to his home in Chapel Hill. "Enough to Be On Your Way" was inspired by the alcoholism-related death of his brother Alex earlier in the decade. The themes were also inspired by Taylor's divorce from actress Kathryn Walker, which took place in 1996. Rolling Stone found that "one of the themes of this record is disbelief", while Taylor told the magazine that it was "spirituals for agnostics." Critics embraced the dark themes on the album, and Hourglass was a huge commercial success, reaching #9 on the Billboard 200 (Taylor's first Top 10 album in sixteen years) and also provided a big adult contemporary hit on "Little More Time With You". The album also gave Taylor his first Grammy since JT, when he was honored with Best Pop Album in 1998.

There is an Enhanced CD version of the album containing interviews, photos, and videos.