The album opens with "These Changes." Sometimes I just want a song to make me feel better, feel better about the world, feel better about myself, just feel better. You know? This song does that even before the vocals come in. That guitar work at the beginning sets a beautiful, positive tone. And then when the vocals do come in, we find it's a love song, and not only that, but about starting a family. "Now these changes are coming/They turn two to three." And by the time James sings, "Our love is a light that sets us free," I am smiling, and the horrors of the world have slipped away. This track features some really nice work on flute. "Dressed up in the beauty of all that you are." Yes, yes, yes! Here is a song I think we can all appreciate, and it's over much too soon. It's followed by "Chariot Song." Here are the opening lines: "Chariot of the sun/Take me to that star/A road that goes through justice." Oh yes, I seem to recall something called justice. I'm pretty sure that no longer exists, but it's nice to hear the word again. This track features some good guitar work, and cool stuff on harmonica. "She'll take my hand and lead me/Out into the world at last." I also love the backing vocal work here. There is a kind of loose vibe here that is really appealing. The song returns to those first lines again before the end. But before that, the song's lyrics mention a bird: "I long to be the bird/Who's landed free from harm/Rescued from delusions/Of what we think we are." Bird imagery is encountered throughout the album.
And speaking of bird imagery, the first of three covers on the album is "The Cuckoo Bird." James Houlahan puts his own spin on this traditional number. That's apparent from the track's opening moments, with a great acoustic base and these bright lights flashing across the horizon. I've heard many versions of this song, but I don't think I've ever heard one quite like this. There are some cool, surprising touches that keep us totally engaged, including the use of a jaw harp. And James Houlahan adds some lyrics to it. I love this rendition. It does owe something to some of the great 1960s recordings I've heard; there is a psychedelic element to the song. Then there is some really nice percussion from the start of "All Night." The song does a superb job of establishing the mood, the atmosphere, before James comes in on vocals, the percussion being part of it. "All mixed up, feeling confused/Breaking down, untying my shoes." When a friend arrives with a bottle of gin, maybe things are going to be better. Interestingly, we are then given a part in the song, a character, as James sings, "We stayed up all night/Didn't talk about you." This is a particularly interesting vocal performance, a different approach that is captivating. And though this song employs the dreaded "self"/"shelf" rhyme, it kind of works here, since the bottle that ends up on the shelf has been established. There is some excellent guitar work in the middle, the flute seeming to dance with it briefly. The repetition of the lines "We stayed up all night/Didn't talk about you" have an interesting effect; because on one hand, there is something triumphant about it, like he is over whatever it is he feels he should be over; on the other hand, by repeating "Didn't talk about you" he is talking about that person. I love that vocal section at the end.
The album cover's artwork is by Hieronymous Bosch, the bottom left portion of "The Garden Of Earthly Delights." It features many birds, fitting with the album's title and some of the imagery in the songs. "That Bird & I" is the second song to have a bird in its title. "Before I slept, I took a walk/Through a dark silent canyon wood/There I heard a lone mocking bird/Who was singing a song that I understood." There are some deep tones that reverberate in our chests and echo in our minds, in places we don't often go. In some contrast to that, there is the lighter sound of the mandolin. "Songs of love and songs of pain/Songs of sweet and dark mystery/Our old tunes from voices past/They echo in a grand symphony." After a brief pause, he encourages us, "So let us sing on," and creatures from all around answer the call. What a wonderful effect. This is one of my personal favorite tracks. I love, love, love this song. It's about being a singer, but that includes all of us who, sometimes without apparent reason, find ourselves singing.
A pleasant and pleasing vibe is established right at the beginning of "I Believe In You." There is a nice groove, and I'm digging that beat. There is a joy from the start. "Someday I'm going to rise up singing," James then sings, conjuring Gershwin, and making me think briefly of Janis Joplin ("Summertime" is one of my favorite songs, actually), but also continuing the imagery of the previous song, likening a solitary singer to a bird. "Every sound plays a part," he sings here, which also makes us think of the previous song. We all have a part. "I believe in you/I believe in you." May we all have that special someone in our lives, that person who believes in us, that person we believe in. There is a bit of a Bob Dylan thing happening here, just at certain moments, like on the line "Coming through." This track makes great use of the flute, and I love when the flute and guitar work together. And again I am feeling good about the world, feeling good about being alive. "Maybe we can find a song/That we all can sing along." That's the trick, right? I believe in the power of music, where everything else fails (and everything else has failed, hasn't it?).
The second of the album's covers is Willy Mason's "Carry On," the title track of his 2012 album. James Houlahan delivers an excellent, touching rendition. "I just watch and wonder how we carry on" is one line in particular that stands out in this rendition. How do we? Life is so brief, death taking all of us into oblivion before too long. And before that inevitable end, there is pain. That's followed by "Hurriquake." This one creates an unusual vibe at the start, like a strange siren in nature, some sort of alarm. "I felt an earthquake/In a hurricane," James then sings, and the first time I heard those lines I found myself laughing. If you live in Los Angeles, you most certainly remember this. It wasn't all that long ago (summer of 2023) when we had a hurricane, and in the middle of it, there was an earthquake. Insane, right? The world was laughing at us, and so we had to laugh back. "A strange twist of fate/That you can't explain." This is a wonderful, unusual song, featuring some good percussion. I also love the psychedelic aspect of that instrumental section. "I think I'll sing along/In the pouring rain." Perfect.
"Lucinda" has a surprisingly cheerful, sweet vibe, considering it's about a love's gravesite. "The storm that blew through summer/Knocked down that old oak tree/Upset the grave of Lucinda/I've got no more tears to cry." When there are no more tears, are there smiles? Maybe. This music seems to say so. This is a wonderful folk song, one that could become a standard folk number in years to come. And speaking of folk songs, James Houlahan decides to wrap up this excellent new album with a cover of Richard Fariña's "Joy 'Round My Brain." This song also mentions birds, by the way: "Yeah, those hummingbirds, they were flying upside down." This song also puts politicians in the trees. And why not? This song is a great choice, actually, to end things, with both male and female vocals. We hear the joy of the song, in that vocal work, but also in all the instruments, even the percussion. Hell, there is even some laughter heard during the song. "I'm so happy I could die/I don't know the reason why."
CD Track List
- These Changes
- Chariot Song
- The Cuckoo Bird
- All Night
- That Bird & I
- I Believe In You
- Carry On
- Hurriquake
- Lucinda
- Joy 'Round My Brain
On A Wing was releaed on February 25, 2026.
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