The lead off title track sets the tone for this double LP, and is as cool as it gets. In it, Cass describes the lonely and seedy life of a trucker as the last frontiersman, a leftover wanderer, and above all else a real man. The repetitive blues measure rolls along confidently, as Cass sings about freedom.
Big Wheel settles down immediately following to present McCombs' americana-folk-country hybrid in all it's glory. "Angel Blood" swoons and swells, "Morning Star" sits around a campfire at sunup, "Burning the Temple" does just that, if the temple is a smoky jazz club. Themes of pioneers, religion, love, and death make for a pretty heady start, but Cass' delivery is so calm and reasonable, that it seems more like he is thinking out loud than addressing the listener. One of Cass' strengths is the ability to set a mood with a song, and on the lot of Big Wheel, he's a strong as ever.
Expertly divided by "It Means a Lot To Know You Care," a sort of shake-out-the-cobwebs intermission, side two gets back to business with "Dealing," a quiet McCartney-esque story of gambling and then a part two in "Sooner Cheat Death Than Fool Love," one of the record's best tracks. Cass seems to poke fun at religion when he mentions it, but he uses Sean to make the point "there's no god around."
Americana isn't complete without some references to western expansion, and "Home on the Range" has the juxtaposition of feeling like a pioneer in a world that has already been discovered. Pioneering hopes and dreams instead of land. Optimism and possibility. Truth or myth. And, in keeping the mystery of Cass McCombs alive, he closes the LP with a question: "How come you keep your true feelings so well hidden?" Trouble is, with Cass McCombs, we're never sure what's true.
