SHOULD we revisit younger dreams as adults? How does this help? Ray Davies has only himself to compete with in the songwriting laureate stakes, but has always been susceptible to a concept.

Unlike the village greens on which his reputation rests, here he achieves a long-held dream to realise an Americana record. The Kinks were memorably banned from touring the States in 1965 (recounted here in The Invaders), stoking his interest and ire and fuelling this record.

The Deal laconically tells the story of such a newcomer, more Randy Newman than new pretender. The Great Highway is Bruce Springsteen with a withering Brit eye. On paper, recording with The Jayhawks is an inspired move, and while they prove versatile and authentic, they also serve to make themselves anonymous, with little of their trademark soaring harmonies.

Singer Karen Grotberg proves an able foil for Davies’s more weary voice on A Place In Your Heart. The songs are deceptively well put together with great variety, steering just the right side of pastiche, and knowing lyrics. A late career highlight.