Following the lifting of the ban and their return to the US, the Kinks released the country rock-tinged Muswell Hillbillies (1971), with Davies' writing exploring the influences of American culture on his North London upbringing.

[6] Davies' US connections were strengthened when the Kinks successfully reinvented themselves as an arena rock act, extensively touring North America in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

[10] Following the release of the book, Davies decided to expand the Americana project with an accompanying album, his first of new solo material since Working Man's Café in 2007.

The album was recorded at the Kinks' Konk studios in Hornsey, London, with American country rock group the Jayhawks as Davies' backing band.

[15] In his review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine says, "What makes it last are the songs, which are wry, moving, and truthful, which wasn't always the case in his book".