The "proper" in the 2020 anthology The Proper Years refers to the Proper label, the imprint Bill Kirchen called home between 2006 and 2010. During that time, he released three albums -- 2006's Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods, 2010's Word to the Wise, and 2013's Seeds and Stems -- all of which are featured on this double-disc set, along with selected cuts from Transatlanticana, the 2016 album the guitarist cut with Eggs Over Easy keyboardist Austin DeLone. All this means that The Proper Years is light on unheard material but it does have snappy liner notes from Kirchen himself, and it's a convenient way to get these fine albums all at once. When the three LPs are compressed into a two-CD set, the result is high-octane Bakersfield boogie that is as much fun in its first hour as it is in its last.