The Proper Years

Bill Kirchen

Telecaster master Bill Kirchen was right there at the BIG BANG of Americana as a founding member Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen in 1967. Playing guitar has been his only job ever since. Over a ten-year period commencing in 2006, he made albums exclusively at Proper Records’ SPECIFIC SOUND studio in London – until it was demolished when we moved premises.

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All thirty-eight tracks including some bonus material are available in this two-CD set. Guests include Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Paul Carrack, Commander Cody, Dan Hicks, Maria Muldaur, Butch Hancock and more in this tour-de-force of Americana.

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Tracklisting: CD 1:
 
1.     Hammer Of The Honky-Tonk Gods  2:28
2.     Rocks Into Sand  3:27
3.     Get A Little Goner  2:44
4.     Skid Row In My Mind  4:23
5.     Working Man 2:57
6.     Soul Cruisin’ 3:36
7.     Truth Be Told 2:54
8.     Devil With The Blue Dress 3:25
9.     One More Day 2:57
10.  Heart Of Gold 3:36
11.  If It’s Really Got To Be This Way) 3:11
12.  Bump Wood 4:11
13.  Shelly’s Winter Love (with Paul Carrack and Nick Lowe) 4:32
14 . Man In The Bottom Of The Well (with Elvis Costello) 4:36
15.  I Don’t Work That Cheap (with Commander Cody) 2:53
16.  Time Will Tell The Story 4:17
17.  Husbands And Wives (with Chris O’Connell)3:14
18.  Open Range (with Blackie Farrell) 4:29
19.  Arkansas Diamond 3:34
 
CD 2
1.     Word To The Wise (with Dan Hicks) 2:49
2.     Ain’t Got Time For The Blues (with MariaMuldaur) 3:53
3.     Valley Of The Moon (with Norton Buffalo) 2:54
4.     Too Much Fun 2:41
5.     Tell Me The Reason 3:04
6.     Down To Seeds And Stems 4:02
7.     Semi-Truck 2:10
8.     Rockabilly Funeral 4:16
9.     Womb To The Tomb 3:59
10.  Flip Flop 3:30
11.  Swing Fever 3:14
12.  It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry 5:17
13.  Truck Stop At The End Of The World 3:14
14.  Mama Hated Diesels 4:56
15.  Hot Rod Lincoln 7:45
16.  Talkin’ About Chicken 3:06
17.  Think It Over (with Austin de Lone) 2:47
18.  Oxblood (with Butch Hancock) 3:47
19.  The Times They Are A-Changin’ (with Austin de Lone) 5:26
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The Proper Years

Telecaster master Bill Kirchen was right there at the BIG BANG of Americana as a founding member Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen in 1967. Playing guitar has been his only job ever since. Over a ten-year period commencing in 2006, he made albums exclusively at Proper Records’ SPECIFIC SOUND studio in London – until it was demolished when we moved premises.

‍

All thirty-eight tracks including some bonus material are available in this two-CD set. Guests include Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Paul Carrack, Commander Cody, Dan Hicks, Maria Muldaur, Butch Hancock and more in this tour-de-force of Americana.

‍

Tracklisting: CD 1:
 
1.     Hammer Of The Honky-Tonk Gods  2:28
2.     Rocks Into Sand  3:27
3.     Get A Little Goner  2:44
4.     Skid Row In My Mind  4:23
5.     Working Man 2:57
6.     Soul Cruisin’ 3:36
7.     Truth Be Told 2:54
8.     Devil With The Blue Dress 3:25
9.     One More Day 2:57
10.  Heart Of Gold 3:36
11.  If It’s Really Got To Be This Way) 3:11
12.  Bump Wood 4:11
13.  Shelly’s Winter Love (with Paul Carrack and Nick Lowe) 4:32
14 . Man In The Bottom Of The Well (with Elvis Costello) 4:36
15.  I Don’t Work That Cheap (with Commander Cody) 2:53
16.  Time Will Tell The Story 4:17
17.  Husbands And Wives (with Chris O’Connell)3:14
18.  Open Range (with Blackie Farrell) 4:29
19.  Arkansas Diamond 3:34
 
CD 2
1.     Word To The Wise (with Dan Hicks) 2:49
2.     Ain’t Got Time For The Blues (with MariaMuldaur) 3:53
3.     Valley Of The Moon (with Norton Buffalo) 2:54
4.     Too Much Fun 2:41
5.     Tell Me The Reason 3:04
6.     Down To Seeds And Stems 4:02
7.     Semi-Truck 2:10
8.     Rockabilly Funeral 4:16
9.     Womb To The Tomb 3:59
10.  Flip Flop 3:30
11.  Swing Fever 3:14
12.  It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry 5:17
13.  Truck Stop At The End Of The World 3:14
14.  Mama Hated Diesels 4:56
15.  Hot Rod Lincoln 7:45
16.  Talkin’ About Chicken 3:06
17.  Think It Over (with Austin de Lone) 2:47
18.  Oxblood (with Butch Hancock) 3:47
19.  The Times They Are A-Changin’ (with Austin de Lone) 5:26
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REVIEWS

So for those new to Kirchen’s frisky Americana charms, The Proper Years should entice you to follow his 50 years of dieselbilly, and experience one of the finest and perhaps most overlooked artists in America’s roots/country genre. ~ Hal Horowitz, American Songwriter.
"...The Proper Years could very well be his finest collected work." ~ JD Nash, American Blues Scene

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