The group's best-known song and sole #1 hit, "Oh Girl" (1972), is typically atypical of the era. Introduced by a forlorn, country-tinged harmonica and anchored by a simple, folksy arrangement, the song paints a picture of a man whose ego is on the brink of collapse - all from his love for a woman. The meandering lyrics only hint at the backstory ("I got a guilty face") while the singer all but wallows in grief. "Pain will double if you leave me now," Record moans, as he grows more isolated and despondent with every couplet. "I feel so out of place," he admits, and that's exactly how he sounds.

In another song, "Here I Am" (1975), Eugene Record let it slip that he needs love "like a junkie needs his fix," and that phrase summarizes well his maladaptive craving for attention. This was one dysfunctional guy - on record, at least. Eugene Record made a career out of sounding (in the words of the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot) like the saddest man on earth. So renowned had the singer become for his romantic misfortune that, after Record departed for a solo career in 1976, the group even recorded a song in his style called "Happy Being Lonely." Altogether, the Chi-Lites' repertoire is unlike any other in the annals of soul music, much of it downright bizarre - nearly psychotic - in its bleak, lonely perspective.

Collecting the Chi-Lites' music, however, can be a tricky proposition. The group's original label, Brunswick, still owns the rights to the Chi-Lites' masters, and their exploitation of that catalog has been capricious - sometimes marvelous, sometimes dreadful. Rhino Records compiled the first - and still definitive - CD overview of the Chi-Lites' oeuvre with Greatest Hits (1992) and Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1996), including a few tracks waxed for other labels late in the group's career. The Chi-Lites' biggest hits were corralled on the first volume, while the second picked up lesser-known gems like Eugene Record's breathtakingly abject "A Lonely Man" and "Yes I'm Ready (If I Don't Get To Go)," perhaps the most Zen-like protest song ever written. But, when Brunswick pulled the license on their tracks, Rhino's invaluable series bit the dust.

Wisely, in 1998 Brunswick issued Greatest Hits themselves, simply slapping a new label on Rhino's package - same cover art, track listing, and everything. But, without the second volume, it's an incomplete picture. Their more recent 20 Greatest Hits (2001) fares much better, compiling all but a handful of the Chi-Lites' 23 charted singles. At two CD's, The Ultimate Chi-Lites (2006) is more generous, but it omits some excellent tracks (e.g. "Yes I'm Ready," "Give It Away"). Over the years, though, Brunswick has played volleyball with the Chi-Lites' masters, leasing them to record labels both good and evil; between the crappy bargain discs and some bogus re-recordings floating around, caveat emptor.

The better products tend to be issued in England, where groups like the Chi-Lites are held in the highest regard. The Edsel label, in particular, has issued some wonderful packages - namely their three-disc boxed set, Too Good To Be Forgotten or their 20-song sampler, Hit Highlights From The Chi-Lites (both 1998). Devoted fans, however, should seek out Edsel's later, more exhaustive Complete Chi-Lites On Brunswick series, a total of four compact discs compiling every track from the Chi-Lites' eight LP's for Brunswick - plus bonus tracks! Brunswick themselves has reissued many of the Chi-lites' original albums - including such powerhouse platters as Give More Power To The People (1971) and A Lonely Man (1972) - but it's hard to imagine a better deal than Edsel's nice-and-neat compendium.

But enough of this piffle - the point is to listen to the music. I challenge any student of soul music - hell, anyone with a frickin' heart - to listen to the Chi-Lites and not go completely apeshit. This was gorgeous, passionate, occasionally outrageous music - and it stands as a monument to the talents of Eugene Record. With his strong, unadorned tenor, meticulously constructed arrangements, and harrowing, honest lyrics, Record and his bandmates combined to create some of the last great soul records in history. The Chi-Lites, in the words of their 1974 single, were indeed too good to be forgotten. [top of page]