Customer Reviews

Lonely Man

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If you are a True CHI-LITES fan then there is no doubt that you were waiting like me for this to be released on CD and will just press the send to be button! You already know what listening to THE COLDEST DAYS OF MY LIFE can do to a person on a lonely night so you already know what EUGENE RECORD is singing about on A LONELY MAN my second favorite. You need this one for your old school collection. Aside from Eugene Record's vocals the music is great! JUST DO IT............PRESS SEND

Like most white fans of the group, I suppose, I didn't get hip to the Chi-Lites until the fall of 1971 - my senior year in high school - when "Have You Seen Her" crossed over Big Time. That's all it took and I was a rabid fan immediately; even the flip side ("Yes I'm Ready If I Don't Get To Go") was great for repeated playing. It was time to play quick-catch up, as I determinedly did. My 45s collection runs all the way back to their 1969 cover of "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," to their last Brunswick single in 1976, "You Don't Have To Go." It's a fine collection I have still, and I jealously love it.

The "Lonely Man" album happened upon me at a time when I could not have better identified with it's theme - I was unhappily broken up, broke, and at very loose ends - the perfect audience for this LP's, "The Coldest Days of My Life." Life got better, but for the moment, Mr. Eugene Record's lyrics gave voice to my very soul. He's frighteningly realistic in his tale of despair, and one worried that, after he did this lead vocal, he might have looked for a bridge to leap from. It's That Sad. But as soul music, it's unbeatable. As one issue of Rolling Stone Album Guide observed, no black group ever more daringly or more successfully spoke to the idea of masculine vulnerability like the Chi-Lites. Special effects like a forlorn harmonica and wind machines were never in better hands, either. Perhaps hesitant to release "Days" entire 8:30 length as a single side, Brunswick put it out as a 'Part1/Part 2,' which probably wasn't a good idea - this song shouldn't be interrupted. But even in that formulation, it did well.

Speaking of singles, "Oh Girl" of course, was the biggest success here, and certainly drove this album's sales nicely, but the title song (whose entire 6:23 length went on one side) and "Living In The Footsteps of Another Man" all made it out as 45s, and those three plus both parts of "Days" made it into the group's first "Greatest Hits" set later the same year.

While you really can't go wrong with any of the Chi-Lites material from their Brunswick days, this album appeared when they were at their very zenith of success, and it's a gem. It was originally Brunswick LP No. 754179, and released in April 1972.

1972. I was completing my freshman year in college and what better way to exemplify and embellish that year is "Oh, Girl", the monster hit from "A Lonely Man".

Not only is this disc pure soul, it is one that surely befits the label as one of "soundtracks of a generation".

The Late Eugene Record was not only a great vocalist, but he was an outstanding writer. His lyrics conveyed love and pain in a way many of today's R&B "young boys" could only hope to imitate.."Oh Girl" left you wanting to plead on his behalf for his woman to stay and "Coldest Days Of My Life" has to be one of the saddest songs I have ever heard..This one actually bought me to tears with its swirling winds,meloncholy strings, and heartbroken harmonies, told you this was a love lost with no hope of recovery..These were the songs that I grew up on and miss so much..If you are a Chilites fan, or just a devotee of the type of soul music that gets your attention and grips you, pick this one up..R.I.P. Eugene and thank you and your bandmates for some outstanding music..

The Chi-Lites are a fantastic soul group with sky high heavenly harmony and a wonderful, make-you-melt falsetto/tenor by Eugene Record. 1972's A Lonely Man is the epitome of soft, ballad soul. I love the strings and sweet melody of all the songs here. Each song is a winner, and there are a few here that are among my favorite soul jams all together. "Oh Girl" is one of those emotionally charged ballads that will make you tear up, even the hardest of the hard will well up to this one. The song shows the vulnerability of a man who worries about a woman leaving him and what he would do if she did. I love the harmonica, which adds to the emotional depth of the song. "A Lonely Man" is one of those 6 minute ballads that will also melt your heart, and perfectly exemplifies the perfect vocal harmony. This song is a little similar in tone and vibe to "Have You Seen Her" (1971) with the harmony and balladry of the song. "Love Is" is a song defining the aspects of true love based on how people act, yet again another beautiful jam. A noticeable difference between this and the previous album, 1971's (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People" is that there is less upbeat funk here, and more balladry (I am more of a fan of ballad/soft soul FYI: though that other album is another winner IMO). Any one who loves the Delfonics (my fav group), The Stylistics, The Spinners.... will absolutely love the Chi-Lites. This album definitely shows a soul group at its best. This remaster cd is well-done with awesome sound quality. This record showcases an immensely talented group from Chicago. It will remind you of the ballad soul of Philly soul. I guess most people who grew up in the 70's to the soul explosion probably already have had the album for decades and loved it, but young people could definitely groove to this classy soul. From the mind of a young 20 something, your parents and elders DO know what great music really is. For any hip-hop heads out there, Paul Wall, a Houston rapper, has a laid back song called "Girl" which samples "Oh Girl."

A great classic R&B disc by a great group! "Oh Girl" and "The Coldest Days of My Life" shine on this disc. Five stars...