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  1. #1
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    The Chi-Lites "Too Good To Be Forgotten" 2CD set [Edsel UK] [3/18/2022]

    On June 17, 2020, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the City of Los Angeles, announced that the iconic multi-million selling soul/R&B band, THE CHI-LITES, would be honoured in their Class of 2021, by receiving a star on Hollywood Boulevard on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

    On 30th September 2021, with family friends and other soul legends in attendance, including their legendary label mate, Gene Chandler, Marshall Thompson, co-Founder and last surviving member of THE CHI-LITES, accepted the honour on behalf of the band.

    Although they had formed nine years earlier, it was when the Band met record producer Carl Davis in 1968 that they signed a contract with Brunswick Records. They began to achieve commercial recognition and success, with songs predominantly written and composed by band member Eugene Record, who was also their lead singer, although their first charting song, ‘Give It Away’ [US R&B Chart #10] was co-written by Record, with producer Carl Davis.

    THE CHI-LITES released more than 15 studio albums and registered on the UK chart on nine occasions, with five Top 10 entries, one of them being the Double-A sided reissue ‘Have You Seen Her’/’Oh Girl’.

    In 1976, THE CHI-LITES switched labels from Brunswick to Mercury and recorded two albums ‘Happy Being Lonely’ [1976] and ‘The Fantastic Chi-Lites’ [1977], before teaming-up again with Carl Davis on his own Chi-Sound records label, to record 1980’s ‘Heavenly Body’ and 1981’s ‘Me And You’.

    This 38-track/2CD set covers the period 1969-1983 and includes all of their UK hits, as well as most of their international hits. The album also features their original version of ‘Troubles A’ Comin’, which was recently released by The Rolling Stones, despite having been recorded in 1979.

    The collection ends in the hard-to-find early-‘80s UK soul weekender classic ‘Changing For You’, which proved that even in the changing musical landscape, THE CHI-LITES were still a force more than a dozen years after their first charting UK single….and more than 40 years later, with their barn-storming ‘Are You My Woman [Tell Me So]’, the intro from which, being famously and expertly sampled by Beyoncé [and featuring Jay-Z], for her worldwide 2003 hit and Transatlantic #1, ‘Crazy In Love’.

    Tracklist
    [CD1]
    1. Are You My Woman [Tell Me So]
    2. I Found Sunshine
    3. We Are Neighbours
    4. Troubles A' Comin’
    5. Don't Burn No Bridges - [Jackie Wilson & The Chi-Lites]
    6. [For God's Sake] Give More Power To The People
    7. The Man & The Woman [The Boy & The Girl]
    8. The Devil Is Doing His Work
    9. Inner City Blues [Makes Me Wanna Holler]
    10. Stoned Out Of My Mind
    11. We Need Order
    12. You Got To Be The One
    13. Here I Am
    14. That's How Long
    15. There'll Never Be Any Peace [Until God Is Seated At The Conference Table]
    16. It's Time For Love
    17. My First Mistake
    18. Vanishing Love - Single Version
    19. You Don't Have To Go

    [CD2]
    1. Too Good To Be Forgotten
    2. Oh Girl
    3. A Letter To Myself
    4. The Coldest Days Of My Life [Pt 1]
    5. Have You Seen Her
    6. A Lonely Man
    7. I Like Your Lovin' [Do You Like Mine]
    8. 24 Hours Of Sadness
    9. My Heart Just Keeps On Breakin’
    10. Give It Away
    11. Let Me Be The Man My Daddy Was
    12. I Want To Pay You Back [For Loving Me] - Single Version
    13. Homely Girl
    14. If I Had A Girl
    15. Happy Being Lonely - Single Version
    16. Heavenly Body - [The Chi-Lites feat. Eugene Record]
    17. Me And You - [The Chi-Lites feat. Eugene Record]
    18. Hot On A Thing [Called Love] - [The Chi-Lites feat. Eugene Record]
    19. Changing For You

    Amazon USA
    Available for pre-order soon:
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PMFY97H/?tag=imwan-20

    Amazon UK
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09PMFY97H/?tag=imwan-21




  2. #2
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    You find great things, MEd! I love the Chi-Lites and have been aced out of collections in the past. I'll definitely pick up this one -

  3. #3
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    Looks like a great collection!

  4. #4
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    I'm spotting one Motown song:



    I wasn't expecting this, quite a disturbing rendition..... more angst ...I hear a haunting suffering at the end ...

    Listening, it seems to me the title could've been, THIS AIN'T LIVIN' [THROW UP BOTH MY HANDS ]
    Last edited by Boogiedown; 01-13-2022 at 03:39 PM.

  5. #5
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    It'll be great if it includes the original mix of "Have You Seen Her?", which was MIA even on The Compete Chi-Lites On Brunswick set.

    I have this track on 13 CDs and the original mix only appears once, and that is on a very old UK Various Artists 'love' compilation.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by TomatoTom123 View Post
    Looks like a great collection!
    In your country,Tom, there was / is a reissue label named "Charly" that issued 2 [or 3] full-album sets of the Chi's that I missed out on and are now over $100 on the eBay. So our own MotownEddie's recommendation is a must!

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sotosound View Post
    It'll be great if it includes the original mix of "Have You Seen Her?", which was MIA even on The Compete Chi-Lites On Brunswick set.

    I have this track on 13 CDs and the original mix only appears once, and that is on a very old UK Various Artists 'love' compilation.
    Interesting. I did not know of different mixes. Have you a favorite?

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sotosound View Post
    It'll be great if it includes the original mix of "Have You Seen Her?", which was MIA even on The Compete Chi-Lites On Brunswick set.

    I have this track on 13 CDs and the original mix only appears once, and that is on a very old UK Various Artists 'love' compilation.
    Brunswick Records remixed many of the group's songs for their Chi-Lites Greatest Hits set which came out in fall 1972 and [in most cases] they have been using these mixes ever since. When Rhino Records issued their Chi-Lites Greatest Hits set in 1992, they went back to the original mixes [along with "Have You Seen Her"] of the songs [while this set and their follow up Vol.2 from 1996 are out of print, they are great collections of The Chi-Lites work].

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Motown Eddie View Post
    Brunswick Records remixed many of the group's songs for their Chi-Lites Greatest Hits set which came out in fall 1972 and [in most cases] they have been using these mixes ever since. When Rhino Records issued their Chi-Lites Greatest Hits set in 1992, they went back to the original mixes [along with "Have You Seen Her"] of the songs [while this set and their follow up Vol.2 from 1996 are out of print, they are great collections of The Chi-Lites work].
    Many thanks.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    Interesting. I did not know of different mixes. Have you a favorite?
    Sorry. Missed your question.

    I prefer the original mix as it is slightly drier and, I suspect, had more time spent on it. Also, I do tend to prefer whichever version I hear and become accustomed to first. [Geez! I'm human after all.]

    Back in 1975, the track was reissued in the UK on single c/w "Oh Girl" and made number five in the singles chart. This single was taken from a 16-track UK Greatest Hits" album, which also charted very well. The album and single both used the remixes.

    At that time, a friend said that she preferred the remix because the heavy reverb on the vocal harmonies in the intro gave more of a sense of loneliness.

    As far as I can tell from listening, the remixes appear to have been done shortly after Brunswick got a new reverb unit in their studio and decided to use it almost to excess. So the remixes all sound very similar to my ears and possibly weren't given the same TLC as the original mixes were probably given.

    This is all speculation, however, and I suspect that another forum member will provide the real facts.

    Motown Eddie? Soulster?

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sotosound View Post
    Sorry. Missed your question.

    I prefer the original mix as it is slightly drier and, I suspect, had more time spent on it. Also, I do tend to prefer whichever version I hear and become accustomed to first. [Geez! I'm human after all.]

    Back in 1975, the track was reissued in the UK on single c/w "Oh Girl" and made number five in the singles chart. This single was taken from a 16-track UK Greatest Hits" album, which also charted very well. The album and single both used the remixes.

    At that time, a friend said that she preferred the remix because the heavy reverb on the vocal harmonies in the intro gave more of a sense of loneliness.

    As far as I can tell from listening, the remixes appear to have been done shortly after Brunswick got a new reverb unit in their studio and decided to use it almost to excess. So the remixes all sound very similar to my ears and possibly weren't given the same TLC as the original mixes were probably given.

    This is all speculation, however, and I suspect that another forum member will provide the real facts.

    Motown Eddie? Soulster?
    I first picked up The Chi-Lites Greatest Hits LP when it came out in late 1972. When I compared the sound quality of the album to the singles that I had, I noticed the extra reverb [along with other changes in the mix] on the tracks that were on the Hits album. I don't know why Brunswick Records did this, however, your mention of the company getting a new reverb unit suggests that the label wanted to showcase it on The Chi-Lites. Flash forward to early 1992 when Rhino Records did the first of their two Chi-Lites compilations and it was a pleasant surprise to hear that they used the original mixes of the songs for their collection [and they also used the full length versions of "I Want To Pay You Back For Loving Me" & "The Coldest Days Of My Life"]. It's too bad that Bruce Swedien [who was the engineer on these recordings and went on to work with Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson & others] is no longer with us to provide additional information on these recordings.
    Last edited by Motown Eddie; 01-17-2022 at 02:36 PM. Reason: spelling

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sotosound View Post
    I prefer the original mix as it is slightly drier and, I suspect, had more time spent on it. Also, I do tend to prefer whichever version I hear and become accustomed to first. [Geez! I'm human after all.]
    PS: I'm like You and I tend to prefer the version of a song that I hear first. I remember when The Chi-Lites first became stars in the early '70s and bought a few of their singles from that time [like "Have You Seen Her", "Are You My Woman" & "A Lonely Man"]. So while I liked the remixes that were on The Chi-Lites Greatest Hits album [at that time], I now prefer the original mixes of the songs as they first came out in 1969 thru 1972.
    Last edited by Motown Eddie; 01-17-2022 at 11:51 AM.

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