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Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire
June 29th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]

Released: 1973
Tracks: Birds of Fire; Miles Beyond; Celestial Terrestrial Commuters; Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love; Thousand Island Park; Hope; One Word; Sanctuary; Open Country Joy; Resolution
Best track: Hope
Tracks to skip: Sapphire Bullets is completely useless and One Word is just a wank-fest


I know some people will just freak about me saying to skip One Word. I could really care less about hearing Jerry Goodman (violin) and Jan Hammer (keys) swap solos back and forth, and I could care less about Billy Cobham’s drum solo. I can’t possibly perceive how this album and music were taken back in 1973. It’s impossible for me to approach it from a 1973 perspective, as I wasn’t alive yet. So I have to approach it from a 2004 view, one coming from a musician who loves to jam and solo, but still a modern one. I don’t like wanking. Pure and simple, whoever it is, if they get into that territory of wanking I want to get out of there as quickly as possible. I really just don’t even find One Word remotely interesting, regardless of how talented of players they are. There, I feel better.

OK, so, besides that, I mostly like this album. I’m confused why it’s still put in the Jazz section in music stores, because this isn’t jazz. I know it’s technically “Jazz Fusion”, but to me it sounds like Rock. Insane, Nutty-Ass Rock, but still Rock. You’ll find it in Jazz if you go to your local music store, though. Eh. If it isn’t obvious from the previous wordings, these guys are players in the truest sense of the word. This music isn’t about selling a million albums or getting laid, it’s about playing. Playing fast, playing ferocious, playing like this is your final statement to the world. I really like side one (through Hope) a lot. Sapphire Bullets is the exception, but hey, it’s only 21 seconds long. These other 5 songs are just excellent. The songs are great and John McLaughlin and the Boys just rip it up. For some reason Hope just connects with me. Man, I just get this feeling all over me when I hear that. To me, this track is true spiritual music. It really affects me in such a massive way every time I hear it. I so wish it wasn’t just 2 minutes long. I want it to go on longer, but it has to end. Just like a small glimpse of Heaven that I can’t get to yet.

Birds of Fire is the main hit from this album and I can’t think of a better title for the song. It sounds like McLaughlin’s guitar is shooting out flames every time he plays those licks. It’s out of this world, that’s for sure. So yeah, I love side one, don’t really care for side two. Open Country Joy starts to get good near the end, and Resolution has some cool bits, but overall side two is such a let down. Maybe they just couldn’t keep that same intensity that occurred on side one. Whatever it was, it’s there for all to hear. I’m curious to check out the Inner Mounting Flame, the band’s first album from ’71, because I know most fans of the band prefer that one.

Rating: 85


George Gershwin - Greatest Hits
June 29th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]

Released: 1969
Tracks: Rhapsody in Blue; Three Preludes; Concerto in F (Finale); An American in Paris; Porgy & Bess – A Symphonic Picture (selections)
Best track: Rhapsody in Blue
Track to skip: none


I decided I was in the mood for some classical music so I went with this, my only Gershwin CD. From what I can gather, it was originally released in ’69 (outside of the US) and this CD version came out in ’84. No specific dates are listed for the recordings, but there are the copyrights of 1942, 1959 & 1960 so I figure that’s when the recordings were at the very least originally released. OK, my first thought about this CD is that it’s too short. Yes, it is an hour, but I’d love to hear more. I guess that’s the whole goal of any greatest hits album, to entice you to buy more. I just might have to some day. I honestly haven’t listened to this CD that often (as it’s my wife’s), so I’m not really familiar with every composition on here, but I had a good time donning the headphones and getting sucked into this stuff. My favorite piece of the lot, and the one most people will recognize, is Rhapsody in Blue. If you’re unsure of it, think the Delta Airlines commercials from 10 years ago. Leonard Bernstein does a wonderful and excited performance on the piano (also conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra) and really brings out the joy of the piece. I wasn’t as familiar with the other pieces, but specifically An American in Paris and Porgy & Bess are so imbedded in this country’s musical history that even if you don’t know the actual tunes, it all feels familiar. The sound quality is mostly pretty good, only Three Preludes and Concerto in F aren’t what I’d call pristine. By the amount of tape hiss, I’d assume both of these are from ’42. They sound good enough though. I know there are Gershwin compilations out there that have more music on them, but if you want something relatively cheap with good sound quality, check out this CBS Masterworks version. I had fun listening to this spirited and energetic music tonight.

Rating: 85


Duke Ellington w/ Mingus & Roach - Money Jungle
June 29th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]

Released: 1962
Tracks: Very Special; A Little Max (Parfait); A Little Max (Parfait) – Alternate Take; Fleurette Africaine (African Flower); REM Blues; Wig Wise; Switch Blade; Caravan; Money Jungle; Solitude – Alternate Take; Solitude; Warm Valley; Backward Country Boy Blues
Best track: hard to pick, either A Little Max, Wig Wise or Caravan
Tracks to skip: I wasn’t too moved by Switch Blade and Country Boy Blues tonight


This is surprisingly the only Duke Ellington I own. I picked this up because the lineup intrigued me and also to hear what Ellington sounds like in a trio setting where there’s nothing to get in the way of his piano playing. Man, for the ultimate in just listening to Ellington, both takes of Solitude are excellent. For some reason tonight I preferred the alternate take of this song. It’s a gorgeous song. In this trio setting (featuring a veteran master and two relatively new kids) everyone really gets to shine. The main take of A Little Max features some incredibly musical and soulful playing from Max Roach. I was really high on that one until Fleurette Africaine came along and then Mingus stepped up and made his bass sound like birds. Even though Switch Blade is a total Mingus-fest, I really didn’t enjoy it that much this time. His playing is really unlike any other jazz bassist. It’s always interesting listening to the parts he comes up with, as it’s always something I’d never think of doing (like, the bird sounds on Fleurette). The version of Caravan is fantastic on here and the band just flies through this classic. I enjoy hearing Duke Ellington in this setting; nothing against the big band stuff (which is great of course), but I love hearing him do something he’s not exactly known for…playing in small groups. A couple of years after I bought this Blue Note reissued it again with cleaned up sound (my version sounds fine, but the new version is better) and more bonus tracks. I really don’t need that new version because I’m perfectly happy with mine, but it does exist nonetheless. Good stuff from 3 great musicians.

Rating: 89


Radiohead - The Bends
June 27th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]

Released: 1995
Tracks: Planet Telex; The Bends; High and Dry; Fake Plastic Trees; Bones; (Nice Dream); Just; My Iron Lung; Bullet Proof…I Wish I Was; Black Star; Sulk; Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Best track: My Iron Lung or Just
Track to skip: none


I was never really that impressed with Creep off Pablo Honey so I kind of ignored Radiohead for a few years. I actually ended up getting this, their 2nd album, after owning OK Computer for a few months. At first I was thrown for a loop with this album. I mean, it’s obviously the same band, but the sound is pretty different between these two. On first listen, The Bends just sounded like standard Brit-Pop with ‘heavy’ guitar and whiny vocals and all that. It actually took me a lot of listens, maybe 8 or 9 months worth, of listening to this album and hearing it for what it is, and not comparing it to OK Computer. Because truthfully, nothing they’ve done so far compares to that album. It did take me a while though before I accepted these songs on their own merit and not just as simple Brit-Pop things. Yes, Thom Yorke is pretty whiny on this album (he always is, but getting less so) but it’s easy to get past that. Radiohead is clearly miles ahead of all the other Brit-Pop groups that came out in the 90’s. The difference is the same as it always is: musicianship and songs. As witnessed in the little bits they do here, and what they did over the next few albums, Radiohead is a phenomenally creative band.

From the get-go the good songs start off and they happily don’t let up. I know that the first three specifically are all pretty popular, and High and Dry was a huge hit in the UK, but for me that’s all just the beginning. This album really gets good at Nice Dream and that chunk in the middle (Nice Dream through Bullet Proof) is excellent. I also love how Street Spirit ends the album; another great song and a perfect way to end this. Once I started appreciating this album, I began to notice small things that actually pointed to what the band would do on OK Computer, specifically Just and My Iron Lung. It’s no wonder those are the two best songs on the album. Overall I really like this album and it’s a lot more accessible than some of the more recent albums. It’s mostly straightforward, but I still think it’s pretty great.

Rating: 92


Mr. Bungle - California
June 27th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]

Released: 1999
Tracks: Sweet Charity; None of Them Knew They Were Robots; Retrovertigo; The Air-Conditioned Nightmare; Ars Moriendi; Pink Cigarette; Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy; The Holy Filament; Vanity Fair; Goodbye Sober Day
Best track: Retrovertigo
Track to skip: none!


As of this writing California is the only Mr. Bungle album I own. One day someone will look at the two before and this one may not make too much sense. Oh well. The first Mr. Bungle I heard was some tracks from the first album and then eventually a few off this one as well. I know back in the day (1991) when the first Mr. Bungle album came out a lot of people were referring to it as Mike Patton’s ‘side project’. Whatever. What I’ve always heard is that Bungle was his actual main gig while Faith No More was the said ‘side project’. Again, whatever. The point is, this band sounds nothing like Faith No More. I like FNM, but Mr. Bungle blows the pants off them. This music is seriously insane. They actually do have some ‘normal’ tracks on this album (about half), but most of their music is still Out There. I don’t mean to say this is a bad thing at all, because listening to music and musicians who push things so far and break all the rules is truly exciting. The way the band combines completely different types of music into one ‘song’ is pretty shocking. I still hear stuff on this album and go “What?!?!” They like to change gears about every 10 seconds, going from swing jazz to surf guitar to thrash metal to doo-wop to stuff that sounds like demented circus music. It’s extremely startling, but also encouraging and completely inspiring.

Half of these songs are the weird genre-hopping excursions, and the other half are pretty straight-forward slower material that show how the band can write some incredible ‘normal’ songs. I’m not sure if it’s Mike Patton who writes all the vocal melodies, but since he’s the one singing them I’ll single him out. The vocal melodies on this album blow my mind. OK, all the melodies really. The vocal ones in Retrovertigo, the musical ones in Holy Filament… all of them. Patton is a true vocalist and has such a wide range of singing styles. It sure helps things that he’s got a great and distinctive voice anyway. The other guys in the band (Trevor Dunn, Danny Heifetz, Bär McKinnon & Trey Spruance) all equally contribute to the incredible musicianship and excellent songs. I actually think Trevor Dunn might be the best songwriter of the lot as Retrovertigo and Holy Filament are his. Point is, all of these guys contribute and Mr. Bungle isn’t just a Mike Patton band. You know, I love this album and I think this band is really far ahead of most ‘rock’ music. You could kinda say they’re the rock equivalent of John Zorn’s Naked City (who actually push things farther than Bungle does, yet). I highly recommend this to open minded listeners, especially those who are tired of all the usual rock and pop music out there. Be warned: this music is very challenging, but also rewarding on every listen.

Rating: 94


California Guitar Trio - Pathways
June 27th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]

Released: 1998
Tracks: Allegro Con Brio, Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven); Arroyo; Pathways; Leap (Funicelli); Adagio Opus 11 (Barber); Great Divide; Scramble; Classical Gas (Williams); Kaleidoscope; Ananda; Adagio Sostenuto, Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven); Presto Agitato, Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven); Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach); Misirlou
Best track: Scramble
Track to skip: none really


I’ve had this for a long time & there’s always been something a little bit weird about it. Something always feels uneasy about it. It’s like the album has a bit of a darker quality to it, where you never really feel comfortable. For one thing, the amount of levity on here is the least of the three albums. Truthfully, the only ‘light’ spots are Classical Gas & Misirlou. I really like all of the originals on this album (Arroyo, Pathways, Great Divide, Scramble, Kaleidoscope & Ananda) and although these all contribute to this ‘darkness’, I think they’re great compositions and some of the best the band has yet done. As I was going through this and trying to figure out which was the best original, each track was ‘the best’ until the next one came along. For the most part, the originals are the best thing about this album, with Scramble being the best of the bunch (I also have to point out Trey Gunn’s excellent part on Pathways…it goes straight up my spine). I am a bit miffed that only 6 of the 14 songs are originals. Of course I expect a lot of the CGT albums will be covers, but 6/14 isn’t enough in my opinion. I do hope that one day they’ll release an album of all original material. The covers on this disc are pretty good, esp. Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, CGT arranger Stan Funicelli’s Leap (man, talk about making you feel uneasy!), an excellent version of Classical Gas, Bach’s Jesu and surf guitar favorite Misirlou. Truthfully, I do enjoy all of the compositions on here, but there’s just something about this album that makes it seem weird. I can’t really put my finger on it. This is one of those albums, years later, that I’m still trying to figure out. This is definitely the most mature of the CGT albums so far and somehow I feel like a lot of it might be going over my head. Well, whatever; I do think the originals are great and overall I like it. I’m sure I’ll completely get it one day.

Rating: 90


Rush - Moving Pictures
June 21st, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]

Released: 1981
Tracks: Tom Sawyer; Red Barchetta; YYZ; Limelight; The Camera Eye; Witch Hunt; Vital Signs
Best track: Limelight
Track to skip: none


Man, talk about On Fire. As if it wasn’t already obvious, Rush becomes a *great* band with Moving Pictures. They somehow managed to completely and totally better everything they’d done in the past 7 years with this album. Side one (Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ & Limelight) is one of the most perfect ‘album sides’ ever since the advent of the 33RPM record. I know that Tom Sawyer is the big hit on here (and although I get SICK of hearing it, I still like it), but with each successive song on side 1 the music gets better and better. Red Barchetta is obviously better than Tom, YYZ improves that with total ‘punch you in the face’ instrumental, and finally we get Rush’s best song (and Neil Peart’s best lyrics) Limelight. Speaking as whatever the hell I am, bassist, musician, songwriter, music enthusiast, listener…Limelight is absolutely one of the best songs ever written. This most perfect group of 4 songs ends in the pinnacle of this great band’s career. I don’t care if I’m gushing all over this thing; I totally love this song. Who cares if it’s not very professional or whatever (well, I don’t get paid for this, so…) I love Limelight. It freakin’ RULES (to use layman’s terms). You could put every single other fantastic Rush song to finish out this album and it’d be a slight disappointment following these 4.

You know, I do like side two as well. Not as much, mind you, but it’s still really enjoyable. They don’t get the attention of the first 4 songs, but that’s no reason to just stop the CD player after Limelight. Thankfully, the band decides to switch gears and really branch out on these last 3. More great lyrics from Peart (possibly his greatest lyrical album, maybe even his best drumming one too) finish off the album and culminate in Vital Signs, a song that points to the direction of the next studio album. Besides Peart’s excellence on Moving Pictures, the other two guys show they are absolutely his equal. YYZ gives all 3 a chance to blow most rock players out of the water (they, uh, slightly succeed) and Geddy Lee gets to do some nice vocal gymnastics in The Camera Eye. From start to finish there is not a weak second on this album. I’d highly recommend picking this up if you have no interest in compilations. This might be their most successful and highly praised album, but is it their best? We’ll see. For now, it is.

Rating: 97


Phish - Billy Breathes
June 21st, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]

Released: 1996
Tracks: Free; Character Zero; Waste; Taste; Cars Trucks Buses; Talk; Theme From the Bottom; Train Song; Bliss; Billy Breathes; Swept Away; Steep; Prince Caspian
Best track: Theme From the Bottom
Track to skip: none


The most telling thing about this album is found in the liner notes where it says (all alone, seemingly out of nowhere), “The PHISH stuff is pretty slow for now”. I think that sums this album up nicely, except I’d say ‘mellow’ instead of ‘slow’. Or you could say chilled, or relaxed, or calm, or reflective. You get the point. Except for a few songs, Free (kind of), Character Zero & parts of Theme From the Bottom, this album is pretty slow. “Billy Breathes” is one of the best album titles the band ever came up with as it’s the *perfect* name for this album. It really is as if Billy (whoever he is) is taking a nice, slow, and well-deserved breath. And then breathing some more. Billy Breathes is a massive leap forward from the last studio album, Hoist. Hoist is poppy and full of guest stars and has the band second-guessing themselves. Billy Breathes…total opposite. Here there are no guest stars (all sounds made by the band), no ulterior motives, no pressure, nothing that takes away from the band sitting back and trying something different. The abounding mellowness is quite radical and this (in addition to the suite-like last 5 songs) makes the album compare quite nicely to the Beatles’ Abbey Road. In the grand scheme of things, yeah, Abbey Road is “better”, but they’re getting the same grade from me (whatever that’s worth!). I do consider this to be Phish’s Abbey Road (I guess then A Live One would be akin to their Sgt. Pepper…throwing everything out there in a way the band had never done before). And while, unlike the Beatles, the band had plenty of life in them after this album, Billy Breathes is still their crowning achievement in the studio. Or, in plain English, the best studio album Phish ever made.

One of the main constants in Phish’s career (besides excellent musicianship) is songwriting and for this album they really set the bar for themselves. A couple of these songs, Bliss and Steep, aren’t really ‘songs’ in the traditional sense, but they function as part of the whole ending suite. Other than those two, the rest are most definitely proper songs and damn good ones at that. The album kicks things off with a great guitar-driven track, Free, and the surprise comes in how it’s actually the beginning of the mellow stuff and the template for the whole album. It’s a fantastic vocal track. Character Zero is really the only true ‘rock-out’ song on this disc, and it took me a while before I actually enjoyed it. It’s a slightly funky, basic rock track that almost bridges the earlier Hoist material and simultaneously points to the funkier stuff from Story of the Ghost. At first it seems like a strange placement, but it’s almost like the last breath of air before submerging deep down into the ocean. I don’t think this album is quite a concept album, but a lot of the songs and imagery have to do with the ocean: Free, Theme from the Bottom, Swept Away, Prince Caspian. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this Phish album not only refers to the ocean a lot, but the drummer Jon “Fish” Fishman (where the band got its name) is excellent on this disc. Check out his drumming on Taste. The centerpiece and best song on the disc is absolutely Theme From the Bottom. It starts out very sparse, has a fantastic chorus with beautiful vocals by Page McConnell, gets massively intense before being sucked into a vocal round (think Bouncing Around the Room) and then forcing the intensity back to the forefront. It’s truly an amazing track and one of the best Phish ever came up with. Following Theme is the perfect ‘breather’, Mike Gordon’s Train Song. It’s a nice little acoustic song that gives the perfect amount of peacefulness following what you just went through in Theme. Train Song is the first ‘normal’ song to come from Mike’s mind and it’s a welcome addition that shows he doesn’t just write goofy songs. After Train Song we go head first into The Suite that takes us through the wonderful and delicate title track, the excellent vocal harmony in Swept Away and the album-closing ode to C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian. I gave the summation in the first paragraph so I’ll just repeat it here: Billy Breathes is the best studio album Phish ever made. It’s quite perfect.

Rating: 98


Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom - Twanger
June 13th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]

Released: 1990
Tracks: Maybe; Butterflies; Whitewalls; Kindergarten; New Zoo Review; When the Night Comes; Cry Myself to Sleep; Summer Song; Oh Me Oh My; Bournemouth; Sunflowers; Take a Nap; John Lennon Song
Best track: probably John Lennon Song
Tracks to skip: Whitewalls, Kindergarden, New Zoo Review, When the Night Comes, Cry Myself to Sleep, Bournemouth, Sunflowers & Take a Nap are all not too hot


OK, wow, this album isn’t near as good as the first two. It seems like Davíd Garza might’ve run out of all the really great material and had to put out some lesser stuff. I’m not sure. There are clearly some great songs on here, like Butterflies, Summer Song, & John Lennon Song…but there are definitely some that aren’t up to snuff. The first two songs start out in a super powerhouse kind of way and then there’s a serious drought in the next 5 songs. I mean, they’re not entirely bad songs, they’re just only decent. Whitewalls is a silly ‘rap’ song about kinds of people Davíd doesn’t like. Summer Song is of course great, but this version is a little bit annoying because of the REALLY LOUD handclaps and backup vocals. It’s still a great song, but just a little bit distracting. Oh Me Oh My is another good one, and then a lot more downer stuff. All of the slow songs on here (Bournemouth, Sunflowers, Take a Nap, etc.) remind me of the slow songs on Davíd’s Summer Songs I (side 2, actually). It’s not that they’re all bad songs in themselves, but having them all together on this album just kills any sort of momentum that might be starting up. And that’s really the problem of this whole album; there is a great song or two, and then 3 or 4 boring ones. Another problem is that half the time it sounds more like a Davíd Garza album and not a Twang one. The album does end on a good note (thankfully) with John Lennon Song. It’s probably the best thing on this album and one of the better songs from Davíd Garza’s early career. Butterflies is usually my favorite from this early stuff, but for some reason this particular version is only decent compared with other versions. All in all, not the greatest album he’s ever done. There’s some really good stuff, but also some I’d skip over if I didn’t have to mess with fast-forwarding a cassette.

Rating: 72


Anthrax - Attack of the Killer B’s
June 13th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]

Released: 1991
Tracks: Milk (ode to Billy); Bring the Noise; Keep it in the Family (live); Startin’ Up a Posse; Protest and Survive; Chromatic Death; I’m the Man ’91; Parasite; Pipeline; Sects; Belly of the Beast (live); N.F.B. (Dallabnikufesin)
Best track: either Bring the Noise or I’m the Man ‘91
Track to skip: none really


Not a ‘real’ Anthrax album, this is more a collection of B-sides and fun stuff that the band released to hold things over until they could make their follow up to Persistence of Time. As it turns out, the guys used this EP (with 12 songs!) to borrow time until they could find a new vocalist, as this was the last album with singer Joey Belladonna. For something that’s mostly not very serious, it’s the perfect album for showing that Anthrax wasn’t just a thrash band. The thrash is more than covered on here (Milk, Protest & Survive, Chromatic Death), so the main revelation is the band’s sense of humor and its versatility. Yes, humor has always been a part of Anthrax, but except for the original I’m the Man in ’87, the humor only came out in very small & occasional doses. On this EP though, you can say that 4 of these songs are what some would call ‘comedy numbers’. Doesn’t mean they suck or are useless, it just means they’re more on the silly side.

I’m unsure of my favorite track on here; it’s between Bring the Noise and the revamped version of I’m the Man. Bring the Noise was originally a Public Enemy song and for this the guys in Anthrax pretty much merge with PE and remake the track into something totally original. The first ‘rap-rock’ song is usually delegated to Run DMC/Aerosmith’s Walk This Way (that could be argued though) but Bring the Noise I’m willing to bet was the first ‘rap-metal’ song. This was 1991, *way* before Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park and all that. And as you can probably guess, I totally prefer this kind of rap- metal to the newer stuff. For starters, Anthrax is miles better than those two groups and they can’t even come close to Chuck D’s rapping ability. For I’m the Main ’91 the guys almost totally reinterpret this goofy song and make it a hundred times better. I love Charlie Benante’s drum groove on this. It’s the most important part and the perfect foundation. On top of that groove we get some new lyrics and some great vocal bits on the chorus from Scott Ian, not to mention the totally cool extension at the end. Like I said, a total reinvention of this track.

For the rest of the album we’re treated to just a whole mess of great stuff. Some excellent covers (Kiss’ Parasite-which kicks the pants off the original, the Ventures’ Pipeline and Trust’s Sects), a couple of great live tracks from Persistence of Time (Keep it in the Family & Belly of the Beast), the short thrash tunes I mentioned above, the tongue in cheek power ballad NFB and the countrified anti-censorship anthem Startin’ Up a Posse. I know this song isn’t as radical as it was when we first heard it, but it still makes me laugh…and with the evil FCC still being the Nazis they are, the song’s message hasn’t lost any of its relevancy. Whether with the covers or the originals, Killer B’s shows that there was a lot more to Anthrax than most people ever gave them credit for. This is an enthusiastic and eclectic album that still puts me in an excellent mood, 13 years later. This thing rocks.

Rating: 93


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