Great musicians of the 20th century

ajay124 May also buy anthologies The Who said:
Travelling Wilburys[/B],John Mayall,Jethro Tull,JJ Cale....

and Traffic too perhaps..my personal favorite is The Low Spark of the High Heel Boys...
 
and Traffic too perhaps..my personal favorite is The Low Spark of the High Heel Boys...

Moktan
Traffic was my favorite band and Low Sparks my favorite album for many years.I used to love the sound of Steve Winwood's voice.Not just on Traffic but also on Blind Faith and those two wonderful solo albums Arc Of A Diver and Talking Back To The Night.Have you heard an album called Go Live!I remember it had Winwood on vocals,Stomu Yamastha on drums,Michael Shrieve,Al Di Meola....what an album!I used to have it on tape but have never found it on cd.
Apart from Low Sparks,Where The Eagle Flies and Shootout At The Fantasy Factory are also great albums.So many Traffic tracks are embedded in my memory
John Barleycorn
Low Sparks Of The High Heeled Boys
Dream Gerrard
Evening Blues
Rainmaker
Uninspired
40000 Headmen
Dear Mr.Fantasy
Shanghai Noodle Factory
Paper Sun
Feelin' Alright
 
When I'm Gone/Phil Ochs

There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone
And I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't feel the flowing of the time when I'm gone
All the pleasures of love will not be mine when I'm gone
My pen won't pour a lyric line when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't breathe the bracing air when I'm gone
And I can't even worry 'bout my cares when I'm gone
Won't be asked to do my share when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't be running from the rain when I'm gone
And I can't even suffer from the pain when I'm gone
Can't say who's to praise and who's to blame when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
Won't see the golden of the sun when I'm gone
And the evenings and the mornings will be one when I'm gone
Can't be singing louder than the guns when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
All my days won't be dances of delight when I'm gone
And the sands will be shifting from my sight when I'm gone
Can't add my name into the fight while I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone
Can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone
And I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone while I'm here
So I guess I'll have to do it
I guess I'll have to do it
Guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
YouTube - Tribute to my father - Phil Ochs - When Im Gone
 
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would still smell sweet.

As always the Bard makes sense, but names can develop a life of their own. I wonder how folks reacted, when they first heard about this new band called 'The Beatles'. Or Grateful Dead. Or Pink Floyd.

A wikipedia guide to how bands got their names.

List of band name etymologies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Looking back after 35 years of listening to pop, rock n roll, rock, r & b and soul music, my preferences now are very very different from what they were in the 70's, 80's or 90's. Most of the rock bands I was very fond of in college have died a 'natural' death. Some of the pop bands I used to listen to in school have resurfaced as favorites. Ray Charles, James Brown and Aretha Franklin were late entrants but are firmly entrenched now. My earlier favorites, Dylan and Young have shed a lot if their 'popularity' recently. And another late entrant, Phil Ochs, is the master of my (excluding classical) 20th century musical universe.

Current top 25 in order of preference :)

PHIL OCHS
RAY CHARLES
JAMES BROWN
SIMON & GARFUNKEL
ROY ORBINSON
NAT KING COLE
ARETHA FRANKLIN
LEONARD COHEN
STEELY DAN
CARPENTERS
JOHN LENNON
BOB DYLAN
NEIL YOUNG
ELVIS PRESLEY
ALAN PARSONS PROJECT
MOODY BLUES
ABBA
GRATEFUL DEAD
CREAM
DIRE STRAITS
ROLLING STONES
THE WHO
SANTANA
BEEGEES
BEATLES
 
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While reading posts on rock music on the forum, I don't remember having come across any mention of Jethro Tull. During the years I was heavily into rock music JT was as big for me as Doors, Who, Led Zep or Dire Straits. Ian Anderson's flute and distinctive vocals and the quirky, eccentric and original sound of Jethro Tull was really amazing.

Jethro Tull was a mid 60's British band who released 20+ albums in a two decade long career. Their stand out albums like Aqualung, Crest Of A Knave, Living In The Past are among the best albums of this genre. Tracks like Locomotive Breath and Aqualung are as big as Stairway To Heaven, Riders On The Storm or Sultan Of Swing.

The Very Best of Jethro Tull: Jethro Tull: Amazon.co.uk: Music

JETHRO TULL - Locomotive Breath (1971) - YouTube
 
i personally liked their Songs From the Wood...
jethro_tull_wood.html


however i soon got tired of their music and especially Ian Anderson's vocals...i thought he sounded like Mark Knoffler in Crest of a Knave, especially that song Budapest..
 
I love this forum, and perticularly this thread has given me tons of info on what to listen.

Like all you guys I am avid listner, I like all kinds of music. but some thing had kept me away from Jazz. And this thread has changes everything.

Jazz is great specially Miles Davies.

I got the Album Bar Music Moods Vol - 5 its great.

Once again Thanx to all the contributors.:)
 
andy92

It is not very easy to shift from one genre to a completely different sounding one. Moving between Rock&Roll, Rock, Blues, Soul, R&B is relatively easier than moving from classic rock of 1960-1980 to classic jazz 1945-1965.

A compilation featuring various jazz artist may provide instant gratification, but preferably you should look for anthologies offering a broad retrospective of a single artist. The 'Essential' and 'Gold' series are very comprehensive. It would be even better to discover an artist through his original albums, bought and heard in the same sequence in which they were released. But that would work out far more expensive.

Some anthologies you can consider:

Essential Collection: Louis Armstrong: Amazon.co.uk: Music
The Essential Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington: Amazon.co.uk: Music
The Essential Miles Davis: Miles Davis: Amazon.co.uk: Music
The Very Best of John Coltrane: John Coltrane: Amazon.co.uk: Music
Saxaphone Colossus: Sonny Rollins: Amazon.co.uk: Music
Riverside Anthology: Thelonious Monk: Amazon.co.uk: Music
Ornithology: Charlie Parker: Amazon.co.uk: Music
Complete Studio Recordings - Dizzy Gillespie Quintet: Dizzy Gillespie, Junior Mance, Les Spann: Amazon.co.uk: Music
 
From the first post that started the thread, I couldn't help but notice that Duke Ellington is missing. His 70th birthday concert has to be a huge one for me. As far as Miles goes, glaring in omission are Working, Steaming, Cooking and Relaxing with the MD Quintet. Also missing are George Shearing (on Capitol / EMI Records), Herbie Mann, Bill Evans, Coltrane-Giant Steps. Homesntly, Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme are so over played now that I personally do not consider them to be tasteful listening along with bands like The Eagles, Pink FLoyd, G'n'R, Metallica and three dozen more that I could name.

But hey, it's all subjective.

PS. Another glaring omission The Beatles-Revolver
 
I used to collect LPs from roadside vendors from late 70s till I got into digital music around mid 90s. One such vendor offered me to try out unsold LPs, of not so familiar artists, which he used to pick up from relocating foreign Consul employees. This changed my views about popular/contemporary music of that era. I started collecting the music of Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Moon Martin, J.Geils Band, Stray Cats, Roxy Music and plenty of others.

The first time I played Jesus of Cool & Labour of Lust (Nick Lowe), I thought he was the greatest artist alive. I still play these albums, which are timeless. His music was never made available in India. He was a band member of Rockpile & was a producer with Stiff Records & had produced earlier music of Elvis Costello & the Attractions and various other artists.

Recently, while browsing thru Flipkart site, I found Nicks Lowes albums (imports) on sale. I have ordered some of the albums that he produced during his later years. He is one of the few artists who had aged well. His song writing craft had never left him. He is definitely one of the finest songwriters of our times, if not the greatest. Youtube is the best place to try out his music.

As far as the Cherians query about contemporary female Blues singers, he should explore Shemekia Copeland (who recently performed in Mumbai & is the daughter of great Johnny Copeland-RIP), Susan Tedeschi (wife of Derek Trucks), Joanne Shaw Taylor and later albums of Etta James (Blues to the bone). Some of Susan Tedeschi and Etta Jamess albums are available in Mumbais music stores.
 
From the first post that started the thread, I couldn't help but notice that Duke Ellington is missing. His 70th birthday concert has to be a huge one for me. As far as Miles goes, glaring in omission are Working, Steaming, Cooking and Relaxing with the MD Quintet. Also missing are George Shearing (on Capitol / EMI Records), Herbie Mann, Bill Evans, Coltrane-Giant Steps. Homesntly, Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme are so over played now that I personally do not consider them to be tasteful listening along with bands like The Eagles, Pink FLoyd, G'n'R, Metallica and three dozen more that I could name.

But hey, it's all subjective.

PS. Another glaring omission The Beatles-Revolver

Duke Ellington is mentioned in the first post, and I believe there would be many more references to him later in the thread. Since the posts never focused on one musician for long, but kept skipping genres and musicians, there are huge gaps which can only be filled by concentrating on one musician at a time. But do forum members have the stamina, interest or the attention span to focus and post on Duke Ellington for the next few weeks?

I agree with you that iconic albums can lose their edge through overexposure and start sounding predictable. Cherry picking a few albums and listening to them for years on end limits one's horizons. Cherry pickers only get to taste cherries and never discover the other juicy fruits in the grove :)

A Kind Of Blue, A Love Supreme, Dark Side Of The Moon, Hotel Califonia and Rumours have had incredible success with generations of fans. But that is no reason to ignore or be unaware of literally an ocean of other great rock and jazz music.

Personally my affair with Pink Floyd barely lasted a year in college. Subsequently I started finding their music monotonous and boring. Now I would find it difficult to sit through a complete session of Dark Side Of The Moon or The Wall. The original Hotel California version was nice, but I found the version on Hell Freezes Over to be overblown and sugary. I first heard Lying Eyes almost 35 years ago. I still love that song. Far more than any other Eagles track. I like Beatles, especially Eleanor Rigby, Hey Jude, Fool On The Hill, Strawberry Fields, Across The Universe and Because, but I have always preferred listening to the solo albums of John Lennon.
 
the all time best albums from a site whose opinion i value quite highly..this list is biased more towards the avant garde -for their time( though some about 30 plus years later sound as weird- Sun Ra is a case in point) and frankly stuff like Barbed Wire Maggots by Borbettomaggus are quite un-listenable..
but Albert Ayler is sublime..his Spiritual Unity album (with garry peacock on bass and sunny murray on drums- reaches to the depth of the soul, whatever that is)..
many of these albums also feature in the definitive core collection by penguin..

p.s. jazz musicians have a prodigious output and there are always substantial issues about consistency in the quality of their music..


Charles Mingus: The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (Impulse!, 1963)
John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1964)
Albert Ayler: Spiritual Unity (ESP, 1964)
Sun Ra: Atlantis (Saturn, 1967)
Lennie Tristano: Descent into the Maelstrom (Inner City, 1952)
Cecil Taylor: Unit Structures (Blue Note, 1966)
Ornette Coleman: The Shape of Jazz To Come (Atlantic, 1959)
Don Cherry: Mu (BYG Actuel/Get Back, 1969)
Carla Bley: Escalator Over The Hill (JCOA, 1971)
Anthony Braxton: Saxophone Improvisations (America, 1972)
Miles Davis: Kind Of Blue (Columbia, 1959)
John Coltrane: Ascension (Impulse, 1965)
Art Ensemble of Chicago: Les Stances A Sophie (Nessa, 1970)
Eric Dolphy: Out to Lunch (Blue Note, 1964)
Lennie Tristano: Crosscurrents (Capitol, 1949)
Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1969)
Charles Mingus Pithecanthropus Erectus (Atlantic, 1956)
Albert Ayler: Vibrations (Debut, 1964)
Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners (Riverside, 1956)
Charlie Haden: Liberation Music Orchestra (Impulse!, 1969)
Tim Berne: Fractured Fairy Tales (JMT, 1989)
Sun Ra: The Magic City (Saturn, 1965)
John Coltrane: My Favorite Things (Atlantic, 1960)
Ornette Coleman: Free Jazz (Atlantic, 1960)
Paul Bley: Open, To Love (ECM, 1972)
Anthony Davis: Lady of the Mirrors (India Navigation, 1980)
Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um (Columbia, 1959)
Pharoah Sanders: Karma (Impulse!, 1969)
Charlie Haden: Dream Keeper (Blue Note, 1990)
Anthony Braxton: Alto Saxophone Improvisations (Arista, 1979)
Cecil Taylor: Nefertiti (Freedom, 1962)
Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus (Prestige, 1956)
David Holland: Conference of the Birds (ECM, 1972)
Modern Jazz Quartet: Fontessa (Atlantic, 1956)
Joe McPhee: Topology (HatART, 1981)
George Russell: Ezz-thetics (Riverside, 1961)
Henry Threadgill: When Was That (About Time, 1982)
Guillermo Gregorio: Ellipsis (Hat Art, 1997)
John Coltrane: Giant Steps (Atlantic, 1959)
Wayne Shorter: Speak No Evil (Blue Note, 1964)
Mahavishnu Orchestra: The Inner Mounting Flame (Columbia, 1971)
Weather Report: I Sing the Body Electric (Columbia, 1972)
George Lewis: Solo Trombone Records (Sackville, 1976)
Borbetomagus: Barbet Wire Maggot (Agaric, 1983)
David Torn: Best Laid Plans (ECM, 1985)
Butch Morris: Dust To Dust (New World, 1990)
Dexter Gordon: Go (Blue Note, 1962)
Butch Morris: Testament (New World, 1995)
George Russell: Electronic Sonata For Souls Loved By Nature (Soul Note, 1980)
Charles Mingus: Presents (Candid, 1960)
Andrew Hill: Point of Departure (Blue Note, 1964)
Leroy Jenkins: Solo Concert (India Navigation, 1977)
Sam Rivers: Streams (Impulse!, 1973)
Muhal Richard Abrams: Levels and Degrees of Light (Delmark, 1967)
James Newton: Mystery School (India Navigation, 1979)
Toshiko Akiyoshi: Desert Lady (Columbia, 1994)
Paul Bley: Dual Unity (1971) (Freedom, 1973)
Myra Melford: Even the Sounds Shine (HatART, 1994)
Charles Mingus: Oh Yeah (Atlantic, 1961)
Gato Barbieri: Latin America (Impulse!, 1973)
Charles Earland: Black Talk (Prestige, 1969)
Anthony Braxton: For Alto (Delmark, 1968)
John McLaughlin: My Goals Beyond (Columbia, 1970)
Matthew Shipp: Circular Temple (Quinton, 1990)
Archie Shepp: Mama Too Tight (Impulse!, 1966)
Roscoe Mitchell: Sound (Delmark, 1966)
James Newton: Luella (Gramavision, 1983)
Max Roach: Freedom Now Suite (Columbia, 1960)
Coleman Hawkins: Body & Soul (RCA Victor, 1939)
Cecil Taylor: Conquistador (Blue Note, 1966)
Leo Smith: Mass on the World (Moers, 1978)
Bobby Hutcherson: Dialogue (Blue Note, 1965)
Julius Hemphill: Dogon AD (Freedom, 1972)
Michael Formanek: Wide Open Spaces (Enja, 1990)
Spontaneous Music Ensemble: Karyobin (Island, 1968)
Charles Mingus: Tijuana Moods (1957) (RCA, 1962)
Steve Lacy: Regeneration (Soul Note, 1982)
Bobby Previte: Claude's Late Morning (Gramavision, 1988)
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (Capitol, 1949-50)
Randy Weston: Blues To Africa (Freedom, 1974)
Sam Rivers: Crystals (Impulse!, 1974)
Dollar Brand: Sangoma (Sackville, 1973)
Albert Ayler: Witches and Devils (Freedom, 1964)
Maria Schneider: Evanescence (Enja, 1992)
Jeanne Lee: Conspiracy (Earthform, 1974)
Oregon: Distant Hills (Vanguard, 1973)
McCoy Tyner: Sahara (Milestone, 1972)
Steve Lacy: Scraps (Saravah, 1974)
Matthew Shipp: Pastoral Composure (Thirsty Ear, 2000)
Duke Ellington: The Far East Suite (RCA, 1966)
Sonny Rollins: Freedom Suite (Riverside, 1958)
Don Cherry: Symphony For Improvisers (Blue Note, 1966)
Rova Saxophone Quartet: Cinema Rovate (Metalanguage, 1978)
Marty Ehrlich: Traveller's Tale (Enja, 1989)
Don Byron: Tuskegee Experiments (Elektra/Nonesuch, 1990-91)
Sonny Sharrock: Ask the Ages (Axiom, 1991)
Pat Metheny: As Falls Wichita So Falls Wichita (ECM, 1980)
Paul Motian: Conception Vessel (ECM, 1972)
Henry Threadgill: Just the Facts (About Time, 1983)
Chick Corea: Inner Space (Atlantic, 1966)
Paul Rutherford: Gentle Harm of the Bourgeoisie (1974) (Emanem, 1976)
Terje Rypdal: Odyssey (ECM, 1975)
Franz Koglmann: Cantos I-IV (1993) (hatHUT, 1995)
Bill Frisell: Before We Were Born (Elektra, 1988)
Ralph Towner: Diary (ECM, 1973)
Lol Coxhill: Ear Of The Beholder (Dandelion, 1971)
Martial Solal: Four Keys (Pausa, 1979)
Guillermo Gregorio: Approximately (Hat Art, 1996)
Art Pepper: No Limit (Contemporary, 1977)
Lennie Tristano: The New Tristano (Atlantic, 1960)
Charlie Haden: Haunted Heart (Verve, 1991)
Oregon: Music Of Another Present Era (Vanguard, 1972)
Charlie Haden: Etudes (Soul Note, 1987)
Terje Rypdal: Eos (ECM, 1983)
Don Cherry: Orient (BYG, 1971)
Rova Saxophone Quartet: As Was (Metalanguage, 1981)
Maria Schneider: Coming About (Enja, 1995)
Rova Saxophone Quartet: Daredevils (Matalanguage, 1979)
Rova Saxophone Quartet: Invisible Frames (Fore, 1981)
Lennie Tristano: Wow (Capitol, 1950)
Hank Roberts: Black Pastels (Polygram, 1987)
Hank Roberts: Little Motor People (Polygram, 1992)
James Newton: Water Mystery (Gramavision, 1985)
Pat Metheny: Bright Size Life (ECM, 1975)
Duke Ellington: Black Brown and Beige (RCA, 1943, as private edition; Prestige, 1977)
Weather Report: Weather Report (Columbia, 1971)
Don Byron: Music for Six Musicians (Elektra, 1995)
Don Byron: Bug Music (Nonesuch, 1996)
Herbie Hancock: Empyrean Isles (Blue Note, 1964)
Roscoe Mitchell: Nonaah (Nessa, 1977)
Don Cherry: Relativity Suite (JCOA, 1973)
Art Ensemble of Chicago: Fanfare For The Warriors (Atlantic, 1973)
Art Blakey: Moanin' (Blue Note, 1958)
Coleman Hawkins: Rainbow Mist (Delmark, 1944)
Marcus Roberts: Deep in the Shed (Novus, 1989)
Horace Silver: The Cape Verdean Blues (Blue Note, 1965)
Anthony Braxton: Five Pieces (Arista, 1975)
Miles Davis: In a Silent Way (Columbia, 1969)
Evan Parker: Saxophone Solos (Incus, 1975)
Duke Ellington: In A Mellotone (1940) (RCA, 1957)
Don Pullen: Capricorn Rising (Black Saint, 1975)
Dave Brubeck: Time Out (Columbia, 1959)
Wayne Horvitz: Bring Your Camera (Elektra, 1991)
Kip Hanrahan: Vertical Currency (Pangea, 1985)
Lennie Tristano: Manhattan Studio/ New York Improvisations (Elektra, 1956)
Borbetomagus: Borbeto Jam (Cadence, 1985)
Guy Klucevsek: Flying Vegetables of the Apocalypse (XI, 1991)
Zeena Parkins: Something Out There (No Mans Land, 1987)
Butch Morris: Current Trends In Racism (Sound Aspects, 1986)
David Torn: Cloud About Mercury (ECM, 1987)
Oscar Peterson: Night Train (Verve, 1962)
Steps Ahead: Modern Times (Elektra, 1984)
Bobby Previte: Pushing The Envelope (Gramavision, 1987)
Bill Evans: Explorations (Riverside, 1961)
Bobby Previte: Dull Bang, Gushing Sound, Human Shriek (Dossier, 1987)
Marty Ehrlich: Emergency Peace (New World, 1990)
Roland Kirk: Rip Rig & Panic (Limelight, 1965)
Jimmy Giuffre: Thesis (Verve, 1961)
Marty Ehrlich: Malinke's Dance (OmniTone, 2000)
Rova Saxophone Quartet: Crowd (1985) (Hat Hut, 1986)
Anthony Braxton & Rova Saxophone Quartet: The Aggregate (Sound Aspects, 1989)
String Trio Of New York: Rebirth of a Feeling (Black saint, 1983)
Nimal: Nimal (RecRec, 1987)
Jimmy Giuffre: Western Suite (Atlantic, 1958)
 
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Duke Ellington is mentioned in the first post, and I believe there would be many more references to him later in the thread. Since the posts never focused on one musician for long, but kept skipping genres and musicians, there are huge gaps which can only be filled by concentrating on one musician at a time. But do forum members have the stamina, interest or the attention span to focus and post on Duke Ellington for the next few weeks?

an essential ellington is Ellington at Newport..watch out for the Paul Gonsalvez solo on the sax. ...
 
Great list Moktan, but focused more towards avant-garde jazz from the 60's onwards. Most classic albums from the 40's and 50's are missing. Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Art Tatum, Clifford Brown, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald???

Black Saint And The Sinner Lady is a wonderful album. But two equally good Mingus albums which are missing from the list were The Clown and Epitaph.

I played The Shape Of Jazz To Come in the evening today. Listening to it gives you the feeling that Ornette Coleman is truly shaping the future of jazz, just as Charlie Parker did in the 40's.

Charles Mingus - 04 The Clown - YouTube
 
absolutely spot on Ajay.
there are some who would put Mingus and Coleman right up there with some of the greatest composers....
 
Mingus, Dolphy, Coleman, Ayler, Taylor all composed great music. But Duke Ellington was probably the greatest jazz composer of the 20th century.

Copy pasting a post from page 27 of this thread.

"Duke Ellington once remarked that "Jazz is the kind of guy you wouldn't want your daughter to associate with". More than any other jazz composer it was the 'Duke' who pulled jazz out of it's low brow image and made it the best known art form to have emanated from the United States.

Solitude, Caravan, Mood Indigo, In A Sentimental Mood, Sophisticated Lady, Satin Doll, Take The 'A' Train, Black And Tan Fantasy, Don't Mean A Thing, Money Jungle, the list of great jazz standards composed or recorded by him stretches over a career spanning 5 decades from the mid 20's to the mid 70's. Many critics rate Duke as being good enough to stand next to the major classical composer's of the 20th century.

Duke is supposed to have said: "My people and my race is the inspiration for my music." But over the years Ellingtonia has grown to represent not just the Afro Americans, but a particular American era. More than any other jazz musician Duke Ellington will transcend the barriers of time and space. Popular music from the 40's and 50's soaked up the Duke's influence. Listen to the swinging hindi film songs of the 50's and 60's. Many songs have a touch of Ellingtonia.

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDQpZT3GhDg
 
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