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Gordy G 7035 (A), August 1964
b/w Baby Baby I Need You
(Written by Edward Holland Jr. and Norman Whitfield)
Stateside SS 348 (A), October 1964
b/w Baby Baby I Need You
(Released in the UK under license through Stateside Records; retitled “Why You Wanna Make Me Blue”)
Following the success of the Temptations’ big breakthrough single The Way You Do The Things You Do, which had propelled them into the limelight at the start of the year, the group had tried to repeat by cutting a much-inferior soundalike sequel. I’ll Be In Trouble isn’t awful, but it’s missing most of what made its predecessor special, and by extension it’s rather missing the point.
The best thing about that 45 was the happy-go-lucky exuberance of the B-side, The Girl’s Alright With Me, an engaging early flexing of muscles by future great Norman Whitfield and his temporary lyricist Eddie Holland turning in a lovely little pop song full of the smiles and energy that had made The Way You Do The Things You Do such a rush but which had been oddly lacking in the A-side.
It’s tempting (ha!) to wonder if Motown felt the same way; the label had every commercial reason to stick with Smokey Robinson as the Temptations’ writer/producer, the man who’d given them their big break, and yet for this, only the group’s third effort of 1964 with more than half the year already gone, Motown temporarily moved Smokey off the Tempts project and instead went with the guys who’d penned that B-side.
If The Girl’s Alright With Me had indeed won Whitfield and Holland the gig, it’s unsurprising that their submission for single ended up so much like that song. Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue) – the title frequently gets shortened to just the bit inside, or just the bit outside, the brackets – is pretty much a refinement on the earlier concept, the hooks and the performances beefed up, but on the whole really not so very different. And yet there’s more of the spirit of The Way You Do The Things You Do in this, a reminder of how great the Temptations could be when they were having a good time and everything clicked into place.
THE QUALITY OF MOTOWN
If my reviews baffle you, dear reader (and rest assured, if that’s the case, you’re most certainly not alone), then the Temptations’ run of 45s in ’64 provides an excellent benchmark for where my “head” tends to be “at”, as the young people say.
There’s a magical quality about Motown, good Motown, that’s hard to put one’s finger on. For me, it’s an effortless quality, a sort of feeling that the writers, producers, musicians – I accidentally typed “magicians” there the first time, and I’m not sure I was wrong – and singers were not only all on the same page, all in the same groove, but that they somehow knew they were making something really good.
It’s an elusive quality: people try to describe it by reference to the Motown Sound, or vocal techniques, or chord progressions, or goodness knows what else, but it’s harder to pin down than that.
It’s probably a subjective quality, too, in that the records I think have it are probably different to the records you think have it, and both of our choices are different again to the girl sat two tables away and the records she thinks have it.
The only thing that’s constant is that I find it easy enough to spot when a record does or doesn’t have that X factor, that pow, that zip, whatever you want to call it, even if I couldn’t really tell you why.
Here’s what it boils down to. Without wanting to sound like a Victorian riddle:
I find it in The Way You Do The Things You Do, but not in I’ll Be In Trouble.
I find it in Just Ain’t Enough Love, but not in Leaving Here.
I find it in Come And Get These Memories, but not in Dancing In The Street.
I find it in My Guy, but not in Guarantee (For A Lifetime).
Its absence, strangely, is not a dealbreaker, nor is its presence a guaranteed winner. I find it in Mickey’s Monkey (towards which I’m broadly ambivalent), and I definitely don’t find it in Dream Come True or I Want A Guy (which I adore). It’s just that the records with it are strangely effortless, floating, and, well, magical, while the records without it, amazing though they might be, are things of flesh and blood and sweat and drumskins; they’re mortal.
I think – and I’m working this out on the hoof here, so apologies if I’m rambling more than usual – that it’s probably possible for someone with more knowledge of musical theory than me to identify, with accuracy and ease, the particular Quality of Motown to which I refer. But I’m not sure I want to get into dissecting just why I find some of these records so remarkable. All I’ll say is that it’s this, more than anything else, which seems to underpin which records I’m naturally drawn towards, which records I’m likely to end up giving favourable marks. And – in a last-ditch attempt at bringing this back to some sort of relevance – for me, Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue) definitely has it.
Your mileage, as always, may vary.
AND NOW, BACK TO THE SONG IN QUESTION
It’s easy to forget, listening to how good the Tempts sound here, and knowing what their next single is, that they were really only just settling into their imperial phase. This was only David Ruffin’s third single with the group; Smokey Robinson had only recently worked them into shape so that their voices together on record sounded as good as on stage; it was probably only a few months since Eddie Kendricks could control his voice enough to handle a lead like this, which he’d have utterly ruined in 1962 with a load of high-pitched falsetto squawking. Strange to say it with so many singles and shows and years under their belts, but these ’64-model Temptations are so different to their former selves that they’re almost like a newly-formed group.
There’s an excitement that goes with that, too, an excitement to hear more from the group who gave us The Way You Do The Things You Do, that can’t be sated by listening to the likes of Paradise, say, or Isn’t She Pretty, or playing through the rest of the odds and sods compiled on the group’s first LP, Meet The Temptations, a motley grab-bag of singles and B-sides from their first three years at Motown. That was then. This is now.
Accordingly, Whitfield and Holland turn in another high-powered R&B-pop number, full of big horns and big handclaps and a driving party vibe completely at odds with the heartbroken lyric. Eddie Kendricks gives his best lead vocal to date – high and untethered, but full of expressive angst (tell me why CAN’T you be true?) – he’s not just learned from Smokey, in parts of this record he’s doing Smokey. Robinson, watching from the wings as another producer worked with “his” group, must have allowed himself a wry smile.
Not only does this admirably solve the Eddie Question (the constant difficulties successive Temptations producers had encountered trying to keep Eddie’s remarkable high voice under control enough that he coloured inside the lines, but loose enough that he wasn’t earthbound and therefore wasted), it starts to sketch in the roles the Other Four could play in the new world order.
Five best buddies, big smiles all around, even as they ask you, the besotted female teenage listener, just what you think you’re playing at making them so miserable? It’s an old boy band staple, of course, to go with the boy band templates that are now being drawn up (and I mean that as a compliment); they’re not singing at you, obviously, you’d never treat them this way, would you? They know that, of course they know that.
Marketing an R&B-pop crossover with definite romantic appeal wasn’t a new art, but if ever there was a direct, equal and opposite response to the British Invasion and Beatlemania, the selling of the Temptations has to be it. Handsome guys (look at the British EP picture sleeve, right), excellent dancers (now blessed with the signature “Temptations Walk” as an immediate crowd-pleasing stage move, even if it seems hokey today), excellent singers with excellent songs, and now starting to be cleverly packaged in such a way that teenage boys needn’t feel embarrassed buying their records, but teenage girls will queue around the block just to be at the front, to melt when their favourite Temptation looks right into their eyes for just a second. Ah, teenage infatuation and pop music, always a potent – and profitable – combination.
But that’s to make this sound tawdry or exploitative, knocked out production-line style for an undiscerning audience. Not only is that a fundamental misunderstanding of teenage pop love – that audience is nothing if not discerning, and if you get it wrong they’ll bury you alive – but it’s completely unfair on this record, which is superb. The hooks are massive; the exasperated rising transition from verse to chorus as Eddie blends with the boys over a soaring bed of trumpets (Girl, GIRL, girl / Why you wanna make me blue?) is one of those great Motown moments that just makes you break out a great big smile, but there are other killer moments in here too, the opening drum-and-horn salvo among Motown’s best intros of the year (and this in a year hardly short of great intros) especially worthy of mention. It’s just a great record, and if it wasn’t the hit it deserved to be (ending up just inside the Top 30), it’s an excellent calling card for the future.
A big, brassy, bouncy irresistible rush of a pop song. Whisper it, it’s actually better than The Way You Do The Things You Do.
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
(Or maybe you’re only interested in The Temptations? Click for more.)
Kim Weston “Feel Alright Tonight” |
The Temptations “Baby Baby I Need You” |
DISCOVERING MOTOWN |
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John Lester said:
Isn’t this the first 45 collaboration with Norman Whitield as producer?
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The Nixon Administration said:
It’s Whit’s first Temptations A-side, but he’d done a few Bs with them beforehand – most relevant is The Girl’s Alright With Me, as referenced in the review, but he’s also credited as producer on The Further You Look and May I Have This Dance (while I Couldn’t Cry If I Wanted To had been recorded ages ago, but not been released yet). By the time this one’s in the can, he’s also had production credits on sides (mostly but not all Bs) by Kim Weston, Eddie Holland, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Ruffin and the Supremes.
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Charles said:
Teenage males of the 60’s were never embarrassed to buy Temps records because the Temps were cool. Being cool was a major goal for teenage males and a compliment from one Black man to another. I know, I was there.
The best Motown records, as you know, were driven by a robust, muscular rhythm
section that worked especially well when contrasted with female singers. It was about the music. Motown knew this, and rode the wave. They efficiently maximized the business model.
Keep up the the good work.
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The Nixon Administration said:
Thanks Charles! I often wonder how some of these groups went down with teenage audiences at the time – it’s good (and reassuring!) to know the Temptations have always been cool.
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Dave L said:
🙂 I fully agree with your 9, Nixon. This is one of most delightfully schizophrenic Motown singles of that year or any other: Eddie’s all but pulling his hair out about a faithless girl, but at the same time the Funk Brothers are throwing a party anyone would be a fool to miss.
I’m stumped trying to think of a better instance from Motown when heartbreak lyrics so well fit a celebratory tone.
In the Temptations biography he wrote in 1988, Otis Williams says he still cringes when he sees that album cover ( not due to exist yet either till Nov. ’65): “We had the white suits in time, but not the white shoes!”
He also says, of the coming date with destiny: “Back home in Detroit, Smokey Robinson caught our act at the Twenty Grand one evening. One of our numbers featured each of us singing a part. The title of it escapes me, but I do remember that we brought the house down with it. After we came offstage that night, Smokey approached us and, pointing directly at David, said, “I’ve got a song for you.”<<
Your own well-earned confidence in your ability, Nixon, tells more and more with every review like this one. We're in good hands with you, my friend. At this point, I'm checking in to the site every few hours.
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The Nixon Administration said:
Thanks Dave 🙂 I’m trying to stick to something approaching a regular update schedule now, so there should be a new piece every 2 or 3 days. Thanks for the kind words, it’s appreciated.
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Bob Harlow said:
I think this would have been a bigger hit had it followed “The Way You Do The Things You Do” .Or if “The Girl’s Alright With Me” was promoted as the A side instead of “I’ll Be In Trouble”. With so many other Motown hits on the charts that fall,
and the British Invasion in full swing, it was easy for this to get overlooked coming off the misfire of “I’ll Be In Trouble” I agree that “Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue) is slightly better than “The Way You Do The Things You Do” which makes it pretty darn good!
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The Nixon Administration said:
Thanks Bob 🙂 That’s a good point, perhaps hangover from the previous single dented this one’s chart prospects – I hadn’t really considered that.
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Nick in Pasadena said:
Your digression about the sometimes elusive “quality” of Motown was, as usual, spot-on. Some psychologists have used the term “flow” to denote those times when someone is so engaged in what they’re doing–so enraptured, so charged up at the opportunity to do something they love–that they enter another dimension, one in which “work” becomes effortless and joyful, and genius happens.
This applies to so many Motown discs of the 1964-1967 period for me. Berry Gordy had perfected a winning hit formula, a well-oiled machine so effective that, even when the “flow” is missing (as you point out), the results can still be spectacular. But when everyone is in flow–the singers, musicians, producers, writers–we get gems like “The Way You Do the Things You Do” and “Where Did Our Love Go.”
Alas, that magic alchemy can be very fragile, and even Motown couldn’t keep it going all that long. But it certainly lasted long enough to provide a wealth of amazing music.
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The Nixon Administration said:
That’s it exactly! I’m glad it’s not just me that factors that, er, factor into consideration. Thanks Nick.
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Dave L said:
Maybe that’s what endears the stuff to me the most.
Long-time devotees such as ourselves, and even greater scholars can dissect any and all Motown tunes, we can recite the original label and record number, running times, the backstage who-struck-John skullduggery and power-jockeying going on at the time, and still the 9 year old kid in me who first heard “Heat Wave” is again jumping up and down at the sheer life pouring through the speakers.
You and me can know the details of our favorites backwards and forwards, and it may add, but will never subtract from the pure emotional reaction they engendered for us at the first. We may die, but Motown’s not gonna.
🙂
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MichaelS said:
This has always been one of my favorite Temptations—and, in general, Motown—recordings. Before reading this, yet another excellent Nixon essay, I figured you would give this at least an 8 and you didn’t disappoint. This is a tune I never get tired of, and I’ve been listening to it since I was a college freshman! Your digression on the “quality of Motown,” by the way, was brilliant.
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The Nixon Administration said:
Thanks Michael, I appreciate that. Glad I didn’t disappoint (this time anyway!) – dissent is encouraged, but it’s nice to know people agree sometimes.
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144man said:
This was one of the records Tony Blackburn used to play on Radio Caroline. Great days!
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The Nixon Administration said:
🙂 We’ll be meeting Tony Blackburn in more detail a few years down the line when discussing a certain Diana Ross single…
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Randy Brown said:
Mr. Nixon, more and more often these essays are bringing tears to the eyes of this 52-year-old man. Keep it up, and thanks.
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The Nixon Administration said:
Thanks Randy. I’ll do my best!
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Ron Leonard said:
I had never heard this song until I had purchased a copy of the “Temptations Greatest Hits”, in 1967, the Blue background with Silver letters, and it was clearly one of my favorites..I love the “soaring” Girl, GIRL, Girl and yes, the intro!!..I also agree that “Girls Alright With Me” should’ve been an A side.
Keep up the great work on this website..
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Dave L said:
The first greatest hits that you’re talking about (Gordy 919) stayed on the Billboard album chart for 120 weeks beginning December 17, 1966. …And deserved to. It carried all the royal greats by Smokey and the first handful of Whitfield hits; everything from “…Things You Do” to “…Skin Deep.”
On the Billboard R&B album chart, with the exceptions of Temptations Show and At The Copa (which themselves go to No. 2), every Temptations album between Sing Smokey and Puzzle People goes to No. 1.
I’ve long been convinced that, in the 60s, The Temptations, even more than The Supremes, were Motown’s most consistent album sellers, and I still believe so. Then too, the Tempts weren’t asked to put over Long-Players of Liverpool, Country Western and Pop and Funny Girl.
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Randy Brown said:
However, there WAS “In a Mellow Mood,” which wasn’t BAD but was still a Motown concept LP. Not one I’d go out of my way to buy on CD, but didn’t mind “rescuing” one I found lying on the sidewalk (moderately scratched but playable).
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Rupert Kinnard said:
For my money The Temptations in a Mellow Mood is one of the group’s best albums but I understand why it has been hard for so many to truly access. What I LOVE about the album are the vocals…after all…that is largely what our boys were about. It is THE album that showcases all the individual voices of the Tempts—Eddie sings three songs, Paul sings three songs and David leads 4. I love the whole group’s take on Hello Young Lovers and finally…Melvin’s Ol’ Man River is a classic. I think of the album as being one of my favorite albums by the Tempts but it did take a bit for me to get into the standards. Ultimately they were all truly beautiful songs and largely the best versions of all of them that I have ever heard. The highlight for me still is What Now My Love. Stunning performance by David and the group. This album is far from being “wasn’t BAD”!
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Landini said:
Hi Mr. Kinnard, I picked up a copy of “Mellow Mood” a few years ago for $2.99! I think it is a good album. I prefer the Temptations doing Motown music but this is really quite nice. I recently put together some new CD’rs to play in my car with a very eclectic mix of music & I put some of the tracks from “Mellow Mood” on them. The songs sound even better when mixed together with other music.
By the way, are you a musician? I was listening to Girl Why You Wanna Make Me Blue & noticed an interesting drumming pattern in it. I have just enough musical knowledge (I can sing decently & took a little piano) to be dangerous. Do you have any thoughts on the drumming on this song?
Thanks & a most happy & blessed new year to you sir!
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Robb Klein said:
“Girls Alright With Me” WAS treated as an A side in all the cities I lived in or visited at the time it was out (Chicago, Milwaukee, northwest Indiana, Indianapolis, St. Louis). How was it treated in Detroit (on the R&B radio stations) ?
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Landini said:
Hey Mr Robb. Could you check out the comments on the Barret Strong “I apologize” review? One of our friends has a question you might be able to answer. Thanks Buddy !
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Ron Leonard said:
I also remember buying a copy of the single “Girl” ( Why You Wanna Make Me Blue) at a Woolworth Store in Salem Oregon where I grew up..the single had a hole punched in the label..I believe you could get 3 singles for a dollar at that time.
One of my favorite Temptations Album was ” With Alot O’ Soul” however, this is down the road aways…(I Know) I’m Losing You, All I Need, You’re My Everything, Loneliness Made Me Realize(It’s You That I Need)…and my favorite Album non hit cut from this…”Save It For A Rainy Day”….Sorry about the rant!! I just love and still do enjoy the ‘Sound Of Young America” Motown Junkies is a GREAT outlet!
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Dave L said:
Boy, I sure remember those days too. 3 for a dollar, remainders that were anywhere from 6 months to a few years old, and plenty of Motown among them. The paper sleeves were further sealed in plastic, and you had to rip that open to get at the record, but it also assured you a hundred other shopper’s paw prints weren’t on the disc.
I fully agree regarding the quality of the With A Lot O’ Soul album. One of their very best and I was lucky enough, in the early 90s to find a still-sealed, script-label mono copy of it again. I didn’t let that get away! 🙂
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Rupert Kinnard said:
Salem, Oregon! That is sooo cool. I live in Portland!
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Ron Leonard said:
What a small world!! My wife and I grew up in the Willamette Valley..Over the years, I was in radio broadcasting and was blessed to work at some of the greatest radio stations in the country..I did work a couple of times at 97.1 KISN in Portland, Or. and my last really GREAT gig was for CBS in San Francisco, KFRC which was Oldies/Classic Hits.. What an awesome format!! Being able to play Motown and get paid for it!!
Other great songs coming up this year from the 1965 Temptations ” It’s Growing” also ” Since I Lost My Baby”…and the Motown Hits just keep on comin’!!
Nice to meet you, Rupert.
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Robb Klein said:
I bought a fair amount of 3-for $1 45s at Woolworth’s. But I bought thousands at the Woolworth’s 10 cent sales. They also had jukebox 33s (that’s where I got most of mine (of that type). I hit them all in Chicagoland, and would also cover Milwaukee, Des Moines, Indianapolis, Detroit and St. Louis.
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Landini said:
Oh wow buddy! I remember those 3 for $1 record bins. Loved em! Got a lot of Motown (& other soul) singles there. Would you happen to know why so many Motown (& Atlantic & Stax) singles wound up in those bins? Just curious.
By the way, “Girl Why You Wanna Make Me Blue” is a total jam! Perfect for listening & dancing!
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bogart4017 said:
Hi!
You asked that question a while back and as i said before Motown was known for its “over-runs” printing up 1 and a half million copies a claiming to have sold that many when in fact only 1 million were sold as the rest were “returned” where the company would “bullet-hole” the singles and clip a corner off of the lp and sell them to suptoermark
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bogart4017 said:
to supermarkets and drug stores at discount prices thereby avoided paying royalties to the artists since the title was considered “deleted from the catalog” and declared promotional.
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Rupert Kinnard said:
Nice review of Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue) but I respectfully disagree that it is a better record than The Way You Do the Things You Do…or even The Girl’s Alright with Me. I guess, for me, there’s nothing quite like those opening bars of The Way You Do the Things You Do that first announced that The Tempts were here to stay when the record was first released. I just love it!
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Landini said:
Hey Mr. Rupert, Looks like we got us a real Temptations fan here! Yeah, our fellas did some good stuff! I was introduced to this song as well as “Things” & others when I purchased the blue Greatest Hits album in 1968. I didn’t start listening to Motown until about 1967 (I was a mere lad of 9 back then) so I had a lot of catching up to do!!!!! I can’t wait til Mr. Nixon gets to 1967-1968 period. Since those were the first Motown records I heard (& bought!) they hold a special place in my heart!
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Rupert Kinnard said:
The blue Greatest Hits album was the first album that I ever bought. I had heard all of the singles on the radio and thrilled at the idea of getting them all on one album. The album cover is featured as a major part of the one of the segments of the play The Colored Museum. I was so thrilled when it appeared. I am such a fan of the original five Tempts that it is hard for me when anyone here gives any of their recordings less than an 8! I think of the music of The Tempts (like most of the music from the classic age of Motown) as one of the Seven Wonders of my world…that makes life worth living!
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bogart4017 said:
You just can’t get tired of this song. It’s one of Eddie’s finest hours and one that would get repeated plays at countless platter parties where i came from.
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