VA - Doom & Gloom - Early Songs Of Angst And Disaster (1927 - 1945)

Daß es „so weiter“ geht, ist die Katastrophe. Sie ist nicht das jeweils Bevorstehende, sondern das jeweils Gegebene. Die Rettung hält sich an den kleinen Sprung in der kontinuierlichen Katastrophe. - Walter Benjamin


"The modern age, driven by science and technology, made a promise: to put an end to all the evils of the past, once and for all. At last mankind would be freed from the horrors of disease, fire, plague, drought, floods and earthquakes. But progress also produced new horrors. Mega-technology in transport, and a drive towards ever larger capacity and higher speeds unleashed catastrophes on a scale previously unknown. Now a railway crash, a blazing zeppelin or a shipping disaster could inflict not dozens, but hundreds or even thousands of casualties. In the 1920s and 30s a series of disasters created a climate of fear, affecting the psyche in a way similar to today, when wars, fanaticism, terrorism, natural disasters, global warming, bird flu, tsunami, hurricanes and tornados all contribute to a gloomy atmosphere of uncertainty and constant dread. Hillbilly and blues musicians in the 1920s and 30s expressed the general mood in a poignant way. They sang of catastrophes and disasters, whether far away or on their doorstep. They talked of the effects these events had on the lives of ordinary people; they described what happened when disaster struck, as seen through the eyes of the victims. Perhaps the articulation of these awful events in songs helped to ease feelings of despair, offering a crumb of comfort to those listeners dealing with the brutal reality." (www.trikont.com)

One of the greatest things about traditional American folk music is the dichotomy between the lyrical content and the spirit of the music. Don’t be misled by the foreboding title, for this superb compilation is anything but depressing. The subject matter portrayed in these songs of death, disaster, war and floods is often belied by uplifting and life affirming melodies. With names like The Carter Family, Charley Patton and Blind Willie Johnson among others, there are some wonderful examples here.



Tracklist:

1. Blind Willie Johnson God moves on the water 03:00
2. Roy Acuff & his Crazy Tennesseeans Wreck on the highway 02:47
3. Charlie Poole with The North Carolina Ramblers Baltimore Fire 03:10
4. Big Bill Broonzy Southern Flood Blues 03:17
5. Lulu Belle & Scotty That Crazy War 02:53
6. William & Versey Smith When that great ship went down 02:57
7. Karl & Harty When the atom bomb fell 02:53
8. He's coming to us dead 02:59
9. Bessie Smith Back-Water Blues 03:15
10. Joe Williams Providence help the poor 03:07
11. The Carter Family The dying soldier 03:04
12. Cofer Brothers The great ship went down 02:47
13. Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie When the levee breaks 03:15
14. Blind Alfred Reed Explosion in the Fairment Mines 03:16
15. Charley Patton High Water Everywhere - Part 1 02:55
16. The Dixon Brothers School House Fire 03:14
17. Gid Tanner & his Skillet-Lickers with Riley Puckett & Clayton McMichen The Wreck of The Southern Old 97 02:44
18. Casey Bill Weldon Flood Water Blues 03:06
19. The Allen Brothers Jake Walk Blues 02:35
20. Richard "Rabbit" Brown Sinking of the Titanic 03:46
21. Carolina Twins Off to War I'm Going 02:59
22. Cauley Family Lumberton Wreck 02:59
23. Asa Martin & James Roberts Rycove Cyclone 03:12
24. Blind Willie Johnson Dark was the night - Cold was the ground 03:17

VA -  Doom & Gloom - Early Songs Of Angst And Disaster (1927 - 1945)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Country Joe McDonald - War War War (1971)

Political and ecological issues were set to musical accompaniment by Country Joe McDonald, who co-founded and led the psychedelic folk-rock band Country Joe & the Fish, the leading left-wing band of the '60s. Since the group's breakup in 1971, McDonald has continued to musically espouse his political views through his original folk-like songs.

"War War War" is the third album by Country Joe McDonald. The lyrics for the songs on the album were based upon the poetry of Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958), who was sometimes referred to as "the Bard of the Yukon".

The album was released in October 1971 by Vanguard Records (VSD 15) and reissued in February 1995 by One Way Records (OW 30995). Recording took place in Vanguard Studios located in New York City.

Because the album has been out of print for many years, Country Joe McDonald released a live album with the same track listing in 2007 called "War War War Live".


Tracklist:
1. "Forward" 4:39
2. "The Call" 2:35
3. "Young Fellow, My Lad" 3:47
4. "The Man from Athabaska " 6:28
5. "The Munition Maker" 4:22
6. "The Twins" 1:53
7. "Jean Desprez" 9:48
8. "War Widow" 2:02
9. "The March of the Dead" 6:27


Country Joe McDonald - War War War (1971)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Franz Josef Degenhardt - Lullaby zwischen den Kriegen (1983)

The origins of Germany's peace movement date back all the way to the 19th century. In 1892, Bertha von Suttner was among those who founded the German Peace Society (DFG) umbrella organization to represent all pacifists in the German Empire at the time. Several decades later, it merged with groups representing conscientious objectors and renamed itself the German Peace Society - United War Resisters (DFG-VK). It remains one of the biggest organizations of its kind today.

Germany's peace movement, however, really began gathering momentum in the mid-20th century when fears World War III could break out were at their highest. Separated by the Iron Curtain, former West Germany and East Germany marked part of the dividing line between Western NATO states and the eastern Warsaw Pact alliance and would likely have been decimated had the Cold War turned hot.

In 1955, exactly 10 years after the end of World War II, West Germany reestablished its armed forces, now called the Bundeswehr. Large parts of the country's population, however, objected to the remilitarization. Two years later, 18 highly esteemed nuclear scientists, among them Otto Hahn and Werner Heisenberg, published a manifesto criticizing West German government plans to acquire nuclear weapons. The protest letter helped catalyze the "Fight Nuclear Death" movement, which built on a broad alliance of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), unions, the Protestant church and others. By the late 1950s, as the SPD began shifting more towards the center of the political spectrum and away from calls to do away with capitalism, independent civil society actors began driving the anti-nuclear movement. In the early 1960s, annual Easter marches for peace began being held with protesters calling for an end to the Vietnam War and lambasting the German Emergency Acts, which granted West Germany's government far-reaching powers in times of crisis.

By the 1980s, Germany's peace movement — now largely backed by the Greens, unions, parts of the SPD and various churches — became a vocal critic of the ongoing nuclear arms race between the United States and its Soviet counterpart. In 1980, the movement issued the so-called "Krefeld manifesto," which demanded the West German government rescind its permission for new US nuclear-armed cruise missiles and Pershing II weapons systems to be stationed on its territory. The protest movement ultimately grew into the biggest mass movement Germany had ever seen, in part because both West Germany and East Germany would have sustained extreme destruction in case of all-out nuclear war between both superpowers. 

When the West German parliament agreed to the deployment of the US nuclear weapons in 1983, mass protests ensued. More than 1 million people attended four simultaneous peace rallies across West Germany, demanding governments pursue arms control and disarmament schemes. In East Germany, a peace movement - independent of the one-party state - emerged as well.

"Lullaby zwischen den Kriegen" was released in this year and is another expression of the powerful peace movement of that time.


Tracklist:
Lullaby Zwischen Den Kriegen 8:03
Tango Du Midi 5:55
Herbstlied 4:41
Nach 30 Jahren Zurückgekehrt 6:53
Der Geburtstag 7:20
Zeit-Zeuge Jahrgang 00 5:12
Göttingen 4:25
Aufschwungs-Hymne 6:44


Franz Josef Degenhardt - Lullaby zwischen den Kriegen (1983)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

The Specials - Ghost Town / Why? (Single, 1981)

The Specials are one of the defining bands of the late 70’s/early 80’s along with Jerry Dammers iconic label Two Tone Records. They combined Jamaican ska and Rocksteady mixed with the energy of punk and launched a whole Ska Revival which paved the way for fellow likeminded bands Madness, The Beat and The Selecter to release their first singles.

Having had seven top 10 singles and two Gold albums over the course of two years, the band released Jerry Dammers’ Ghost Town in June 1981, backed by Lynval Goldings’ Why? and the Terry Hall penned Friday Night Saturday Morning. The beginnings of the song were written around the closure of the Larcano dancehall in Coventry, but also reflecting what was happening in other towns and cities with urban decay, unemployment and ongoing racial tensions of the period. Themes which are still relevant today.

The single, which was recently voted the second greatest UK single of all time by Alexis Petridis in the Guardian, reached Number One in the UK singles charts and stayed there for a further 3 weeks, becoming one of the biggest selling singles of 1981 and has remained one of the classic UK singles of all.

The beginnings of the song were written around the closure of the Larcano dancehall in Coventry, but also reflecting what was happening in other towns and cities with urban decay, unemployment and ongoing racial tensions of the period. Addressing themes of urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment and violence in inner cities, the song is remembered for being a hit at the same time as riots were occurring in British cities. Themes which are still relevant today.

The single had two B-sides, written by two different members of the Specials. "Why?" is a plea for racial tolerance and was written by guitarist Lynval Golding in response to a violent racist attack he had suffered in July 1980 outside the Moonlight Club in West Hampstead in London, which had left him hospitalised with broken ribs. "Friday Night, Saturday Morning" was written by lead singer Terry Hall and describes a mundane night out in Coventry.


Tracklist:

A Ghost Town 3:40
AA1 Why? 2:59
AA2 Friday Night, Saturday Morning 3:32


The Specials - Ghost Town / Why? (Single, 1981)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Hannes Wader - Dass nichts bleibt wie es war (1982)

Hannes Wader (born Hans Eckard Wader on 23 June 1942) is a German singer-songwriter ("Liedermacher"). He has been an important figure in German leftist circles since the 1970s, with his songs covering such themes as socialist and communist resistance to oppression in Europe and other places like Latin America. He both wrote new songs and played versions of older historical works.

In the 1970s, Hannes Wader became one of the stars of the political left through his provocative songs. He was a member of the German Communist Party from 1977 to 1991. Wader even came under suspicions of terrorism because of his song Der Tankerkönig, a spoken song about kidnapping a tycoon.

"Dass nichts bleibt wie es war" is Waders second live album, recorded in 1981 with Lydie Auvray, Hans Hartmann and Reinhard Bärenz. The album inclueds cover versions of the Franz Josef Degenhardt songs "Winterlied" und "Sommerlied".


Tracklist:
A1 Heute hier, morgen dort 3:16
A2 Schon so lang 4:00
A3 Winterlied 3:03
A4 Traum vom Frieden 2:20
A5 Leben einzeln und frei 4:02
B1 Es ist an der Zeit 6:04
B2 Rohr im Wind 4:23
B3 Sommerlied 4:44
B4 Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind


Hannes Wader - Dass nichts bleibt wie es war (1982)
(192 kbps, cover art incluede)

Vladimir Vissotski – »Von der Erde« und andere Lieder (Pläne,1980)

Vladimir Vissotski doesn't need any explanations. These songs were recorded at Studio Résonance for Le Chant Du Monde, Paris. Scans include text sheet with lyrics in Russian and German as well as press info in German. The track titles are in German, but Vladimir sings in Russian.

Tracklist:
01. Alarmtrommeln – Über die neue Zeit 2:42
02. Lied von der Erde 2:21
03. Er kam nicht aus der Schlacht zurück 3:15
04. Morgengymnastik 1:58
05. Abschied von den Bergen 2:55
06. Erschießung des Echos in den Bergen 2:38
07. Die Söhne ziehen in den Kampf 2:27
08. Hinauf 2:54
09. Im Finstern 2:08
10. Schwarze Kittel 3:33
11. Der Boxer 1:16
12. Störche 4:13
13. Massengräber 1:22
14. Der Gipfel 1:40
Total time: 35:13

Musicians
Vladimir Vissotski: music & lyrics
K. Kazansky: guitar & arrangement
Claude Pavy: guitar
Pierre Moreilhon: bass
Hubert Tissier: bass

Vladimir Vissotski - »Von der Erde« und andere Lieder (Pläne,1980)
(ca. 256 kbps, cover art included)

Dmitry Shostakovich - Symphony No. 13 `Babi Yar` (Vasily Petrenko, Naxos)

Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 in 1962. The climax of his 'Russian period' and, in its scoring for bass soloist, male chorus and orchestra, among the most Mussorgskian of his works, it attracted controversy through its settings of poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (the 'Russian Bob Dylan' of his day) not least the first movement, where the poet underlines the plight of Jews in Soviet society. The other movements are no less pertinent in their observations on the relationship between society and the individual. This is the final release in Vasily Petrenko's internationally acclaimed symphonic cycle.

The cycle of Shostakovich symphonies from Britain's Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko has been widely praised, and this version of one of the composer's sharpest-edged works of protest will not disrupt the general trend. Here, as elsewhere, the reading is a sort of combination of British and Russian elements. The Huddersfield Choral Society probably does not have the sound Shostakovich imagined for this Mussorgskian work. But Petrenko catches the suppressed fury that often comes through only in Russian performances of Shostakovich. The work sets poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, a controversial enough move even during the cultural Thaw year of 1962. Each approaches the question of anti-Semitism in Russia through a different lens, and Petrenko is well acquainted with the moods of the work: the sharp satire, gathering anger, of the "Humor" movement (track 2), depicting the death of humor; the exquisite portrayal of Soviet drudgery in "At the Store" (track 3); the commemoration of the Nazi massacre at Babi Yar, Ukraine, aided by locals (track 1). Against the clear choral sound Petrenko sets a classic Russian bass, Alexander Vinogradov, with compelling results. A fine entry in Petrenko's series, worthy of standing beside his recording of the still grimmer Symphony No. 14, Op. 135.               

"Shostakovich's Symphony No 13, setting poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, was given its UK premiere by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 1971, so there is something satisfyingly symmetrical that it forms the final chapter in Vasily Petrenko's Naxos cycle of all 15 symphonies with the same orchestra. This performance lives up to the high expectations raised by the previous discs in this series: the orchestra, now invested by Petrenko with a true Russian bite and resonance, lives and breathes the music in brilliance and brooding edginess and energy. Harnessing the men'svoices of the RLP Choir and the Huddersfield Choral Society, the interpretation echoes the music s powerfully expressed protest against Soviet anti-Semitism, and sharply focuses on Shostakovich's subversive, humanitarian stance against the Soviet society of his day, heightened by the intensity of the bass protagonist, Alexander Vinogradov. With Petrenko's ear for detail and his instincts for symphonic shape and dramatic flux, this is a disc that stands comparison with the generally acknowledged classic 1962 recording by Kirill Kondrashin (recently re-released on Praga), and it does so with pungent emotional force. **** "--Telegraph, 10/11/14


Dmitry Shostakovich - Symphony No. 13 `Babi Yar` (Vasily Petrenko, Naxos)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Peace Not War (2003)

This is a compilation of pro-peace and anti-war songs by various artists. The original release that started the Peace Not War music movement.

With 32 tracks, ranging from Crass, Midnight Oil and Chumbawamba to Ani Di Franco, Seize the Day and Ms Dynamite, they have produced an amazingly strong message against war. This is music that reawakens energy - it's a compilation that calls for party, protest and resistance.

All proceeds from the sale of this CDs go to non-violent groups active in the movement to end war and make peace. So if you find the album in your local store, don´t hesitate to buy it....


Tracklist:

Disc 1:
1. Ani DiFranco “Self Evident”
2. Sleater-Kinney “Combat Rock”
3. Public Enemy “Son of a Bush
4. Billy Bragg “The Price of Oil”
5. Midnight Oil “US Forces”
6. Chumbawamba “Jacob’s Ladder (Not In My Name)”
7. DJ DisOrientalist “Occident & Emergency”
8. Asian Dub Foundation feat. Tariq Ali “Not In My Name)”
9. Life “Bush and Blair”
10. Seize The Day “United States”
11. Crass “The Unelected President”
12. The Unpeople feat. John Pilger “The Unpeople”
13. Slovo “21 Today”
14. Yo La Tengo “Nuclear War”

Disc 2:
1. Ms Dynamite “Watch Over Them”
2. Roots Manuva “Juggle Tings Proper”
3. Alabama 3 “Flag” (Half Mast mix)
4. The Mark Of Cain “Lone Pine”
5. John Lester “Out of the Clear Blue Sky”
6. GM Baby “Pain of Life”
7. Torben & Joe feat. Ken Livingstone “Money is Your Blood”
8. Nitin Sawhney “Cold and Intimate”
9. Fun<da>mental “Rape (Tactic of War)”
10. SuparNovar “When R They Gonna C?”
11. Laszlo Beckett “What To Do”
12. Pok & The Spacegoats “Voices of a Future”
13. Stephen Smith feat. Pete Seeger & DJ Spooky “The Bell – Paranoia Network Mix”
14. Saul Williams feat. Coldcut “The Pledge of Resistance”
15. Sia “Fear”
16. Massive Attack “Hymn of the Big Wheel”
17. Bindi Blacher “Down”

VA - Peace Not War (2003)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Stimmen des 20. Jahrhunderts - 1933 - Der Weg in die Katastrophe

Originally posted in July 2018:

It happened 74 years ago: The attempt on Hitler’s life on 20 July 1944, was the seventeenth known occasion that someone had tried to kill the NS-dictator Adolf Hitler.

Unlike other attempts however this, the 20 July Bomb Plot, was the most intricate, and involved plans for a new Germany following the successful accomplishment of the mission.

"On this day in 1944, Hitler cheats death as a bomb planted in a briefcase goes off, but fails to kill him.

High German officials had made up their minds that Hitler must die. He was leading Germany in a suicidal war on two fronts, and assassination was the only way to stop him. A coup d'etat would follow, and a new government in Berlin would save Germany from complete destruction at the hands of the Allies. That was the plan. This was the reality: Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, chief of the army reserve, had been given the task of planting a bomb during a conference that was to be held at Berchtesgaden, but was later moved to Hitler's "Wolf's Lair", a command post at Rastenburg, Prussia. Stauffenberg planted the explosive in a briefcase, which he placed under a table, then left quickly. Hitler was studying a map of the Eastern front as Colonel Heinz Brandt, trying to get a better look at the map, moved the briefcase out of place, farther away from where the Fuhrer was standing. At 12:42 p.m. the bomb went off. When the smoke cleared, Hitler was wounded, charred, and even suffered the temporary paralysis of one arm - but he was very much alive. (He was even well enough to keep an appointment with Benito Mussolini that very afternoon. He gave Il Duce a tour of the bomb site.) Four others present died from their wounds.

As the bomb went off, Stauffenberg was making his way to Berlin to carry out Operation Valkyrie, the overthrow of the central government. In Berlin, he and co-conspirator General Olbricht arrested the commander of the reserve army, General Fromm, and began issuing orders for the commandeering of various government buildings. And then the news came through from Herman Goering - Hitler was alive. Fromm, released from custody under the assumption he would nevertheless join the effort to throw Hitler out of office, turned on the conspirators. Stauffenberg and Olbricht were shot that same day. Once Hitler figured out the extent of the conspiracy (it reached all the way to occupied French), he began the systematic liquidation of his enemies. More than 7,000 Germans would be arrested (including evangelical pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer), and up to 5,000 would wind up dead—either executed or as suicides. Hitler, Himmler, and Goering took an even firmer grip on Germany and its war machine. Hitler became convinced that fate had spared him—"I regard this as a confirmation of the task imposed upon me by Providence"—and that "nothing is going to happen to me... [T]he great cause which I serve will be brought through its present perils and...everything can be brought to a good end." - http://www.history.com

Remembering this event, we feature a co-production of the "Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin" and the "Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv" with audio documents from the year 1933: The year Adolf Hitler became dictator of Nazi Germany which lead to the catastrophe of the Second World War and the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a deliberate and systematic extermination of European Jews during World War II. As the Allied Powers fought Nazi Germany's domination of Europe, Adolf Hitler's henchmen were carrying out a mass annihilation of the Jews in Europe at their numerous concentration camps. The total number of Jews murdered during this genocide has been estimated to be nearly 6 million. Besides European Jews, there were many other groups targeted for destruction. They included the handicapped, mentally ill, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals and political dissidents.



Tracklist:

Tracknummer	Aufnahmedatum	Titel	Dauer
01	15.01.1933	Ansprache von Reichskanzler Kurt von Schleicher auf einer Kundgebung des Deutschen Reichskriegerbundes	3'17"
02	30.01.1933	Reportage vom Fackelzug der SA- und der Stahlhelmformationen vor der Berliner Reichskanzlei	3'18"
03	04.03.1933	Amtseinführung des amerikanischen Präsideten Franklin D. Roosevelt	2'34"
04	21.03.1933	Reportage vom "Tag der Nation" in Potsdam	4'50"
	23.03.1933	Reichstagssitzung: Verabschiedung des "Ermächtigungsgesetzes"
05		Reichstagspräsident Hermann Göring	1'51"
06		Adolf Hitler: Regierungserklärung	3'16"
07		Otto Wels (SPD-Fraktionsvorsitzender)	2'38"
08		Adolf Hitler: Erwiderung auf die Rede von Otto Wels	3'40"
09	01.04.1933	Aufruf zum Boykott jüdischer Geschäfte: Sprechchöre; Joesph Goebbels (Reichspropagandaminister)	1'04"
10	05.04.1933	Reportage von einer Polizeiaktion im Berliner Scheunenviertel	3'52"
11	10.05.1933	Reportage von der Bücherverbrennung auf dem Berliner Opernplatz	2'15"
12	1933	Werbung für Kienzle-Uhren: "Deutsch ist die Uhr, deutsch ist der Klang"	3'50"
13	11.09.1933	Kundgebung der Vaterländischen Front in Wien mit Bundeskanzler Engelbert Dollfuß	3'22"
14	20.09.1933	Rundfunkansprache von Ernst Röhm, Stabschef der SA	1'06"
15	30.09.1933	Reportage aus dem Konzentrationslager Oranienburg (bei Berlin)	4'10"
16	30.09.1933	Ansprache von Reichsjustizkommisar Hans Frank in Leipzig auf einer Tagung des Nationalsozialistischen Juristenbundes	3'05"
17	11.11 1933	Aufruf von Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg zur Volksabstimmung am 12. November 1933	1'36"
18	15.11.1933	Ansprache von Reichspropagandaminster Joseph Goebbels anlässlich der Eröffnung der Reichskulturkammer in der Berliner Philharmonie	3'43"
19	16.11.1933	Kommentar von Radio Wien zur Volksabstimmung in Deutschland am 12. November 1933	1'42"
20	19.11.1933	Ansprache von Theodor Adrian von Renteln, Präsident des DIHT, auf einer Tagung des Reichsstandes des deutschen Handels in Braunschweig	2'32"
21	12.12.1933	Reportage von der Eröffnung des Reichstages in der Berliner Krolloper	1'58"
22	16.12.1933	Leipziger Reichstagsbrandprozess: Schlusswort des Angeklagten Georgi Dimitroff (mit Einsprüchen von Senatspräsident Wilhelm Bünger)	5'21"
23	20.12.1933	Ansprache von Reichssendeleiter Eugen Hadamovsky anlässlich der Eröffnung der drei Großsender Berlin, München und Stuttgart	2'12"
24	1933	"Ein Reich ist uns entstanden". Ein Hörbild von Kurt Klawitter	3'25"

VA - Stimmen des 20. Jahrhunderts - 1933 - Der Weg in die Katastrophe
(256 kbps, front cover included)

Vladimir Vissotski - Wir drehen die Erde

Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky (or Vladimir Vissotski) was born and brought up in central Moscow. He made his living as an actor, joining Yuri Lyubimov's company at the Taganka Theatre in 1964 and performing there to the end of his life. He was a mainstay of the theatre's ensemble style, but also took the leading role in several epoch-making productions, notably as Galileo in Brecht's play, and then as a generationdefining Hamlet. Besides the theatre, Vysotsky regularly appeared in films, usually playing "bad boy" roles. Part of his stock-in-trade as an actor was the performance of songs to guitar accompaniment, and it was in this genre, delivering his own words, that he became more famous in his own lifetime than any other Russian creative artist.

The beginning of Vysotsky's professional life coincided with the appearance of guitar poetry, which in its turn was enabled by the availability of the portable tape recorder in the USSR. Vysotsky's songs could therefore be recorded free of official controls, and the results duplicated. The popularity of these homemade tapes, and the semi-legal appearances Vysotsky made in clubs and other institutions, brought him to the attention of the authorities. He was subjected to harrassment because, in official eyes, the content and especially the style of his songs, saturated with robust humor, were unacceptable even within the relatively permissive boundaries of Socialist Realism in its later phases. Vysotsky was regularly censured by various official bodies, but, shielded by his unprecedented popularity, he was never subjected to serious reprisals.

Vladimir Vysotsky became an immensely popular singer/songwriter in the former Soviet Union and was eventually silenced and banished by government officials. When he died in 1980, at the age of 42, over one million people attended his funeral. The posthumous release of his poetry, in addition to his musical legacy and acting, endeared him to the masses. Fans still make pilgrimages to his grave to pay respects to the man who was, for his country, what Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen were to America.

Until his death, Vladimir Vysotsky was a prophet without honor in his own country; although he wrote more than a thousand highly popular songs, he died without an official record release to his name. The reason for this studied neglect lay in the political tenor of his material. Vysotsky, who began performing in the 1960s, was quite critical of the Communist regime, and his lyrics took position on the Soviet status quo. His songs derived from the "blatny pesny" (literally, delinquent song) tradition, with its celebration of sex, drink, and street fights. Informally distributed cassettes ensured Vysotsky a wide and enthusiastic following. After his death, in 1980, Gorbachev granted his music an imprimatur and a 20-album retrospective was released.

Although aparently compiled in Germany, this CD is in Russian and contains some of Visotsky's most popular work. Although Visotsky composed more than a 1,000 songs, only a few of them were sanctioned by the Soviet government. This CD contains many of the songs that were "officially" released to the public and were a staple on Russian radio in the 70's. A unique feature of this CD is that it contains many songs with orchestral background in contrast to the griddy guitar solos that Visotsky usually performed in underground clubs.

Vladimir Vissotski - Wir drehen die Erde
(192 kbps, front & back cover included)

Sarah Gorby - Chansons russes et tziganes

"There can be no-one better than Sarah Gorby for interpreting these popular Russian and Gipsy songs which she collected and selected so lovingly, for Russia was the land of her childhood and Russian her mother-tongue.

With its exceptional sensitivity the voice of Sarah Gorby clearly expresses the feelings of the Russian soul: Melancholy, violence and nostalgia, the language of passion, the spontaneous appeal which is both strong and gentle in these popular songs whose synthesis engendered Russian lyrical writing.

In its sincerity are to be found the gravity, the emotion, the fervur and all the riches of the Slav soul.

Sarah Gorby died in 1980." - From the booklet.

Sarah Gorby - Chansons russes et tziganes
(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Partisans Of Vilna - Songs Of WWII Jewish Resistance (1989)

On this album, some of today's leading Yiddish artists - like David J. Waletzky, Adrienne Cooper, Josh Waletsky, Irena Klepfisz, Michael Alpert, and Henry Sapoznik -  perform music (and recite poetry) associated with the Jewish partisans in the Vilna area during World War II.

This collection of songs stems from the partisans (defiant freedom fighters) around the Vilna ghetto and woodlands in eastern Poland during World War II (though performed more recently for this album). The songs deal with the sorrows of occupation, of the then-contemporary murders, of life in a ghetto. They deal with everyday issues in a sense of escapism from what was not the everyday. They deal with the armed resistance movement fighting the Nazis sporadically in the forests, often alongside Russians working toward similar ends. The origins of specific songs range from theater productions within the ghetto to military marches to folk songs. Tying them together, however, is a constant sense of defiance. Whether overt as in the armed partisan marches, or covert as in the theater production pieces, there is a defiance of the authorities and of the times. There is also a sense of hope implanted within the otherwise often depressing works, in the chord structures somewhat, but more importantly within the lyrics, with references to the awaited dawn from the Kingdom of Night. The musical performance on the album leaves something to be desired, but the goal of the album in preservation of the culture and an important movement at an important time is served exceptionally nonetheless. For those interested solely in the music, this album should perhaps be avoided. For those interested in Eastern European Jewry of the time, and the culture in general, it may prove a powerful album.

This album was produced by Josh Waletsky and Henry Sapoznik and released in 1989.

Tracklist:
01. S'iz Geven a Zumertog
02. Yisrolik
03. Unter Dayne Vayse Shtern
04. Yid, Du Partizaner
05. Blayene Platn
06. Itzik Vitnberg
07. Shtiler, Shtiler
08. Zemlyanka
09. Tsu Eyns, Tsvey, Dray
10. Dos Meydl fun Vald
11. Shtil di Nakht
12. Zog Nit Keynmol

Partisans Of Vilna - Songs Of WWII Jewish Resistance (1989)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

Rolando Alarcón - Canta a los Poetas Soviéticos (1971)

The Chilean composer and singer/player Rolando Alarcon (1929 - 1973) is one of the pioneers of the New Chilean Song movement.

He founded the folk band "Cuncumén" in 1955. In 1962 he left the band and in 1965, after the brief period with "Los De Las Condes", he released his first solo album: "Rolando Alarcón Y Sus Canciones", followed by "Rolando Alarcón" and "El nuevo Rolando Alarcón" (1967) where he turned to a more social implication and to the pop music. He also played on "La Peña de los Parra" and in "Chile Ríe y Canta" peñas.

Canta a los poetas soviéticos is his eleventh album. It is a hommage to the soviet poet Yevgeni Yevtushenko and the singer Bulat Okudzhava.


Tracklist:
01. ¿Querrían los rusos la guerra? (Yevgeni Yevtushenko – Eduard Kolmanowski)
02. Cuando mataron a Lorca (Yevgeni Yevtushenko)
03. La prisa es la maldición del siglo (Yevgeni Yevtushenko)
04. La isba (Yevgeni Yevtushenko)
05. El último trolebús (Bulat Okudzhava)
06. Canción del soldado americano (Bulat Okudzhava)
07. Cancioncita sobre la puerta abierta (Bulat Okudzhava)
08. ¿Escuchan los botines al pasar? (Bulat Okudzhava)
09. Sharmanka (Bulat Okudzhava)

Rolando Alarcón - Canta a los Poetas Soviéticos (1971)
(160 kbps, front cover included)

Vladimir Vysotsky - Selected Songs (Melodija)

Until his death, Vladimir Vysotsky was a prophet without honor in his own country; although he wrote more than a thousand highly popular songs, he died without an official record release to his name. The reason for this studied neglect lay in the political tenor of his material. Vysotsky, who began performing in the 1960s, was quite critical of the Communist regime, and his lyrics took position on the Soviet status quo. His songs derived from the blatny pesny (literally, delinquent song) tradition, with its celebration of sex, drink, and street fights. Informally distributed cassettes ensured Vysotsky a wide and enthusiastic following. After his death, in 1980, Gorbachev granted his music an imprimatur and a 20-album retrospective was released.

Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky was a Russian actor and poet, who wrote biting satire and performed his compositions to a rapt Russian audience. His social and political satire shed much needed light on the ironies and hardships of Soviet life. Walking a fine line between rebellion and conformity, he became immensely popular and died prematurely of alcoholism. The outpouring of grief upon his death was enormous and his music was issued in many forms - first cassette and vinyl, now CD.


Tracklist in English:

1. Fastidious Steeds

2. She's Been to Paris

3. 07 (Trunk Line)

4. Crystal House

5. Peak Mountaineer

6. Here Paws of Fir-Trees Are Shivering

7. It's Not Evening Yet

8. In a Cold Weather

9. Moscow-Odessa

10. Variations on Gypsy Themes

11. That's Us That Make the Earth Go Round

12. Black Pea-Jackets

13. "Yak" Fighter Plane

14. Well, My Hands' Quivering Has Disappeared

15. March of the Miners

16. The Ships Ride and Then Set Course

17. Song About Transmigration of Souls

18. Song About Nothing, Or What Has Happened in Africa

19. Morning Exercises

20. White Silence Vladimir Vysotsky - Selected Songs (Melodija) (256 kbps, small front cover included)

Mark Aizikovitch - in jiddischn wort - Lieder verfolgter jüdisch-sowjetischer Dichter

Mark Aizikovitch, with his "In a Yiddish Word" (2000) ("in jiddischn wort"), demystified Jewish life in eastern Europe. Paying tribute to the Jewish poets murdered in the Soviet Union between 1933 and 1948, Aizikovitch´s record denoted the shtetl as a place of persecution.

Inspired by works of the writer Arno Lustiger on "Stalin and the Jews", Mark Aizikovitch has collected songs by Soviet Jewish poets, which bear witness to the life of the Jewish population in the Soviet Union from the thirties through the fifties. These are songs about exclusion and war, but also about love and big Jewish wedding parties. And again and again the songs celebrate the Russian homeland and Jewish culture.



Tracklist:

1	In jiddischn Wort	3:51
2	Gis 'zhe on	3:43
3	Russische Felder	4:00
4	Freijlechs	3:42
5	Tife griber	5:52
6	Unter daine waisse Stern	3:01
7	Taiere maine	4:26
8	Libinke	2:17
9	A chossn on a kale	4:14
10	Schloflid	3:20
11	Janeks chassene	4:06
12	Mame	4:55
13	Der alter nigun	7:04
14	A jiddische chassene	3:55
15	Ich bin a Jid	3:48

Mark Aizikovitch - in jiddischn wort - Lieder verfolgter jüdisch-sowjetischer Dichter
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Boris Grebenshikov - Russian Songwriter • A Collection From Boris Grebenshikov

An album from Russia's greatest rock musician is long overdue, and this collection is more than worthwhile. Like some American singer/songwriters, Grebenshikov has found himself coming closer and closer to roots music over the years, and these songs are very much the product of that. Whether putting his mark on the traditional song "My Little Loom" or writing an ode to his changing homeland with "Russian Nirvana," he's masterful. The songs themselves (with lyrics provided in four languages) are gems, the product of mature thought and frequently poetic, although the images, which seem obscure to Westernerners, probably resonate with Russians. But the beauty is best-illustrated by the settings, usually stripped-down, but with just the right touches to set off the voice and words, even if it takes some strange left turns, like the pseudo-'50s arrangement of "Gertruda." Accordion is prevalent, of course, but the oboe that courses through "Nikita of Riazan" gives an aching tone to the song. He's often compared to Dylan and Springsteen, which is unfair; the traditions are utterly different. Only the quality of the writing and performing is comparable - listen to the gentle "Dubrovsky" and you'll be convinced. Grebenshikov is world class.                

Boris Grebenshikov became the “Darling of Glasnost” during the post-cold war Soviet Rock boom in the USA. “Like many other artists previously branded as antisovetchiki,” music critic David Kissinger wrote in 1989, “Grebenshikov and his band mates are now being bear-hugged by a Soviet leadership determined to project a new image to the world.” In fact, he was the first Russian rock artist to record in the West. Today, he can still sell out any stadium in Russia.

Russia’s greatest living songwriter spends one month every year in a Tibetan monastery. But his independent thinking has not always served his career well. Grebenshikov and his group Akvarium (Aquarium) blasted onto the Leningrad rock scene in 1973, when there were very few “official” groups in the Soviet Union. The poet laureate of Russian rock refused to submit his contemplative songs to the government’s censorship committees. When Akvarium could not get sanctioned gigs, they played in underground venues, basements, back alley bars, and through it all they built up one of the most loyal fan bases of any Russian act.

Although Boris still performs and records with Akvarium, since 1984 he has periodically taken some time to do solo albums, including the US-released Radio Silence in 1989, when the words of the day were glasnost and perestroika. Some of his most interesting musical endeavors have resulted from these personal recordings, where Boris—who is often compared to Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen—is able to explore the roots of his songwriting and Russian heritage. As a result of these releases, Boris has today come to symbolize the best of Russian music, with books of his poetry and lyrics becoming bestsellers and each album a huge success both critically and popularly.

In contrast to other albums Boris has released outside his homeland, Russian Songwriter treats the listener to a wider overview of the Russian songwriter style. The repertoire ranges from traditional Russian music to songs by writers who influenced his generation, such as Bulat Okujava and Alexander Vertinsky. In these songwriter-centric pieces, Boris combines words and music to create a sonic atmosphere that is undeniably beautiful and unmistakably Russian. The liner notes contain lyrics in four languages and the repertoire is real Russian substance, not watered-down for commercial value.

Tracklist:

1	My Little Loom • Станочек	3:25
2	Gertruda • Гертруда	4:12
3	Nikita Of Riazan • Никита Рязанский	2:40
4	China • Китай	1:48
5	Three Sisters • Три Сестры	4:34
6	Little Swallow • Ласточка	3:51
7	My Lady (Gosudaryna) • Государыня	3:05
8	Fate's Rusty Pail • Ржавый Жбан Судьбы	2:53
9	Vanka Morozov • Ванька Морозов	2:06
10	The Fastest Plane On Earth • Самый Быстрый Самолет	2:51
11	Tarusa • Таруса	3:40
12	Dubrovsky • Дубровский	4:06
13	The Mares Of Reckless Abandon • Кони Беспредела	6:02
14	Garcon Number 2 • Гарсон # 2	4:12
15	Russian Nirvana • Русская Нирвана	3:11

Boris Grebenshikov - Russian Songwriter • A Collection From Boris Grebenshikov
(256 kbps, cover art included)

Einstürzende Neubauten - Kollaps (1981)

Einstürzende Neubauten's first album, as one might imagine, is their most primitive and radical effort, the purest expression of their original aesthetic. This makes the album both historically significant and conceptually intriguing, of course, but what's most interesting about this album is that it still sounds surprising decades after its release. 

Often, albums that are considered extreme art statements upon their debut sound almost quaint a few years later, but while Kollaps perhaps sounds less extreme to ears that heard industrial music turned into disco pabulum by the likes of Nine Inch Nails than it did before, songs like the eight-minute title track and the rumbling live closer, "Negativ Nein," are still a fascinating blend of rhythm and random bashing, tonality and atonality, with anguished vocals by Blixa Bargeld that often seem to have little connection with anything else in the piece. 

The brief tracks, like the 80-second "Sehnsucht," are even more extreme explorations of pure noise. Starting as early as the next album, Einstürzende Neubauten would begin slowly introducing more mainstream musical concepts into their aesthetic, making Kollaps as undiluted a listening experience as there is in the entire catalog.

"The first LP “Kollaps” (Collapse) was a component of Berlin’s big bang in the early 1980s – more radical than punk – which was meant to open completely new avenues for the younger generation to make music. The approach was anarchic, loud, undifferentiated and dilettantish. Correspondingly, its motto was “This record should be inaudible.” However, it wasn’t ruled out that previously unknown perspectives for musical work might develop from this sound mire. The first loose structures can already be heard on the next record."
(Karin Aderhold, Gerhard Paproth, Berlin, in November 1992)

Tracklist:
1 Tanz Debil 3:23

2 Steh auf Berlin 3:46

3 Negativ Nein 2:27

4 U-Haft Muzak 3:40

5 Draussen ist feindlich 0:48

6 Hören mit Schmerzen 2:32

7 Jet'm 1:24

8 Kollaps 8:03

9 Sehnsucht 1:21

10 Vorm Krieg 0:20

11 Hirnsäge 1:55

12 Abstieg & Zerfall 4:28

13 Helga 0:11

14 Negativ Nein 4:37


Track 14 is a  bonus track, recorded live at Tempodrom, Berlin, June 1987.mm

Einstürzende Neubauten - Kollaps (1981)

(ca. 320 kbps, cover art included)

Peter Hacks / Andre Asriel - Aristophanes "Der Frieden" (Litera, 1965)

Peter Hacks (21 March 1928 – 28 August 2003) was a German playwright, author, and essayist. He was born in Breslau (Wrocław), Lower Silesia. Displaced by World War II, Hacks settled in Munich in 1947, where he made acquaintance with Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht. Hacks then followed Brecht to East Berlin in 1955. However, a continued cooperation between him and Brecht did not arise. From 1960 Hacks worked as a dramaturge at the Deutsches Theater (DT) in Berlin.

When the staging of his play "Die Sorgen und die Macht" (1962) sparked criticism from officials, he gave up his position as a dramaturge at the DT and lived again as a freelance writer. His success on the world stage – most notably with "Ein Gespräch im Hause Stein über den abwesenden Herrn von Goethe" (A Discussion in the Stein Home about the Absent Mr. Goethe) – led to his literary acceptance within GDR and West-Germany.

Hacks was a communist and supported the East German government's 1976 expatriation of the singer Wolf Biermann. His correspondence with the communist historian Kurt Gossweiler has been published.


Aristophanes (born c. 450 BCE—died c. 388 BCE) is the greatest representative of ancient Greek comedy and the one whose works have been preserved in greatest quantity.

"Peace" (Greek: Εἰρήνη Eirḗnē) is an Athenian Old Comedy written and produced by Aristophanes. It won second prize at the City Dionysia where it was staged just a few days before the "Peace of Nicias" was validated (421 BC), which promised to end the ten-year-old "Peloponnesian War". The play is notable for its joyous anticipation of peace and for its celebration of a return to an idyllic life in the countryside. However, it also sounds a note of caution, there is bitterness in the memory of lost opportunities and the ending is not happy for everyone. As in all of Aristophanes' plays, the jokes are numerous, the action is wildly absurd and the satire is savage. Cleon, the pro-war populist leader of Athens, is once again a target for the author's wit, even though he had died in battle just a few months earlier.


Here´s Peter Hacks' adaptation of "Peace", with music by Andre Asriel & die Jazz-Optimisten and members of the ensemble of the "Deutsches Theater Berlin" (Fred Düren, Klaus Piontek, Elsa Grube-Deister, Brigitte Soubeyran, Peter Dommisch.), directed by Benno Besson.


Although a committed communist, Benno Besson pushed the circumscribed theatrical freedoms in the German Democratic Republic to their limits. He worked with the GDR's best playwrights - including Peter Hacks and and Heiner Müller - and identified with their refusal to accept the ruling Socialist Unity Party's political boundaries. Although working within the system, they simultaneously questioned it. Many a barb at the bur- eaucracy was buried in a translated line of Aristophanes or Sophocles. Political comments were routinely semi-masked in theatrical productions, but an astute audience did not miss a single one.

Developing Brecht's theories in a new and fresher direction, Besson was instrumental in establishing a new style of acting at the Deutsches Theatre, which had, until then, been much more in the realist tradition. Some have characterised Besson's approach as puppet theatre, because of his reliance on theatrical machinery and, by those used to a more effusive, realistic approach, as "wooden acting". But his productions were characterised by clarity, freshness and liveliness.


Peter Hacks / Andre Asriel - Aristophanes "Der Frieden" (Litera)
(224 kbps, cover art included)

VA - 19. Festival des politischen Liedes (Amiga, 1989)

International peace was one of the significant themes of the “Festival des politischen Liedes”. At the conclusion of the 13th Fstival, for example, the following declaration was read:


“Willenserklärung

zum Abschluss des 13. Festivals des politischen Liedes. Wir sind von vier Kontinenten der Erde gekommen, um mit unseren Liedern zu sagen: Es gibt nichts Wichtigeres als den Frieden!
Vom 13. Festival des politischen Liedes in der Hauptstadt der DDR geht unser Ruf an alle: Wir wollen Frieden auf lange Dauer und weltweit und für jedes Volk und jeden Menschen.
Aber der Frieden ist bedrohter denn je. Die NATO hat ihn im Fadenkreuz. Die Rüstungsprofiteure wollen neue Pershings und Cruise Missiles auf ihn richten. Und dennoch: Die Kräfte des Friedens werden stärker sein als die Kräfte des Krieges!
Vernünftige Vorschläge liegen auf dem Tisch: Die Prager Deklaration, die schwedische Initiative. Wir sind für die Vernunft, sie anzunehmen!

Wir haben nur den einen Planeten. Im Namen der Menschheit, die weiterleben muß:
WEG MIT DEM NATO-RAKETENBESCHLUSS!

Berlin, 20. Februar 1983“


It was typical for the official „Singebewegung“, that it voiced its concerns for the environment and for humanity on an international level, but did not direct ist criticisms to critical situations, both environmental and humanitarian, within their own borders.

"19. Festival des politischen Liedes" is a live album performed by artists of various nationalities, recorded between February 12 and 19, 1989 in the context of the nineteenth version of the Political Song Festival ( German : Festival des politischen Liedes ) organized by the Free German Youth (FDJ) in East Berlin , at the time the capital of the German Democratic Republic.

Among the Spanish-speaking interpreters on the album are Cuban Santiago Feliú , Uruguayan Daniel Viglietti, and Chileans Sol y Lluvia .

Tracklist:

1. Oysterband - New York Girls 3:53 
2. Regenbogen - Schöner Junge 5:13 
3. Santiago Feliu Y Su Grupo - Vida 4:15 
4. Nachtschicht - Probleme 5:32 
5. Daniel Viglietti - Soldead Barret 3:43
6. Rotdorn - Immer Wieder 4:15 
7. Audrey Motaung - If All Men Were Truly Brothers 8:09 
8. Sol Y Lluvia - Armas Vuelvense A Casa 3:52 
9. Pawel Dementjew - Wir 4:20 
10. Billy Bragg - The St Valentine's Day 4:32 
11. Koreanisches Jugendensemble - Die Herren Der Zukunft 2:01 
12. Chalk Circle - Loaded Gun 3:04


VA - 19. Festival des politischen Liedes (Amiga, 1989)

(320 kbsp, cover art included)

Franz Josef Degenhardt - Krieg gegen den Krieg - Ausgewählte Lieder

Franz-Josef Degenhardt (born 3 December 1931 in Schwelm, Westphalia) is a German poet, satirist, novelist, and – first and foremost – folksinger/songwriter (Liedermacher) with decidedly left-wing politics. He is also a lawyer, bearing the academic degree of Doctor of Law.
After studying law from 1952 to 1956 in Cologne and Freiburg, he passed the first German state bar examination in 1956 and the second in 1960. From 1961 he worked for the Institute for European Law of the University at Saarbrücken, where he obtained his doctorate in 1966. Degenhardt joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1961, but was forced out in 1971 because of his support for the German Communist Party.

From the early 1960s onward, in addition to practicing law, Degenhardt was also performing and releasing recordings. He is perhaps most famous for his song (and the album of the same name) Spiel nicht mit den Schmuddelkindern ("Don't Play With the Grubby Children," 1965), but has released close to 50 albums, starting with Zwischen Null Uhr Null und Mitternacht ("Between 00:00 and Midnight," 1963), renamed Rumpelstilzchen ("Rumpelstiltskin"); his most recent albums Krieg gegen den Krieg ("War against the War") and Dämmerung ("twilight") came out in 2003 and 2006. In 1968 Degenhardt was involved in trials of members of the German student movement, principally defending social democrats and communists. At the same time, he was – in his capacity as a singer-songwriter – one of the major voices of the 1968 student movement. On his 1977 album Wildledermantelmann he criticized many of his former comrades from that era for what he saw as their betrayal of socialist ideals and shift towards a social-liberal orientation. The album's title (roughly, "man with velour coat") mocks the style of clothing they had supposedly adopted.

Notably, the songs on Degenhardt's 1986 album Junge Paare Auf Den Bänken ("Young Couples on the Benches"), along with the song Vorsicht Gorilla ("Beware of Gorilla") on the 1985 album of the same name, are his translations into German of chansons by the French singer-songwriter Georges Brassens, spiritually perhaps one of his closest musical allies.

Degenhardt has also written several novels, most in a rather autobiographical vein, among others: "Zündschnüre" ("Slow Matches", 1972), "Brandstellen" ("Scenes of Fires", 1974), "Der Liedermacher" (1982) and "Für ewig und drei Tage" ("For Ever and Three Days", 1999).

Tracklist:
1 Diesmal werd ich nicht mit ihnen ziehn 3:41

2 Eigentlich unglaublich 2:12

3 In den guten alten Zeiten 6:06

4 Befragung eines Kriegsdienstverweigerers 4:00

5 Spaziergang 2:42

6 Reiter wieder an der Schwarzen Mauer 4:39

7 Denkbar ist aber auch immer noch 2:08

8 Diesmal Grenada 6:49

9 Ja, das ist die Sprache der Mörder 1:00

10 Weltkrieg Nr. 1 2:32

11 Quantensprung 5:45

12 Im Krieg3:17

13 Am Fluss 2:13

14 Frühlingslied 4:50

Franz Josef Degenhardt - Krieg gegen den Krieg - Ausgewählte Lieder

(flac, cover art included)