RESEARCH 1-6-12 In Research 1968 TRIPPY MYSTICAL ACID PSYCH LP original LISTEN

$

48

RESEARCH 1-6-12 "In Research"

Original 1968 LP on the US FLICK CITY label, STEREO FC 5001

Cover:  VG+, top seam 1/2 split, some scuffs on back

Vinyl plays VG+

Recorded “in one day..quickly.”  “Sold maybe 3 records.”  Lead guitar provided by one Rabbi Morrie Yess, who now claims on his website that “we have some serious stuff coming down from Heaven.”  Does this sound like the makings of a monster psych rock album?  You bet it does!  It’s the late 60’s, man!

That’s a short history of California’s RESEARCH 1-6-12, whose only album, 1968’s In Research, is a very in-demand psychedelic collectible.  I’d say it’s an acid-drenched classic, but Rabbi Yess adamantly states that “to this day, I have never smoked a joint.  Most people don’t believe that…but it’s true.”  Yeah, Rabbi, it’s a little hard to believe when your song titles include “The Grass is Greener,” “Lip Smackin’ Good” and “Lookin’ in the Toaster.”  I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t a few demos in the can with titles like “Midnight Munchies,” “What’s the Meaning of Life?” and “Oh My God, Quick, Flush That S**t Down the Toilet, Someone’s Banging on the Door (Part 1).” 

Despite the Rabbi’s humble short-selling, In Research actually lives up to the hype, or at least the steady demand from collectors around the world scrambling to find a copy.  The fact that it’s never been reissued probably helps, but that’s also true of the two other major acid obscurities on the tiny Flick Disc label – the American Revolution, and Kim Fowley’s wackjob freakout St. John Green.  And like those other albums, the tiny Flick City label doesn’t practice much quality control over Research 1-6-12, so the band’s all over the place on this record, careening from old-timey Country Joe and the Fish/Hapshash and the Coloured Coat good-time rock (“Pale Rose Grey”) to swampy fuzzed-out Dr. John meets Captain Beefheart hoodoo blues (“Lip Smackin’ Good”) and everything in between.  Couple that with the fact that, like the good Rabbi said, this album was recorded in ONE DAY, and it’s a surprise anything coherent came out of it.  And without the use of drugs too.  The Rabbi’s pretty clear about that.

So if it ain’t weed, then what exactly is responsible for the album’s highlight, the dark mystical head swirler “Omar,” easily the most psychedelic thing here and a formidable equal to the trippier second album Electric Prunes stuff, like “Antique Doll” or “The Great Banana Hoax.”  So go ahead, Tipper Gore, try and explain the inspiration behind lines like these:

“Omar the wood gatherer on the dock,

He deals in wood all around the clock.

You can choose from his abundant stock,

If you walk in and say, “Hi!”

Of course, it’s such a breathy, stoned “hi” that you almost have to add the “-gh” – I mean, that’s what they’re getting at here, right?  Abundant stock?  Dealing in wood (pipes)?  And isn’t “Omar” street slang for marijuana?  Don’t ask me.  I don’t touch the stuff.

The album’s other mind-melter is a song called “The Feeling,” an absolute stone-cold psych rock CLASSIC, with jagged slashing guitar licks and processed distorto mushroom vocals, another headphone trip through the paisley ether.  Kinda hard to believe the boys knocked this baby out in one day back in 1968, but maybe more than any other album of that year, it truly captures the heady vibe and incredible creative explosion that music was experiencing in those magical days.  Try putting Avril Lavigne or Amy Winehouse in a studio for 8 hours and see what you get out of it.  A temper tantrum and thirty empty bottles of gin.  And no album to show for it.

No doubt about it, In Research is a psychedelic gem.  A glorious snapshot of one creative day back in 1968 when anything was possible.  Even if the good Rabbi Yess downplays its significance today.  “I recall one gig in Lancaster, CA,” he remembers, “where we did one set and the manager told us to go home. He preferred the juke box.  We sold maybe 3 records. My mother bought one. My sister bought the second. I bought the third.”  Well, this must be mom’s copy right here.  Bid accordingly.

Proof that the Rabbi was capable of greater things comes later in his recollection, when he says that he was offered two jobs in other bands, both of which he turned down – the Association, and a new group which were going to be huge, a little band called the Jefferson Airplane.  Which is kinda ironic, really, since he was only one letter away from being a “White Rabbit.”

HEAR IT!

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I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

 For more security and international tracking, you may request GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL - but bear in mind the cost of this service is upwards of $30.  For expensive items, however, it may be well worth it.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.   Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.