LADY GREENGRASS / LOVE OF MINE (THE ONES: PRE-TANGERINE DREAM)

The first recording by Edgar Froese's band, The Ones. No kozmische music here, and even less electronic sequencers. The songs featured on this EP are just rocky and catchy soft psychedelic pop rock songs.

Lady Greengrass opens with a mysterious ambiance, delicate vocals and alternates fast and slow passages. The sound is always clear. You can also hear the word "tangerine" sung; was this predestinated ? Love of Mine is much more bluesy, in the vein of Jefferson Airplane. However this track has a little originality: a few seconds of break with oriental instruments and strange percussions.

Although one cannot guess the musical direction that will take Edgar Froese and co. few years after by hearing this, The Ones recorded good and enjoyable psych-pop songs in the late 60s that could quite equal the tunes released the same time by other well known bands. The talent was already here ! 3,5 stars !

As it was said, these two singles have nothing in common with TD's traditional & original synth based soundscapes and psych-kraut jams. However in these early years we can detect a certain ability to associate a standard psych pop rock with fuzzed/freak out guitars. It also contains vocals in a discreet stoned rock mood. The band rapidly reaches to a professional statue with much achieved compositions (despite of the use of conventional schemes of 60's beat music). "Lady Greengrass" is a powerful, dynamic rocking excursion with excellent lyrics and short guitar solo experimentations. "Love of Mine" is closed to 60's songs from the famous "The Animals", including a nice groove and Hammond organs. Not for TD usual fans but highly recommended for fans of British psych pop acts.

Did Froese really write "Your skirt's so short that your thighs are showin"?

"Lady Greengrass" is not actually a Tangerine Dream release, but a single by a band called The Ones. Released in 1967, this German single was the band's only official release. The reason it is of interest to Tangerine Dream fans is the presence of a young Edgar Froese in the line up. It has since gained a semi-official status in the Tangs discography through inclusion of both the A and B sides on the "Nebulous Dawn" box set compilation. That set contains the band's first four albums in full, plus both sides of the rare single "Ultima Thule".

As for "Lady Greengrass", which Froese plays on but had no part in writing, the song has little in common with the work of Tangerine Dream during any stage of their career. This is a pretty straightforward psychedelic pop song with dreamy lyrics and echoed vocals. The best comparison is probably with the lighter Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd material such as "See Emily play". Perhaps coincidentally (perhaps not) the lyrics include the line " Puff the trees turn tangerine, Puff the sky is suddenly green, Her eyes breath in a state of mind, She's beginning to fly".

The B-side "Love of mine", which Froese did co-write, is more of a rocker, the opening stanza " Your skirt's so short that your thighs are showin, You move so fine that gets me going" reflecting the formative years of the young men involved.

As a single in its own right, this is an adequate piece of 60's psych. In terms of the Tang's history, it has little relevance musically.

One year before Tangerine Dream were first founded, four years before "Electronic Meditation," this single, the only release by The Ones, was Edgar Froese's first foray into recording. While bearing very little resemblance to anything that would come later, Lady Greengrass/Love of Mine is still well worth documenting.

Very much a product of its time, Lady Greengrass is a more-than-competent slice of 60s psychedelic pop, a little lightweight perhaps, but way above average for its time and its country of origin. Unlike many bands who simply jumped on the psychedelic bandwagon, The Ones sound as though they have something relevant to say. It's not difficult to imagine Syd Barrett- era Pink Floyd doing this - it evokes its time in much the same way that the Floyd's debut disc "Arnold Layne" does, especially when the two records are played one after the other. They're not hugely dissimilar, and remember also that Lady Greengrass came first by several months.

The B-side, Love of Mine, which Edgar Froese co-wrote, is a harder-sounding soul-influenced number bearing more than a passing resemblance to "Mony Mony." Overall, this is a good single. It should be pointed out that it also benefits from quite a clean sound and generally good production, something which actually cannot be said for some of Tangerine Dream's early recordings.

A moment ago I was very surprised to find out the origins of this song that I heard yesterday in a recent, awarded Italian film Nostalgia, directed by Mario Martone, based on a 2016 novel by Ermanno Rea. What a nice surprise! I didn't spot the song credits at the end of the film, I was too busy spotting the proper Tangerine Dream pieces. I would have never guessed the song was NOT by some American or British psychedelic rock band of the late 60's, in the vein of QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE. With the help of the trailer and lyrics googling, I discoverd it was recorded by the German beat group called THE ONES, fronted by Edgar Froese before he founded TANGERINE DREAM. Of the list of musicians on this single, Froese is the only one I know.

'Lady Greengrass' is an excellent slice of the Psychedelic Rock movement circa 1966-67. The playing and production are of good quality, and for a debut recording from 1966, that's really something to appreciate. As Easy Livin points out in his review, a good comparison is the Syd Barrett era PINK FLOYD, songs such as 'See Emily Play'. I like the vocals very much, and the drumming is great. The song's mood is charmingly hippie-ish and dreamy. [ 4/5 ]

The B side song 'Love of Mine' is less interesting to me. This song is angrier and bluesier than 'Lady Greengrass', and I'm not fond of the organ and the sharp horn-like sound. The raw energy is reminiscent of the early THE WHO. [ 2½ /5 ]