Eccentric and unique vocalist Walter Seyffer had fronted numerous bands during the 1960s. He claims to have established the Mannheim based Nine Days Wonder in 1966, then known as The Graves, who gradually transformed into Nine Days' Wonder. A 1969 line-up is documented as: Rolf Henning (guitar), Walter Seyffer (vocals, drums), Winfried Schmidt (bass) and Bernd "Ravi" Unger (guitar). But Nine Days' Wonder proper (or, as we know them) gelled as a new line-up in February 1970, with an Austrian (Karl Mutschlechner), an Irishman (John Earle) and an Englishman (Martin Roscoe), to create a bizarre and fascinating rock fusion showing distinct Zappa and British underground rock influences.
Their debut LP, originally issued in a green foam rubber cover, but more widely known with the British Hipgnosis design, saw them present a music roughly in the same field as Supersister or Moving Gelatine Plates, sans the Canterbury references. Nine Days' Wonder were a distinctly Krautrock twist on the genre, radical, innovative and unpredictable. Featuring what was really only four tracks (two of them lengthy segued extravaganzas, full of bizarre unlikely diversions) NINE DAYS WONDER presented an exceptionally complex music featuring highly powered instrumentals, diversions into jazz fusion, high experimentation, and above all some of the most fascinating and eccentric songs on record. The vocal piece "Morning Spirit" has to be heard to be believed! This band also worked incognito as Maternal Joy releasing a single in 1971. Rare live recordings of the 1970/71 Nine Days' Wonder exist documenting them with some excellent material that never gained release on LP.
It's hardly surprising that the original Nine Days' Wonder didn't last long, apparently falling apart during their first British tour. Thus, searching for a new band, Walter met up with Michael Bundt's group Medusa, who he joined replacing Geff Harrison who'd gone on to Twenty Sixty Six. Anyway, as the legend goes, Bacillus quite liked what Medusa were doing but didn't want to sign up a new band as Nine Days' Wonder still had an open contract, so Medusa became Nine Days' Wonder. Paradoxically
WE NEVER LOST CONTROL was very tame compared to the previous album,
without the jazzy elements and instead being more richly textured
progressive rock with hard-rock touches. It is still an excellent album
though, when judged on its own merits.
In one sense, the third album ONLY THE DANCERS rectified some of the former album's shortcomings, with a return to Seyffer's eccentric and bizarre lyrics in some of the more dramatic longer tracks, and a wider instrumentation, but also featured a lot in the way of "bubblegum" pop, which was deemed catchy and fresh when I first heard it in the 1970s, but has now worn thin. A couple of luminary guests featured: Dave Jackson (Van der Graaf Generator) and Steve Robinson (ex-Twenty Sixty Six And Then).
The CD only archive collection THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIFE? has material spanning all this era, from an early aborted single, via an excellent early concert broadcast onto demos and rehearsal tapes, documenting the history and development of Nine Days' Wonder during their classic days.
As with most good rock bands, Nine Days' Wonder caused their own fateful end by attempting to go commercial - a tactic that generally backfires - and SONNET TO BILLY FROST was a disaster! Michael Bundt went on to form mainstream rock bands Nerve and Marilyn, and later established a solo career as a synthesist. Walter went on to the pop duo Wintergarden.
Still some copies of the old Rom available here
CDs at the UT Discogs shop
