Norman Watt-Roy

“Faith & Grace”

(Cadiz Music CADIZCD118)

Bass guitarist Norman Watt-Roy has become something of a cult figure thanks to his lengthy tenure with Ian Dury and The Blockheads plus his later involvement with the Wilko Johnson Band. Although Watt-Roy has played on numerous records by these artists as well as enjoying a prolific career as a session musician “Faith & Grace” (rhymes with bass, geddit?) represents his first album as a leader which is pretty remarkable for an artist who has been a professional musician since 1967! The cover depicts a sketch of Watt-Roy by artist Peter Blake (of Sergeant Pepper fame) made in 1978 during the height of the fame of The Blockheads. 

I’m not going to delve too deeply into Watt-Roy’s musical history during these introductory paragraphs because “Faith & Grace” is in effect a musical autobiography with producer Gilad Atzmon acting as Watt-Roy’s confidante and ghost writer. The album brings together the many facets of Watt-Roy’s career with help from a cast that includes many of the UK’s leading jazz musicians plus his old mucker Wilko Johnson.

The Israeli born multi instrumentalist Gilad Atzmon moved to the UK in 1993 and has enjoyed a lengthy tenure with the Blockheads whilst simultaneously conducting a highly creative and prolific solo career as a musician, author, record producer and political activist. Having been coerced into helping his old Blockheads band-mate Atzmon has come up with what he regards as the best production job of his career, he also plays a variety of instruments and in many ways it’s as much his album as Watt-Roy’s. Most of Atzmon’s solo career has been broadly in the jazz camp and the personnel on Faith & Grace includes Atzmon’s regular associate Frank Harrison (keyboards) plus a rotating cast of drummers including Asaf Sirkis, Enzo Zirilli and the Blockheads’ Dylan Howe. Guitarist Onnie Mcintyre of the Average White Band guests on one track and there’s also a vocal cameo from another Atzmon associate, singer and songwriter Sarah Gillespie.

“Faith & Grace” represents a celebration of Watt-Roy’s life in music and what better place to start than with a song by his old boss, the incomparable Ian Dury. Rearranged by Watt-Roy and Atzmon the tale of “Billericay Dickie” is slowed down and re-located to a ghostly jazz club. Watt-Roy’s sleazy vocal is still Dury-esque but the music hall meets punk perkiness of the original is replaced by an air of desperation and regret, the atmospheric arrangement more Kurt Weill than Punk Britannia. An interesting treatment of a much loved classic, and is that really Dury’s sampled voice announcing Watt-Roy at the end?

Despite his punk credentials Watt-Roy is a long time jazz enthusiast and cites Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane as musical heroes. He has also been known to define the Blockheads as being “a jazz band with an audience”. I’ve always loved that quote.
It was inevitable that Watt-Roy should have become a fan of the late, great Jaco Pastorius, arguably the greatest electric bass player of them all. Pastorius certainly described himself as such. Watt-Roy and Atzmon pay homage to Jaco with their arrangement of his composition “John And Mary”, a great show case for Watt-Roy’s playing. The first section features liquid, lyrical Pastorius like bass, the second is a funky workout that demonstrates Watt-Roy’s way with a groove as he works in tandem with Sirkis behind Atzmon’s earthy sax and Harrison’s dirty Fender Rhodes. 

The first original tune, “Wachu-Wa”, was written by Watt-Roy and Atzmon with the vocal chants supplied by Watt-Roy’s Mexican girlfriend Lizette Orozco. Watt-Roy’s percolating, funky bass line underpins the simple vocal harmonies sung by Orozco and her friends Jackeline Orozco-Gutierrez and Lorena Estevez-Vasquez. The title is effectively Mexican for “la, la, la” and there’s a breezy, infectious air of optimism about it. Other contributors include Atzmon, Harrison and Sirkis plus Zirilli on percussion and a brief cameo from Onnie Mcintyre on guitar.

The in demand Watt-Roy has appeared live with Nick Cave and the Watt-Roy/Atzmon composed “Me, My Bass And I” was originally intended to feature a vocal from either Cave or Robert Wyatt. With neither of these luminaries becoming available it instead became a musical version of Norman’s life story, the “vocals” now being snippets of an interview that Atzmon conducted with him. We only hear Watt-Roy’s voice and learn the tale of how his Anglo-Indian family emigrated from the sub continent on an ocean liner when Norman was only four years old. They re-located to North London and despite early experiences of “Paki bashing” Norman grew up to embrace British culture and now sounds like a fully authenticated Cockney geezer. Encouraged by his musician father to learn an instrument he began on rhythm guitar before moving to bass and forming a soul covers band with his older brother Garth. He later joined the band Loving Awareness which was to metamorphose into the Blockheads following a later meeting with Dury and guitarist/songwriter Chas Jankel. Watt-Roy talks of the influence of Jaco Pastorius and Weather Report on the Blockheads’ music and how, like me, he worked his way backwards from fusion to discover the music of Ellington, Parker and Coltrane. In Watt-Roy’s words “Wilko came later” and he also speaks with fondness of his “forty five years on the road, me my bass and I”.
Besides the words the track features some great instrumental playing with Watt-Roy’s characteristically deep but melodic bass lines augmented by Atzmon, Harrison and Blockhead colleague Dylan Howe at the drums. It’s largely jazz flavoured and illustrates the narrative perfectly with delightful cameos from Harrison and Watt-Roy himself. This is that rarity, a narrated track that bears repeated listening. It’s arguably the centre piece of the album and represents a triumph for all concerned.
An aside, Norman doesn’t mention that he and his brother recorded an album for Harvest Records as The Greatest Show On Earth. I’ve never heard it but believe that it was called “Horizons” and I remember seeing it illustrated on the inner sleeves of other Harvest albums of the time by Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Edgar Broughton Band etc. I’d wager that it’s now one of the most collectable items in the old Harvest catalogue. I seem to remeber him being in the band Glencoe too.

The song “Save It” reworks Watt-Roy’s famous bass line for Dury’s biggest hit “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”.  It forms the backbone of a new song written by Watt-Roy, Atzmon and Sarah Gillespie with a typically clever, sassy and streetwise Gillespie lyric topped off by her sultry and sensuous vocal performance. With lyrics lampooning modern obsessions such as body image and intellectual pretension and with the whole thing propelled by Watt-Roy’s irresistible bass lines it’s both feisty and fun.

“Norman! Norman!” also revisits some of the bassist’s most famous riffs. The title is taken from the chant that still goes out for this cult figure at Blockheads gigs. Watt-Roy picks up the rhythm of the chant and runs with it and the piece also incorporates two famous bass lines from Watt-Roy’s session work, “The Magnificent Seven” by The Clash and Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax”.

The brief “Moishe Tantrum” features Atzmon’s scat vocals above a busy Watt-Roy bass line with the producer’s sax and Sirkis’ drums added for good measure. A bit throwaway but good fun.

The Doctor Feelgood classic “Roxette” is included in a new arrangement by Watt-Roy and Atzmon. Writer Wilko Johnson sings and plays guitar on a piece that has no doubt also become a staple of his solo live shows. Johnson, Watt-Roy and Dylan Howe have often been out on the road as a trio and they’re supplemented here by organist Frank Harrison and Atzmon on reeds. Johnson’s voice may lack the power of Lee Brilleaux’s but on the whole he acquits himself well and sounds suitably unhinged on the opening semi spoken section. As has been well documented Johnson has been diagnosed with terminal cancer but continues to play and exhibits a tremendous lust for life. The trio featuring Watt-Roy and Howe will play two nights at Koko, Camden, London on October 13th and 14th 2013. Whatever their musical persuasion I’m sure all music fans will wish him well.

Credited to Watt-Roy “Papa Chu Pap” is another brief cameo again featuring scat style vocals but also includes sampled voices, among them Dury again.

The album concludes with a surprisingly tender Watt-Roy/Atzmon instrumental arrangement of Victor Young’s “My Foolish Heart” that Watt-Roy describes as being a “nice way to say goodnight”. His melodic, liquid bass is at the heart of the arrangement with the core duo of Atzmon and Harrison adding sympathetic support on a variety of instruments.

Thanks to Atzmon’s visionary production “Faith & Grace” represents an impressive artistic statement albeit one that draws on fairly limited resources and frequently re-works old material. However the playing is exemplary throughout and the album has been crafted with real care and skill. It’s a piece of work that Watt-Roy’s many fans will wish to hear and it’s a record possessed with considerable warmth that is likely to become much loved.

Watt-Roy will be heading out on the road to tour this material during October and November 2013 with a band including Atzmon and I suspect that it’s likely to be a live experience that will be well worth seeing.

NORMAN WATT-ROY’S FAITH & GRACE TOUR

October 2013

17 SUDBURY Quay Theatre

18+19. GUERNSEY Fermaine Tavern
20 WORCESTER Marr’s Bar

22 KINGS HEATH Hare and Hounds

24 PUTNEY Half Moon

25 COLCHESTER Arts Centre

26 TUNBRIDGE WELLS Forum

27 SHEFFIELD Greystones

29 WATFORD The Horns

30 BOLTON The Railway

31 POOLE Mr. Kyp’s

November 2013

01 BIDEFORD Palladium

03 PORTSMOUTH Wedgewood Rooms

07 DERBY Flowerpot

08 NEWTON ABBOTT Seale Hayne

09 WATCHET Mineral Line

14 SWINDON The Vic

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