The Rose Tattoo (album)

Infobox Album | Name = The Rose Tattoo
Type = studio
Artist = Daniela Nardi
Released = 2008
Recorded = 2007-2008
Genre = Adult Contemporary
Label = Minerva Road Entertainment

The Rose Tattoo is the second album for Toronto Canada based singer/songwriter Daniela Nardi.

The Rose Tattoo Story

The follow-up to One True Thing (album) , Daniela Nardi’s well-received 2003 debut, it represents a major creative step forward. The gap between releases is attributable to a case of real life getting in the way. In 2004, Nardi’s mother Rosetta was diagnosed with cancer, and her loving daughter devoted herself full-time to her mother’s care.

As her mother defied the odds by beating the cancer into temporary remission, Daniela was gradually able to return to her creative self. Once fully committed to working on the new record, Nardi remained careful not to rush the process. A self-confessed perfectionist, she makes no apologies for her painstaking approach.

For The Rose Tattoo, Daniela was looking to work with someone to help realize her vision of acoustic nu-jazz blended with electronic music. That key collaborator is noted Toronto producer Greg Kavanagh (BKS, Jennifer Warnes, Chrissie Hynde). Together they have brought about an evolution and transformation in Daniela’s sophisticated sound, while preserving the essence of her earlier sound.

Working in Kavanagh’s studio Kavasound, Daniela refused to let herself be confined by genre boundaries in framing her songs musically. Daniela's open-minded and adventurous approach is typified by such touches as the sound of Calabrian women singing on the opening of “Rosetta” and the sample of Martin Luther King’s legendary “I have a dream” speech that leads off “The Longest Road,” the epic closing track that also features Arabic chanting.

Daniela has drawn comparisons to Sting and Joni Mitchell but the only word for her eclectic sound is “earthymodernjazzpopcool,” while subtly effective touches of electronica also infuse these new songs.

The focus on the album is always kept on the key instrument, Daniela’s strong, pure and haunting vocals. These are equally at home on tender ballads (“Grace,” “Rosetta,” the gorgeous “Cry”) and the bluesy gem “Fugitive Kind,” whose swampy vibe befits the Southern setting.

There’s a compelling story behind the choice of album title, as Daniela recalls. “It was inspired from the time my mom was in hospital. I remember one specific day there with her, and I was thinking of possible titles. I was thinking of the mark she has left on my heart, the Rose mark, but that’s not very poetic. That’s when the movie title came to mind.” The Rose Tattoo, a drama based on a Tennessee Williams play, scored a handful of Academy Awards in 1956, and their shared emotional power makes the album and movie fitting namesakes.

The Rose Tattoo is a journey of passion, finesse, intensity, and artistry, an album that will etch itself upon both head and heart. It’s Daniela Nardi 2008: as great as before, better than ever, with so much more to come.

Track listing

All songs were written by Daniela Nardi
# Magdelena Blue
# Cry
# Still
# Dear Em
# Book of Days
# Fugitive Kind
# Grace
# 485
# Rosetta
# The Longest Road
# The Fugitive Kind (Nujazz Mix)
# Cry (Nujazz Mix)