Moody and atmospheric, and mixing Italian themes with moody, occasionally dissonant modernist jazz-based material, The Rose Tattoo is an one of
Alex North's most worthwhile scores, a dark, brooding piece of virtuoso composition and playing. Evidently, the original LP never went through many pressings, a fact suggested by the excellent condition of the master tape when it was reissued on CD some 43 years after the original LP came out. One only wishes there had been credits at the time indicating the names of the musicians involved in this recording, since their playing is so good. ~ Bruce Eder