In 1990,
Bruce Dickinson launched his solo career with
Tattooed Millionaire, which is far from a carbon copy of his work with
Iron Maiden. Many of the fans who knew him as
Maiden's lead vocalist assumed that this solo debut would be
Maiden-like -- they expected an album of aggressive yet melodic
fantasy metal in the
Maiden/
Ronnie James Dio/
Black Sabbath vein. But
Tattooed Millionaire found
Dickinson favoring more of a
hard rock/
pop-metal approach. This album is full of glossy and lighthearted
pop-metal that wouldn't be out of place on an album by
Winger,
Bon Jovi, or
Def Leppard.
"Lickin' the Gun" is more
Aerosmith than
King Diamond, and
"Son of a Gun" is more
Bad Company than
Candlemass. And while some
Maiden worshipers might prefer to hear
Dickinson singing
fantasy metal, the fact is that
Tattooed Millionaire is excellent. With this album,
Dickinson did what fellow Brit
Rob Halford did on some of
Judas Priest's more commercial and
pop-influenced releases -- he showed listeners another side of himself and demonstrated that he wasn't obligated to embrace
fantasy metal 100 percent of the time. For
Dickinson, coming out with something more
pop-minded didn't mean being contrived or unimaginative.
Tattooed Millionaire, for all its
pop-metal gloss, has a lot of guts, and
Dickinson is consistently inspired whether he is embracing original material or providing a memorable remake of
David Bowie's
"All the Young Dudes." On subsequent solo efforts like 1994's
Balls to Picasso and 1998's
The Chemical Wedding, the British vocalist got back to
fantasy metal. But he seemed to need a break from it in 1990, and
Tattooed Millionaire turned out to be a most pleasant surprise. ~ Alex Henderson
![Slip of the Tongue [30th Anniversary Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0190295409791_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Slip of the Tongue [30th Anniversary Edition]")
