When Sony reissues a title on Legacy, it usually means that the album has some type of historic value -- something that has withstood the test of time and is considered a classic in its genre. In 2002, Columbia/Sony reissued
Bruce Dickinson's first solo album,
Tattooed Millionaire, on Legacy and added five bonus tracks. By that time,
Tattooed Millionaire was 12 years old, and the question is: Does this album (originally released in 1990) deserve to be called a classic? Absolutely.
Dickinson's solo career got off to an excellent start with
Tattooed Millionaire, and the interesting thing is that this CD was such a departure from the singer's work with
Iron Maiden. In the '80s,
Iron Maiden was the essence of larger-than-life fantasy metal -- the Brits' lyrics often dealt with the supernatural, and
Maiden fans tended to crave equally fantasy-oriented headbangers like
Judas Priest,
Black Sabbath,
Candlemass,
King Diamond,
Ronnie James Dio, and
Queensrÿche. But
Tattooed Millionaire isn't fantasy metal; instead,
Dickinson surprised listeners with an unexpected pop-metal direction. This time,
Dickinson is more
Steven Tyler than Rob Halford -- more
Jon Bon Jovi than
Ronnie James Dio. And he is obviously enjoying this pop-metal/hard rock direction a great deal; the British singer certainly sounds inspired on gems like the
Aerosmith-influenced "Lickin' the Gun" and the power ballad "Son of a Gun." The bonus tracks (mostly B-sides of early-'90s singles) are also excellent, and they range from a gutsy cover of
AC/DC's "Sin City" to the contemplative ballad "Winds of Change" (which has a somewhat
Bob Dylan-ish quality and hints at what
Dylan might sound like if he embraced hard rock instead of folk-rock). Some of
Dickinson's fans prefer him as a supernatural-minded fantasy metaller, but from a hard rock/pop-metal standpoint, this reissue is a treasure. ~ Alex Henderson