Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
With or without Maiden, Bruce delivers, October 21, 2003
In the summer of 1990 while Iron Maiden was on a break from their highly successful "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Tour", frontman Bruce Dickinson had the opportunity to record a solo track for the Nightmare on Elm Street 5 Soundtrack ("Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter"). As a result of this recording, which was later revamped on Maiden's No Prayer for the Dying album, Dickinson was offered the opportunity to record a full-length album. The result was Tattooed Millionaire, a straight up hard rock album that takes Bruce in a different direction. It combines elements of Iron Maiden and mixes them with a pop-metal feel.
The album opens with shades of Iron Maiden on "Son of a Gun". The track starts with a soothing acoustic intro followed by blistering metal riffs. That's about as close to Maiden as it gets. The title-track is an infectious pop-metal rocker that, oddly enough, is mocking the genre. It's a scathing attack at pop/glam bands like Motley Crue or Poison (not specifically them). Dickinson pays homage to our fathers and grandfathers on "Born in '58." It's about a time where men took pride in their work, their country, and fought the good fight. "Hell on Wheels" opens with a riff very similar to AC/DC's "Back in Black" or "Highway to Hell." You don't get anymore metal than that! Now, what late eighties / early nineties album would be complete without a song with gypsy in the title? Not this one! "Gypsy Road" is a power ballad about, what else, living on the streets.
Bruce whips out the metal cliché book on "Dive! Dive! Dive!" Not only is the melody repetitive, but the song is infused with typical sexual innuendo. Bruce uses clever submarine terminology here, but we all know it's about going down on a woman. In case you miss it, Bruce exclaims, Dive! Dive! Dive! / No muff too tuff / We dive at five. A cover of Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes" doesn't stray too far from the original, but sounds fresher. "Lickin' the Gun," a tongue and cheek "shot" at politics, has a bluesy sound comparable to classic Aerosmith. "Zulu Lulu" continues where 'Dive!' left off, and "No Lies" closes the album.
Bottom Line:
Bruce Dickinson clearly set out to make a fun, straightforward, hard rock album. Tattooed Millionaire is exactly that. No deep meanings, no complicated arrangements, just pure, kick ass, rock!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A promising songwriter's debut, September 22, 2005
While this CD really shines in certain areas musically, I felt overall it was more a sign of things to come.
The problems I have are the inconsistency of the writing, the slightly ragged, unpolished quality of some singing, and the cheese of the sterile 'eighties sound' combined with verging-on-pretentious performances in a few places.
I took to Bruce's stuff a lot more after he left Maiden, regrouped, and went toward a fatter, more organic sound and regaining his powerful wail.
This is a nice little collection of ditties but it feels almost painfully earnest to prove itself as a pop record. Bruce made the point he could do that genre and write huge singles. The man later proved he could be a lot more interesting than that.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
In-your-face rock'n roll!, June 17, 2003
Totally different from Maiden. It has Janick Gers on guitar, and one can clearly see here that he's at his best when he's not trying to play any guitar solos. There are almost none in the entire album, but his rhythm guitar skills are more than enough to turn Dickinson's solo debut into a very good and pleasant hard rock album. The bass and drums section is also competent (Del Rio e Andy Carr)The opener SON OF A GUN is a classic, I just love it. The title track has an infectious and catchy chorus that will stick into your brain like glue. BORN IN 58 is perfect, my personal favorite. IT has a magical atmosphere surrounding it and, coupled with the inspired lyrics, one can see himself into Dickinson''s grandfathers age. The cover of ALL THE YOUNG DUDES was a smart move. It worked perfectly. In general, a great album, totally different from MAiden and from Dickinson's last solo albums, ACCIDENT OF BIRTH and THE CHEMICAL WEDDING, which are deeply rooted in sheer heavy metal.
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