Tattooed Millionaire is probably Bruce's strangest solo album, primarily in the sense that it is so straightforward and a product of its time. His first three solo albums were largely attempts to distance himself from the Iron Maiden sound, which had largely crystallized by the late-1980's into a readily identifiable, unmistakable style. And of those three, this was the only album released while Bruce was still a part of that group.
In some ways, 1990 was the last year of the 1980's as far as the sounds of the time are concerned. The following year marked the opening waves of the "Seattle sound" that both muddied and de-synthed the stereotypical 1980's sound. So, not surprisingly, Bruce sounds quite 80's on a lot of the tracks here, particularly the title track (actually a rant against Nikki Sixx of all people). Other tracks however work very well in any year, particularly "Son of a Gun" and "Gypsy Road". Janick Gers, who would join Iron Maiden immediately following this album, co-wrote just about all the songs with Bruce and plays remarkably tight on most tracks, defying his "wild" reputation in Iron Maiden.
This was some of the earliest metal/hard rock I ever listened to. Some of the tracks were included on a mix tape made by a friend to convince me that metal was worth listening to (ah, how the times have changed).
A followup to this album was planned but jettisoned when Bruce crossed paths with producer/guitarist Roy Z and changed direction with sophomore release Balls to Picasso, an excellent album that established Bruce as a credible alternative to an increasingly weary Iron Maiden. For those who wish to hear some of "what could have been", check out the second disc of Bruce's "best of album" which collected a few of these oddballs, including what should have been the big hit of the album, "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter", which was nicked by Iron Maiden and turned into a #1 single for them! (at least Steve Harris was nice enough to let Bruce keep the sole writing credit)
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