Steele ain’t stainless…
Topped the charts:
20th April 1958 (for two weeks)
Two weeks total
Featuring a scant 19 minutes of music across just 8 tracks, the soundtrack to the second film in a row where Tommy Steele played a character called Tommy certainly doesn’t give much bang for its buck, and unfortunately The Duke Wore Jeans isn’t a case of quality over quantity. Asinine songs and performances show that rock n roll is well in Steele’s rearview at this point, and while the move into musical theatre would eventually pay off for him, at this point Steele just doesn’t have the singing chops to carry these lighter numbers either. String-drenched ballad Princess is particularly charmless and painful, while Hair-Down Hoe-Down neither manages to be a hoe-down nor get one’s hair moved.
The only person to really score any points from Duke is Lionel Bart, proving his talent as a lyricist on Family Tree, the only highlight on this dreary package. Bart would of course find success in the world of musical theatre and it certainly suits him better than rock n roll- it’s just a shame that the remaining songs tossed off here do nothing to support his talents.
The fact that The Duke Wore Jeans can’t even sustain interest over 20 minutes shows that Steele’s time as a popstar was over just a year after he emerged, but he would end up doing just fine in the world of light entertainment. By the time we get to the overblown early CD era oh the 1990s, a 19-minute album will seem like sweet relief. For now, these paltry songs are like the denims worn by the duke: worn.
Score: 2/10
Tracklisting:
1. It’s All Happening
2. What Do You Do
3. Family Tree
4. Happy Guitar
5. Hair-Down Hoe-Down
6. Princess
7. Photograph
8. Thanks a Lot
Comments