"Little Boy and Little Girl" sounds uncannily like
Frankie Lymon and company's "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent," and "Oh Gee Oh Gosh" sounds a lot like "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" -- you get the picture. And given their role as would-be successors to
Lymon and his group, none of this is a surprise, but it is also great fun, and
Pearl McKinnon is a wonder to hear, sounding more like
Frankie Lymon than the man himself did after 1957. The group also wasn't bad when they stepped away from the sound of the more famous group into a groove more their own, as on the exquisite slow tune "Kingless Castle" (written by
Pearl McKinnon). The production is very clean, the sources and the mastering are crisp, and the whole CD was put together with a lot of love. Bonuses include a faster, more stripped-down alternate take of "Little Boy & Little Girl," and a faster, more upbeat version of "Oh Gee Oh Gosh," as well as both sides of the only single released by Pearl & the Deltars, which is closer to straight urban rock & roll than to doo-wop music.