Why Don't They Leave Us Alone by Little Carl Carlton

I'd not heard of Carl Carlton when I picked this 45 from the bargain box of JB's record shop in London. A quick trawl tells me that the first pressing in 1968 was plugged as 'Little Carl Carlton, the 14-year-old sensation'. His voice certainly is sensational: a rich falsetto more powerful than that of many singers twice his age.

The production here clearly leans toward the slicker style which would soon become ubiquitous with the ascendency of the Philly sound, but for me there is still enough grit remaining in Little Carl's voice to make this interesting, even if the promised build-up never quite delivers.