Precious Dreams: Cherry Pop Rediscovers Cock Robin

Who killed Cock Robin?

Fans might have been forgiven for wondering that when Peter Kingsbery and Anna LaCazio went their separate ways after the release of 1989’s First Love/Last Rites, the band’s third album. Yet, in 2006, Cock Robin returned with a new album, and since then, they’ve sporadically recorded and toured. Now, Cherry Red’s Cherry Pop imprint is celebrating the legacy of the San Francisco-formed band with deluxe, generously expanded reissues of Cock Robin’s first and second albums, 1985’s Cock Robin and 1987’s After Here Through Midland.

Songwriter/bassist/keyboardist Peter Kingsbery, originally of Texas, formed Cock Robin with California native Anna LaCazio, bolstering the group with English guitarist Clive Wright and Pennsylvanian drummer Louis Molino III. Signed to Columbia Records in the U.S. and parent CBS internationally, Cock Robin enlisted Steve Hillage – a veteran of genres from progressive rock to dance – as producer of the band’s eponymous debut. Hillage brought the goods in terms of contemporary, synth-driven eighties new wave luster, with the twin lead vocal approach of Kingsbery and LaCazio adding dimension. Kingsbery’s varied musical background was an asset in creating songs that would endure; a student of classical music in his youth, the multi-instrumentalist had toured with country-pop dynamo Brenda Lee and would go on to sing on Tim Rice’s musical-theatre concept album Tycoon. In addition to the core band members, Cock Robin featured contributions from guest musicians including ubiquitous percussionist Paulinho da Costa and Hillage himself on guitar.

Yet from the start, Cock Robin had difficulty cracking the lucrative U.S. and U.K. markets. Most unexpectedly, the band became sensations elsewhere in Europe! The pulsating “The Promise You Made” gave Cock Robin its only British hit when it reached No. 28 in May 1986. Though it failed to chart in the U.S., the track beautifully blending Kingsbery and LaCazio topped the chart in Belgium, was a No. 2 hit in the Netherlands, and also went Top 10 in Germany and France! In America, “When Your Heart is Weak,” a Kingsbery solo mixed by Val Garay (Kim Carnes, The Motels), peaked at No. 35 Pop; it missed the U.K. chart, but went Top 10 in Germany and France. The album’s third single release “Thought You Were By My Side” was a Top 5 hit in Belgium and the Netherlands, and just missed the Top 20 in Germany. Though it only reached No. 61 in the U.S., the album went Top 10 in France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, setting the stage for a sophomore effort.

After Here Through Midland arrived in 1987 on Columbia, with engineer-turned-producer Don Gehman taking the production reins from Hillage. Gehman had scored big hits for John Mellencamp with the likes of “Jack and Diane” and “Hurts So Good,” and also helmed R.E.M.’s Lifes Rich Pageant in 1986. He brought a somewhat grittier texture to the album, again penned entirely by Peter Kingsbery and anchored by an autobiographical title song. Cock Robin itself was slimmer this time around, though, with Wright and Molino having left the band. To compensate for their departure, more session musicians were enlisted including Tim Pierce (Foreigner, Rick Springfield) and Denny Fongheiser (Belinda Carlisle, The Rembrandts). Producer Dennis Herring (Elvis Costello, Camper Van Beethoven) supplied guitar on “The Biggest Fool of All,” and Brian Kilgore added congas to “Precious Dreams.” Wright couldn’t stay away for long, though; he supplied guitar for the uptempo “Dreams,” as well.

Gehman didn’t radically alter the band’s sound, however, blending guitars and synths on the sparkling “Just Around the Corner,” which missed the charts in the U.S. and U.K. but continued Cock Robin’s winning streak in Europe with Top 20 placements in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The second single, “The Biggest Fool of All,” was inspired by country epics like Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” and Gene Pitney’s Bacharach/David-written “24 Hours from Tulsa.” It, too, charted in those four European countries, with its best showing a No. 23 placement in Belgium. Third single “El Norte” took its name from the 1983 Oscar-nominated drama; it didn’t make any chart impression. After Here impressively made the Top 10 in a host of European countries, among them France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, The Netherlands and Sweden despite stalling at No. 166 stateside. Some of the album’s tracks like “Every Moment” looked forward to the more “adult contemporary,” sophisti-pop approach Cock Robin would take on their third album (and final release before disbanding), 1989’s First Love/Last Rites.

We have much more on these reissues after the jump!