Grateful Dead guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir has teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Bert Keely (Flying Other Brothers) for a heartfelt new cover of the John Lennon-penned peace anthem, “Imagine”.
According to Rolling Stone, the pair recorded the “Imagine” cover at Weir’s home studio following the 2007 death of Richard Newton, their mutual friend and former Dean of UC Berkeley‘s School of Electrical Engineering. While it’s Bob Weir who takes the lead on guitar and vocals, Keely’s harmonic vocal and bass contributions give the stripped-down rendition a delicate lift.
The “Imagine” cover featuring Bob Weir is set to be included on Keely’s forthcoming box set, Circle Back!, due out on June 4th. The collection contains Keely albums Skywriting, Bert’s Brew, and Alive and Grateful.
In addition to “Imagine”, Circle Back! features Bob Weir on a 28-minute Grateful Dead suite of sorts featuring renditions of “Jack Straw”, “Playin’ In The Band”, and Bob Dylan‘s “Queen Jane Approximately”.
Listen to Bob Weir and Bert Keely’s acoustic take on “Imagine” from Circle Back! below.
Bob Weir, Bert Keely – “Imagine” (John Lennon cover)
[Video: Manhole Music]
Keely is set to celebrate the release of Circle Back! with a virtual event on Wednesday, May 19th. The Zoom hang will aim to raise funds for the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA). For more information, head here.
Bob Weir has remained busy throughout the start of 2021 with a series of Wolf Bros livestreams from his TRI Studios in Northern California. Next up for Weir and the Wolf Bros is a Saturday, April 24th livestream performance.
Much like Weir’s recent TRI livestreams in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and Chinese New Year, the April 24th stream will feature Bob Weir and Wolf Bros (Weir, bassist Don Was, and drummer Jay Lane) in addition to special guests Jeff Chimenti (keys) and Greg Leisz (steel guitar) and the aptly named horn and strings ensemble, The Wolf Pack.
[H/TÂ Rolling Stone]