Last weekend’s Greatest Story Ever Told: 81 Songs To Celebrate Phil Lesh’s 81st Birthday saw a veritable festival’s-worth of artists come together to honor the Grateful Dead bassist. One such act was Doom Flamingo, who took on the Dead’s lone chart-topper, “Touch of Grey”, video and audio of which is available now.
While the song represents the Dead’s shift toward the mainstream to many fans—as widespread recognition brought in a swath of newer, younger fans who previously hadn’t been exposed to the band’s music—”Touch of Grey” itself is a jovial expression of rolling with the punches that life throws at you. Being the Dead’s most commercially successful song, many jam-inclined bands often shy away from covering it in a live setting. That’s what made it the perfect challenge for Doom Flamingo, the Ryan Stasik (Umphrey’s McGee) side project that incorporates elements of funk, punk, synthwave, and more to produce a heady brew.
“Doom Flamingo was honored to be asked to play a Dead tune for Phil’s 81st birthday… but we didn’t want to just cover a tune in true form, we wanted to add our own ‘Touch of Pink,’” Stasik said. “We landed on a downtempo 80’s vibe reminding us that we will get by, we will survive. So, we hope you enjoy our ‘Touch of Pink,’ a Doom Flamingo twist on ‘Touch of Grey.’”
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The result of that downtempo ’80s vibe is a slowed-down take on “Touch of Grey” that finds vocalist Kanika Moore breathing new life into the familiar lyrics at a relaxed pace. Throw in the saxophone work of multi-instrumentalist Mike Quinn, and “Touch of Grey” becomes an entirely different beast as the song’s inherent versatility comes to a head.
Watch Doom Flamingo cover Grateful Dead’s “Touch of Grey” for the Greatest Story Ever Told stream. The cover is also available on all streaming platforms.
Doom Flamingo – “Touch of Grey” (Grateful Dead)
[Video: Relix]
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