It's been about six months since R.E.M. announced their breakup, which inevitably led to speculation about what the individual band members will do now. For guitarist Peter Buck, the assumption was that he'd stay pretty active musically -- after all, even when R.E.M. were going strong, he'd additionally do side projects like Hindu Love Gods or the Baseball Project. But now that R.E.M. have called it quits, it appears he's embarking on a solo album. We're just not sure when it's going to see the light of day.
Seattle Weekly (via Rolling Stone) reported that guitarist Scott McCaughey (who has played with R.E.M. in the studio and on tour) was on the Seattle radio show Seattle Sounds to discuss his career, and during the conversation he mentioned that he had come to town to help his old friend Buck out on an album.
According to Seattle Weekly, "McCaughey had no details on when the record would be completed or when it would be released, but he did say that it's possible that Buck will sing on the record -- but not to expect him to do the same live." One fun tidbit, though: McCaughey said Buck might just put the album out on vinyl only.
Buck's impact on R.E.M. is obvious. It was his jangly guitar sound that formed the bedrock of the band during the 1980s. But even when R.E.M. moved to a major label in the late '80s, his adventurous approach helped drive the group. (It was boredom with the electric guitar that inspired him to try the mandolin, which gave birth to Out of Time and its epochal hit, "Losing My Religion.") More than that, though, Buck was always known as a guy who studied the history of rock music -- not that that kept him from having his ears open to new bands. (Indeed, he served as a producer for the alt-country pioneers Uncle Tupelo and worked on tracks with the indie-pop collective Eels.) So it's sort of perfect that Buck might release his first solo album on an old-school format: He's a musical purist that way.
Seattle Weekly reported that "McCaughey says [Buck's solo album is] going to be pretty 'out.'" I'm not sure what that means exactly, but I can't wait.
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