Former R.E.M. Guitarist Peter Buck to Release Solo Album Oct. 5

R.E.M. may have hung it up as a unit, but former guitarist Peter Buck is gearing up to release his debut solo album, which is coming down the pike -- and quick. It's going to be a hot ticket, and not just because the guest list is impressive. A run of just 2,000 vinyl records will be pressed. The album goes on sale this Friday, Oct. 5, via Mississippi Records, a label that focuses on mid-20th century blues, gospel and folk music.

Buck posted the news on the band's website, writing:

I know I said for years that I would never make a solo record. It was never a plan or a desire, but it just kind of happened.

Sometimes those happy accidents yield the best results. The album, still untitled, was recorded, mixed and mastered on analog tape.

Buck's release is the first post-REM solo effort since the band called it a day in September 2011. R.E.M bassist Mike Mills contributed to the sessions, as did former Sleater-Kinney frontwoman Corin Tucker. Additional guests include Jenny Conlee of the Decemberists and guitarist Lenny Kaye, who is known for his work with rock icon Patti Smith.

Buck also posted about a hand injury that inhibited his ability to play when the band broke up, and he explained how he chose his collaborators.

When REM called it a day I'd spent the last 3 months on my back with a semi-crippling injury unable to play guitar. With my band gone and unable to use the fingers on my right hand, I started writing lyrics just to have something creative to do. The lyrics turned into songs and the songs turned into what felt like a possible album, so I called some of my favorite musicians, Scott, Mike, Bill, Lenny Kaye, Corin Tucker, Jenny Conlee, and booked studio time

Not being really confident in my singing, I asked Corin to sing one and she was gracious enough to do so, Scott sang a few, mostly the ones he wrote melodies to. So why is it a solo record? I wrote 95% of the lyrics and most of the music, it is the first thing i have ever been involved in where I was actually in charge and the record turned out to be kind of like a trip through my mind, all of the kinds of music I love, played with some of my favorite musicians, in a completely one take spontaneous atmosphere. It was either call it a Peter Buck record or Richard M Nixon, Lenny Kaye convinced me that it should be called a Peter Buck solo record because it does represent me or at least me right then.

If you hope to see Buck in the live realm, that possibility remains up in the air. He wrote, "As for the future I may do some performances, but this is not a career, it is something I am doing for fun."