R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck has collaborated with The Icicle Works’ Ian McNabb on a new version of ‘So. Central Rain’ – listen below.
The track – originally released as a single from R.E.M.’s second album ‘Reckoning’ in 1984 – came together last year and has now been shared by Buck on R.E.M.’s official website.
“In the year just passed, I recorded some guitars on a version of ‘So. Central Rain’ by my friend Ian McNabb,” Buck wrote. “You might remember him from The Icicle Works. It’s a cool version. Hope this helps start the new year off well!”
The cover will be included on McNabb’s upcoming album ‘65’, which is due to be released on October 4 this year and which you can pre-order here.
Watch the video here:
Buck was a founding member of R.E.M. and remained with the iconic Athens, Georgia band throughout their time together from 1980 until 2011. McNabb, meanwhile, was the frontman of Liverpool new wave band The Icicle Works in the 1980s and has had a prolific solo career since his debut album ‘Truth And Beauty’ in 1993.
Last February, Buck and his former bandmates reunited on stage at the 40 Watt Club in Athens at a show to celebrate their classic 1983 debut album ‘Murmur’. They had done a similar thing in 2024, but this time around they actually performed together, playing a rendition of ‘Pretty Persuasion’.
The band previously played together for a surprise performance of ‘Losing My Religion’ after they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in June 2024, shortly after their first interview as a group in 30 years aired on CBS.
Last May, they released ‘Radio Free Europe 2025’, a five-track benefit EP that included a never-before-released remix of their debut single.
Michael Stipe, meanwhile, has been clarifying some of the more obscure lyrics from the band’s classic single ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’ on BlueSky.
Next year, the band’s 1990s albums ‘Monster’ and ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’ will be used as part of the series Silents Synced, in which classic albums are paired live with vintage silent movies. The records will play alongside Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr.
Actor Michael Shannon and Chicago musician Jason Narducy, meanwhile, will play their latest tour of R.E.M. full-album shows in 2026 when they take 1986’s ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ on the road for its 40th anniversary.
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