The hiring of Dave Navarro by the...

The hiring of Dave Navarro by the Red Hot Chili Peppers apparently spells the end to Deconstruction, a band featuring Navarro and ex-Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery. The two will, though, complete a Deconstruction album that will be released by Rick Rubin’s American Recordings label, and Avery is expected to continue with other projects for the company. . . .

Peppers’ bassist Flea was involved in Johnny Cash’s recent Rubin-produced recording sessions. He joined Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell backing the Man in Black on a few tracks that could wind up on his American Recordings debut. . . .

Ice Cube has done an 11-minute remake of George Clinton’s “One Nation Under a Groove” that will be the centerpiece of Cube’s “Lethal Injection” album, due in late November. The version is said to be more an homage than an update. It comes at the same time that Cube’s label, Priority, is re-releasing four albums by Clinton’s group Funkadelic, including “One Nation Under a Groove.” . . .

Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley guests with Heart on a version of Bob Dylan’s “Ring Them Bells” for the new Heart album, “Desire Walks On,” due Nov. 16. A Heart tour will follow. . . . Though Jodeci’s new single, “Lately,” is a hit, work on the group’s much-anticipated second album is going slowly and the collection’s release now may be pushed back to next year.

Though committed to his future-oriented “Cyberpunk”image, Billy Idol is revisiting his past. The singer is expected to perform with his old Generation X mates Monday for the first time in 14 years. The band plans to play a few numbers during a special Idol club show that’s being filmed for airing on MTV Europe and eventually on “ABC In Concert” in the U.S.

George Jones has cut a version of Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’ ” in tribute to Twitty, who died recently. The song will be on Jones’ “High-Tech Redneck” album, due Oct. 26, which also features a duet between Jones and sound-alike Sammy Kershaw. . . .

Rodney Crowell is signing to MCA Nashville, where he’ll be reunited with Tony Brown. Brown, now president of the company, produced Crowell’s 1987 “Diamonds and Dirt” album--the first gold record for either of them. . . .

Making the most of the hit “Sleepless in Seattle” soundtrack album, Epic is putting out new albums by both Celine Dion and Clyde Griffin--who duet on the “Sleepless” track “When I Fall in Love”--in late October. And Epic is also re-releasing the soundtrack for the vintage film “An Affair to Remember,” which plays a prominent part in “Sleepless.”

Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter has a book of his poetry due from Penguin in November and a simultaneous release of a spoken word CD on Rykodisc. He’s also involved in another change of pace: scripting a comic book project, “Dog Moon,” for DC Comics. The most unusual thing about it, he says, is that he wrote it using only one-syllable words.