Bushbranch Record/Surfdog RecordsEric Clapton's star-packed JJ Cale tribute album, The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale, hits stores today.  Joining Clapton on the collection of compositions by the late Oklahoma-based singer/songwriter are Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, Willie Nelson and John Mayer, as well as many other respected musicians.

In a promotional video focusing on the making of the album, Clapton explains that he was more interested in capturing the sound of Cale's own records rather than he and his fellow collaborators putting their spin on the tunes.

"I thought it was the respectful thing to do, rather than just say…'Never mind all that.  I'm gonna do it the way I do everything,'" he notes.  "If you've never heard of JJ Cale, when you hear this record, you will be introduced to the way he made things sound.  And I thought that was as important as anything else."

The music and playing of Cale, who died of heart failure at age 74 in July 2013, were major influences on Clapton's post-1960s recordings.  JJ wrote two of Eric's best-known tunes -- "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" -- while Slowhand's 1977 hit "Lay Down Sally" was clearly inspired by Cale laidback country-blues style.

In the video, Eric reveals that the idea for the tribute album starting taking shape around the time of Cale's funeral.

"After the funeral, we gathered again to McCabe's [guitar shop in Los Angeles,] and I heard myself say that apart from family, the most profound effects of people passing on me were [blues legend] Freddie King and JJ," he declares.  "So those characters, for some reason, have been very, very deep in my musical psyche."

Soon, Clapton teamed up with his longtime co-producer Simon Climie and, along with engineer Alan Douglas, and, as he explains, they "began to create the framework for this album."

Of the various stars who lent their talents to the record, Eric singles out Mayer as someone whose contributions he was particularly impressed with.  The pop-blues virtuoso sings and plays guitar appears on three songs on The Breeze -- "Magnolia," "Lies" and "Don't Wait."

"He cut all those tracks in about an hour, first or second take, and I was gobsmacked," says Clapton.  "Y'know, [I have] a new respect for John, 'cause he's extremely gifted."

Mayer, meanwhile, is mutually complimentary of Clapton, praising him for the respect he shows the musicians who came before him.

"This kind of project continues to speak volumes about Eric and where he sees himself in the lineage of music," Mayer points out in the video.  "He's never denied being a recipient of inspiration.  He's never denied being a student of the blues, and that really inspired me to see myself as somewhere in…the ongoing lineage."

The Breeze is available as a standard CD, vinyl LP and digital download.  In addition, separate deluxe multiple CD and vinyl LP packages can be purchased at Surfdog.com.  The deluxe CD box set offers a bonus disc of original recordings by Cale, including three previously unreleased tracks; a specially designed USB drive featuring digital versions of The Breeze and the Cale tunes as well as a video interview with Clapton; six collectible lithographs; and a 20-page book.

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Eric Clapton & Friends The Breeze An Appreciation of JJ Cale - EPK (5 minutes) from Surfdog Records on Vimeo.

Image Courtesy Cass Bird/Warner Bros. RecordsA man who claimed to be organizing a benefit concert featuring Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and Bruce Springsteen has pleaded guilty of defrauding 30 investors out of a half-million dollars, and has been sentenced to just under four years in prison.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Vancouver musician Kasey Anderson pretended to be organizing a concert and album to benefit the West Memphis Three, a trio of men who were convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys. 

Their convictions were the subject of outrage, and prompted public support for the men from many -- including Eddie Vedder -- who believed they had been wrongly convicted.  Prosecutors in the Kasey Anderson case alleged that Anderson capitalized on that sentiment when approaching potential investors posing as various music industry bigwigs, promising to stage a concert and album to benefit the three men, who were freed after more than 18 years in prison when newly uncovered DNA evidence did not match prosecutors' allegations.

When trying to score additional funds from prospective investors, Anderson made a variety of bogus assertions -- including that he had firm commitments from Pearl Jam, Johnny Depp and Tom Petty; that Springsteen was working on a collaboration with Lady Gaga for the benefit album; and that Springsteen had also collaborated with Arcade Fire on two additional album tracks.

In all, prosecutors say Anderson bilked investors out of more than $525,000.  In a letter to the court following his conviction, Anderson apologized and called himself "a deeply flawed and mentally ill person who made some terrible choices, causing so much emotional and financial damage to others...but I believe I have much to offer my community."  Anderson also said he "want[ed] so badly to make it right."

Of the more than $525,000, only $160,000 has been recovered.  The Post-Intelligencer notes that none of Anderson's investors have been repaid in full, and most have received nothing back at all.

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Image Courtesy of Danny ClinchEarlier this year, Neil Young successfully used the Kickstarter website to help fund his high-resolution audio player Pono, and now the folk-rock legend is lending his support to a new campaign on the site that seeks to use modern technology to help save the world's endangered rainforests.

The Rainforest Connection initiative involves retrofitting old smartphones with a solar-powered energy source and placing them in forests where illegal logging is taking place.  The devices will be able to pick up the sounds of vehicles, chainsaws, distressed animals and other telltale signs of unlawful activity and thereby notify authorities of the location of the improprieties.  In addition, the phones will provide valuable data to scientists by allowing them to track various endangered animals.

In a video promoting the campaign, Young says, "Climate change is the defining issue of the 21st century.  There are a lot of factors, but forests are one of the big ones.  There is a technology that is a connection between the rainforest and you.  This technology enables the forest to talk to the world.  When the forest is threatened the forest can speak, and you can hear it."

The Rainforest Connection's current Kickstarter initiative, which ends on Tuesday at 9:50 a.m. ET, already has surpassed its initial goal of $100,000 that will allow organizers to deploy devices in Africa.  If the campaign ends up raising $165,000, devices will be able to be installed in Brazil's Amazon region, while $200,000 will allow for the initiative to expand into Indonesia.

Young has penned a letter to his fans who had backed the Pono project asking them to consider contributing $10 or more to the Rainforest Connection campaign.  Those who do will receive a high-resolution download of rainforest sounds.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer also has donated 10 limited-edition Pono players to be used as gifts to donors who give generously to the initiative.

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Concord Music Group/MPL CommunicationsTwo new installments in Paul McCartney's ongoing reissue campaign will be released on September 23.  The classic Wings albums Venus and Mars and At the Speed of Sound, which originally were released in 1975 and 1976, respectively, are the latest archival McCartney projects scheduled to be released in remastered and expanded form.

The albums will be available in multiple formats, including a two-CD Standard Edition, a Deluxe Edition featuring two CDs and a DVD, a vinyl set packaged with a download card, and digital versions of both the Standard and Deluxe Editions.

The three-disc versions of Venus and Mars and At the Speed of Sound both will feature a bonus CD with demo recordings and previously unreleased tracks, as well as a DVD containing footage filmed around the time of each album's release, some of which hasn't been seen before.  The Deluxe Editions' packaging will include a hardbound book offering rare photos, new interviews with Sir Paul, in-depth information about the albums and a variety of archival material.

Venus and Mars and At the Speed of Sound both topped the Billboard 200 chart following their respective releases.  Venus and Mars features the hit "Listen to What the Man Said," as well as such gems as the title track, "Rock Show," "Magneto and Titanium Man" and "Letting Go."  The reissue's bonus CD includes the non-album 1974 single "Junior's Farm."  At the Speed of Sound boasts two songs that reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976, the chart-topping "Silly Love Songs" and the #3 hit "Let 'Em In," while the reissue's extra audio disc features demo versions of those tunes.

The two new reissues will join five other albums that have been released in expanded form as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Band on the Run, McCartney, McCartney II, RAM and Wings over America.

Here are the complete track lists of the Deluxe Editions of Venus and Mars and At the Speed of Sound:

Venus and Mars
CD 1 -- Remastered Album:
"Venus and Mars"
"Rock Show"
"Love in Song"
"You Gave Me the Answer"
"Magneto and Titanium Man"
"Letting Go"
"Venus and Mars (Reprise)"
"Spirits of Ancient Egypt"
"Medicine Jar"
"Call Me Back Again"
"Listen to What the Man Said"
"Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People"
"Crossroads"

CD 2 -- Bonus Audio:
"Junior's Farm"
"Sally G"
"Walking in the Park with Eloise"
"Bridge on the River Suite"
"My Carnival"
"Going to New Orleans (My Carnival)"
"Hey Diddle" (Ernie Winfrey Mix)
"Let's Love"
"Soily" (from One Hand Clapping)
"Baby Face" (from One Hand Clapping)
"Lunch Box/Odd Sox"
"4th of July"
"Rock Show" (Old Version)
"Letting Go" (Single Edit)

DVD -- Bonus Film:
Recording "My Carnival"
Bon Voyageur
Wings at Elstree
Venus and Mars TV Ad

At the Speed of Sound
CD 1 -- Remastered Album:
"Let 'Em In"
"The Note You Never Wrote"
"She's My Baby"
"Beware My Love"
"Wino Junko"
"Silly Love Songs"
"Cook of the House"
"Time to Hide"
"Must Do Something About It"
"San Ferry Anne"
"Warm and Beautiful"

CD 2 –- Bonus Audio:
"Silly Love Songs" (Demo)
"She's My Baby" (Demo)
"Message to Joe"
"Beware My Love" (John Bonham Version)
"Must Do Something About It" (Paul's Version)
"Let 'Em In" (Demo)
"Warm and Beautiful" (Instrumental Demo)

DVD -- Bonus Film:
"Silly Love Songs" Music Video
Wings over Wembley
Wings in Venice

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Warner Home VideoA new limited-edition Blu-ray featuring the Director's Cut of Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music, the Oscar-winning documentary about the historic 1969 rock festival, will hit stores this Tuesday.  The updated Woodstock video will include all of the content featured in 2009's 40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition, plus a bevy of previously unreleased performances from the concert.

Among those newly added performances are songs by Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Who, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Joan Baez, Melanie and Sha Na Na.  In addition, the updated collection comes packaged with replicas of Woodstock festival tickets, a reproduction of a Life magazine article about the event and an iron-on patch of the Woodstock logo.

Like the 2009 version of the video, the 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Revisited Blu-ray includes a four-hour-plus-long Director's Cut of the film, 18 bonus performances and a number of documentary featurettes offering up interviews with a variety of celebrities.

Directed by Michael Wadleigh, Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music showcased highlights from the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, held August 15-18, 1969, at Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York.  In addition to the aforementioned artists, the event's lineup included Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Ten Years After, Richie Havens, Country Joe and the Fish and many more.

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Images Courtesy of Glass Onyon PRSince parting ways with Yes in 2008, Jon Anderson has mainly focused on recording and touring as a solo artist, but the famed prog-rock singer has now announced the formation of a new band with innovative French jazz/rock violinist Jean-Luc Ponty.  The Anderson Ponty Band will be performing newly arranged versions of songs by both Jon and Jean-Luc, and also will create brand-new music.

Ponty has collaborated with many well-known artists over the years, including Frank Zappa, Elton John and the Mahavishnu Orchestra.  The Anderson Ponty Band's lineup also features guitarist Jamie Dunlap, who also is a film and TV composer probably best known for his work on South Park, as well as three musicians who previously have worked with Ponty and many other stars -- keyboardist Wally Minko, bassist Baron Browne and drummer/percussionist Rayford Griffin.

"A breakthrough feeling came as I sang with Jean-Luc's music," says Anderson in a statement, "to be in a band again is very exciting on many levels, we will play and sing our way around the world and have fun, for music is pleasure, music is all that is, music is God."

In September, the ensemble is planning to spend three weeks recording, rehearsing and performing at Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colorado, and the group has scheduled its first public concert at the venue on September 20.  The Anderson Ponty Band intends to complete its debut album in Los Angeles and release it sometime early next year.  A documentary about the making of the record is in the works, and the band also plans to shoot promotional videos and live performances for upcoming release.  In addition, the collective is organizing a world tour that is tentatively scheduled to kick off in March.

To help raise funds for the multifaceted project, the Anderson Ponty Band has launched a Kickstarter campaign.  Fans who contribute money to the initiative will receive a variety of different rewards depending on the amount they donate.  Among the goodies being offered are digital downloads; CD, DVD and vinyl packages; collectible posters; signed sheet music; VIP concerts tickets; meet-and-greets with the group's members; and more.

You can find out additional info about the Anderson Ponty Band at the group's official Facebook page.

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Jimmy King; ABC/Randy HolmesIn the 1983 film The Hunger, Susan Sarandon portrays a doctor who has an affair with a female vampire played by French actress Catherine Deneuve, but it turns out Sarandon had a real-life hunger for one of her other co-stars -- David Bowie.  In a new interview with The Daily Beast, the Academy Award winner reveals that she had a fling with the rock legend, who she says was one of the few "famous, pretty interesting" stars with whom she's gotten involved.

Sarandon showered some high praise on Bowie, saying, "He's worth idolizing.  He's extraordinary."  She adds, "Bowie's just a really interesting person, and so bright.  He's a talent, and a painter, and…he's great."

The 67-year-old actress explains that her relationship with Bowie took place during "a really interesting period" in her life, which came after her 1979 divorce from actor Chris Sarandon and before she met Italian director Franco Amurri, the father of her first child, daughter Eva Amurri.  She recalls about that time, "I wasn't supposed to have kids, and I'm the oldest of nine and had mothered all of them, so I wasn't ever in a mode to where I was looking to settle down and raise a family."

Sarandon, of course, later went on to have a long relationship with actor Tim Robbins, with whom she had two sons.

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Lloyd Bishop/NBCBilly Joel has finally succeeded in his long quest to sell his mansion in the village of Sagaponack in New York's ritzy Hamptons area.  The New York Post reports that the oceanfront bungalow-style residence, which the Piano Man first put on the market about five years ago, was bought recently for a bit under its $19.95 million asking price.

As previously reported, Joel bought the home, which originally was owned by late Jaws star Roy Scheider, in 2007.  Two years later, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer sought to sell the property for $22.5 million.  He eventually dropped the price to $16.8 million, and then took it off the market before re-listing it in March of this year for $23.5 million.  He subsequently reduced the asking price to $19.95 million last month.

The 5,500-square-foot mansion features with four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a butler's pantry and a state-of-the-art kitchen created especially for Joel's then-wife, chef Katie Lee, by celebrity designer Nate Berkus.

By the way, Joel isn't moving out of the Hamptons altogether: He still has a residence in the swanky village of Sag Harbor.

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Joseph Guay/Capitol RecordsElton John's upcoming movie biography Rocketman will cover the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's life story "from birth to rehab."  That's according to Lee Hall, the man who's writing the film.

Hall, who also penned the movie Billy Elliot and then worked with John to turn it into an ultra-successful musical, tells the BBC that Rocketman will be "an absolutely huge, crazy Technicolor affair."  While also dealing with Elton's childhood and his rise to fame, Hall says, it won't shy away from the darker parts of his life, such as the singer's self-confessed "monstrous" behavior when he was in the throes of drug addiction.

Hall says John provided him with plenty of material for the movie, and gave him "incredible free rein."  He explained, "One day, he took me to his house and opened a safe and he had all his private diaries that nobody had seen from when he was in rehab and left me there to read all this stuff."

Hall added, however, that Elton has "never commented once on the script," and "hasn't interfered at all" in terms of how he's being depicted.

John will be portrayed by The Dark Knight Rises actor Tom Hardy in Rocketman, which will begin shooting in late 2014.  Elton's original music will be used, but it's not clear whether Hardy will perform the songs or simply lip-sync.  Either way, Hall says of the movie, "It's fantastic, it's all singing, all dancing."

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Image Courtesy Webster PRKenny Rogers will sit down for an in-depth interview at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville on August 16 to celebrate the new exhibit, Kenny Rogers: Through the Years.  Rogers will share recollections about his life and multifaceted career during the chat, which will be augmented by archival videos and photos.

The event will be included in the price of admission for those visiting the museum, and will be free to museum members.  If you can't attend, you'll be able to watch the interview live that day at 3:30 p.m. ET at CountryMusicHallofFame.org/streaming.

Rogers' exhibit opens August 15 and runs through June 14, 2015.

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David Wolff-Patrick/Redferns via Getty ImagesPeter Frampton has announced some interesting new additions to his 2014 tour itinerary.  The veteran guitar whiz, who recently wrapped up a series of co-headlining shows with The Doobie Brothers. will begin a run of late-summer solo dates on July 30 in Sterling Heights, Michigan, before launching a new installment of his Frampton's Guitar Circus concerts on August 21 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Blues great Buddy Guy will appear at all eight 2014 Guitar Circus events, while Frampton's other special guests during the trek include Robert Randolph, ex-Eagles guitarist Don Felder, founding Guess Who/Bachman Turner Overdrive member Randy Bachman, Los Lobos' David Hidalgo and the one and only B.B. King.  Check Frampton's schedule below to find out which renowned guitarists will be featured at each date of the Guitar Circus, which winds down on August 31 in Tucson, Arizona.

In addition, Frampton has more than a dozen more headlining concerts lined up for late summer and early fall.  Those shows run from a September 14 appearance at the Blues & Brews Festival in Telluride, Colorado, through an October 5 concert in Hollywood, Florida.

Frampton currently is promoting his recently released mini-album Hummingbird in a Box, which features music he composed for his 2013 collaboration with the Cincinnati Ballet.

Here are all of Frampton's confirmed 2014 tour dates:

7/30 -- Sterling Heights, MI, Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
8/1 -- Manistee, MI, Little River Casino Resort
8/2 -- New Lenox, IL, Community Center
8/3 -- Carmel, IN, The Center for the Performing Arts
8/6 -- West Allis, WI, Wisconsin State Fair Park
8/7 -- Benton Harbor, MI, The Mendel Center
8/8 -- Wisconsin Dells, WI, Crystal Grand Music Theatre
8/10 -- Littleton, CO, The Hudson Gardens and Event Center
8/11 -- Pueblo, CO, Memorial Hall
8/13 -- Albuquerque, New Mexico, Popejoy Hall
8/15 -- Chandler, AZ, Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino
8/16 -- Laughlin, NV, Edgewater Casino Resort
8/17 -- Jackpot, NV, Cactus Pete's Casino
8/19 -- Sandy, UT, Sandy Amphitheater
*+8/21 -- Jacksonville, OR, Britt Pavilion
*#8/23 -- Goldendale, WA, Maryhill Winery
*#8/24 -- Woodinville, WA, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
*@8/26 -- Saratoga, CA, The Mountain Winery
*+@$8/27 -- Los Angeles, CA, Hollywood Bowl
*@8/29 -- Visalia, CA, Oval Park
*#8/30 -- Valley Center, CA, Harrah's Rincon - The Events Center
*+%8/31 -- Tucson, AZ, AVA Amphitheater
9/14 -- Telluride, CO, Blues & Brews Festival
9/16 -- Prescott, AZ, Yavapai College Performance Hall
9/19 -- Rancho Mirage, CA, Aqua Caliente Casino
9/20 -- Reno, NV, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
9/21 -- Glen Ellen, CA, B.R. Cohn Winery
9/23 -- El Paso, TX, Plaza Theater
9/25 -- Stafford, TX, Stafford Centre Performing Arts
9/26 -- Shreveport, LA, Municipal Auditorium
9/27 -- Biloxi, MS, IP Casino Resort
9/30 -- Jacksonville, FL, Florida Theater
10/1 -- Sarasota, FL, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
10/3 -- Clearwater, FL, Ruth Eckerd Hall
10/4 -- Orlando, FL, WMMO Downtown Concert Series
10/5 -- Hollywood, FL, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

* = Guitar Circus show with Buddy Guy
+ = with Robert Randolph
# = with Don Felder
@ = with Randy Bachman
$ = with Los Lobos' David Hidalgo
% = with B.B. King.

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Reprise RecordsTom Petty & the Heartbreakers' latest album, Hypnotic Eye, arrives in stores this Tuesday, July 29, but fans can check out the record in its entirety from now until Monday at Amazon.

The album is available in a variety of configurations, including a standard CD, standard vinyl LP, high-quality FLAC digital download, Blu-ray Audio, and limited-edition two-LP set on 180-gram vinyl.  Most versions of the release feature 11 tracks, but the Blu-ray Audio and double-LP editions also include a bonus track titled "Playing Dumb."

As previously reported, Petty and his band will kick off a North American tour in support of Hypnotic Eye with an August 3 concert in San Diego.  Steve Winwood will serve as the opening act on the trek, which is scheduled through an October 10 show in Los Angeles.

Petty has posted some photos and a couple of brief video clips of him and The Heartbreakers rehearsing for the tour on his official Instagram site.  One clip shows the band rocking out to Hypnotic Eye's lead track, "American Dream Plan B."

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Image Courtesy of Scott PoiznerDoobie Brothers singer/guitarist Tom Johnston has revealed some new details about the upcoming collaborative album featuring reinterpretations of many of the band's classic songs by various country artists.  In a recent interview with LagniappeMobile.com, the veteran rocker reported that the record will be titled Southbound, and that it's scheduled for a November 4 release.

Among the many country stars featured on the album are Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Zac Brown Band, Toby Keith, Chris Young, Sara Evans and Love & Theft.  Johnston also revealed that Vince Gill, Hunter Hayes and veteran Nashville session musician and producer Dann Huff lent their guitar talents to the project.  As previously reported, ex-Doobie Brothers member Michael McDonald also participated in the album, and Tom explained that his former band mate played keyboards on new versions of the songs on which he originally appeared.

With regard to the many respected musicians who took part in the recording, Johnston said, "It's quite the lineup.  We were kinda blown away that these folks would be interested in jumping on board with us, but they were eager to do it."

As for how he thinks the album turned out, Tom said, "It's been an interesting project and having heard the results, I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised."

Meanwhile, The Doobie Brothers currently are in the middle of a busy North American tour that includes a few co-headlining shows with Boston that are scheduled for early August.  The band's 2014 itinerary is mapped out through an October 31 concert in Rama, Canada.

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