Diamond still sparkling as a senior citizen

In the movie "What About Bob?" Bill Murray's wacky character reduces the world's population to a simple formula: "Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't."

Well, like him or not, he's one of the most successful recording artists of all time. Consider:

--He's sold nearly 120 million albums worldwide.

--He's had 38 Top 40 hits.

--His songs have been covered by everyone from Sinatra to Presley and Killdozer.

--Fifty years into his career, he still sells out arenas.

--Still not impressed? He wrote "I'm a Believer" and "Sweet Caroline."

Yet one thing the 67-year-old star never achieved was a No. 1 album — that is, until his new album, "Home Before Dark," hit that peak in May. The fact that it's his first is so unlikely, even Diamond himself didn't realize it.

"I didn't actually think it was my first No. 1," he said in a teleconference last month. "Somehow in my mind, I don't know what the opposite of a state of denial was, but I thought for sure I had a No. 1 album somewhere along the way. I thought 'Hot August Night' was No. 1, but then I was told it only went to No. 2, so I was crestfallen."

But not too crestfallen to enjoy his one-week stay with "Home Before Dark."

"It's a nice feeling to be No. 1. I enjoyed every moment of the time that I was No. 1, and I enjoyed the fact that people became aware that it was my first No. 1 and they were a little amazed at that. Also, I'm told that I'm also the oldest performer on Billboard charts ever to have a No. 1 album, which amazes me. I don't feel that old. I feel very young, but it's nice to feel that in this market that's filled with young people, or seems to be aimed at young people, that an old geezer can come along and knock a few of them off their perches and say, 'Hey, here's one for the senior citizens, and we can kick a little butt, too.' "

The "geezer" who was the oldest to top the charts before him was none other than Bob Dylan, who did it at 65 two years ago with "Modern Times." Diamond's record is the second straight that he's done with producer-guru Rick Rubin, best known for his work with hip-hop artists and metal bands, at least before those groundbreaking sit-down sessions with a frail Johnny Cash.

Like the Cash records, Diamond's are largely stripped-down affairs with honest, plainspoken lyrics delivered by a man with some gravitas in his weary voice. Songs such as "If I Don't See You Again" and "Another Day (That Time Forgot)" — a far cry from his uplifting hits such as "Sweet Caroline" and "I Am I Said" — speak of pain, regret and time slipping away.

Diamond acknowledges that there were highs and lows to making "Home Before Dark."

"The highs were that I was able to actually continue to write songs that I liked."

The lows that played into some of the songs were the health problems that plagued his Australian girlfriend, Rachel Farley, 37, who was in what he called "real trouble" when the album was being written but is better now.

Diamond balances the heavier, introspective songs with the unabashed love songs "No Words," "Power of Two" and "One More Bite of the Apple," inspirational fare about reaching for the "nectar of life."