ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, February 23, 1996              TAG: 9602230088
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 4    EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: NASHVILLE, TENN. 
SOURCE: JIM PATTERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DIAMOND GOES TO NASHVILLE TO MAKE HIS LATEST MUSIC

There are distinct advantages in being Neil Diamond.

For instance, if the new songs aren't flowing as they were in the old days, you can rent a house in Nashville for a year and put the word out that you're available to co-write.

The chance to work with the guy who wrote ``I'm a Believer,'' ``Sweet Caroline,'' ``Song Sung Blue'' ``Cherry Cherry'' and a host of other classic pop tunes did not go unnoticed. Heavyweight Nashville songwriters like Hal Ketchum, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Harlan Howard, Gretchen Peters and Raul Malo of the Mavericks agreed to collaborate.

And so Diamond, who had put out stopgap Christmas collections for two years running, now is promoting ``Tennessee Moon,'' his first album of new material in five years. It's being promoted as a return to the propulsive style of his early singles. A remake of ``Kentucky Woman'' punctuates the point.

A network television special set to air Saturday, Feb. 24, at 10 p.m. (WSET, Channel 13) is built around the album (another advantage of being Neil Diamond is you can promote your new CD to a prime time network television audience). It's called ``Neil Diamond ... Under a Tennessee Moon'' and features such guests as Waylon Jennings, Chet Atkins, Malo and even a newcomer who looks like a future star - singer Buffy Lawson. It was taped at the former home of the Grand Ole Opry, The Ryman Auditorium.

Diamond says he hasn't felt so good about one of his new records since ``The Jazz Singer.''

``It does hearken back to the simplicity of a lot of my early records,'' Diamond said during an interview at a hotel near Vanderbilt University. He chomped on a cigar and chuckled amiably at the suggestion some will see him as another faded pop star looking to ride on country music's commercial coattails.

``No, that doesn't worry me. The songs tell the story. You can't hide. It's out there for people to reach conclusions about.''

``Tennessee Moon,'' packed with over an hour of music across 18 songs, is evidence that the Nashville experience was quite the cure for any songwriting torpor Diamond was going through.

``Win the World'' is the type of bittersweet ballad Diamond has specialized in the second half of his career. This one was inspired by his second divorce. Another standout is ``Talking Optimist Blues (Good Day Today),'' a breezy diatribe against being a worrywart.

Co-writing, which Diamond rarely had done before, appears to have been the right strategy to beat a slight writer's block.

``For some reason in the late '80s I became discontent to a certain degree to what was happening with the songs I was writing,'' he said.

``The airplay that I used to get wasn't there, so I kind of backpedaled on the writing. It became a secondary thing.''

Another advantage to being Neil Diamond is a fan base so loyal he didn't need to have hit records to sell concert tickets. So he decided to do some serious touring while he was young enough to take the physical strain.

``I always felt that I could write way into my '90s,'' he said.

Easing back into serious songwriting was easier in Nashville because a culture of co-writing exists. Diamond sees it as a smaller-scale version of Tin Pan Alley in New York where he first made his mark.

``Although I get a particular satisfaction out of writing alone, it's not really as much fun as writing with someone else,'' he said.

That may be the most important advantage of being Neil Diamond - to be so famous and successful that you make million-dollar decisions based on how much fun is to be had. Columbia will push ``One Good Love,'' a duet with Jennings, to country radio stations. At the same time, ``Can Anybody Hear Me'' will be pushed to pop and adult contemporary stations. An international tour to promote ``Tennessee Moon'' will last two years.

After 30 years of more ups than downs, Diamond knows there's still no guarantees, even if you are Neil Diamond.

``It's just as likely to be a big failure as a big success, although the first reactions to the album has been really heartening,'' Diamond said. ``But you take a chance every time you go out.''

LENGTH: Medium:   81 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:   "Neil Diamond ... Under a Tennessee Moon" airs Saturday
          at 10 on WSET (Channel 13). One advantage to being Neil Diamond is 
          you can promote your new CD to a prime time network television 
          audience.