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:

• 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 to Killdozer.

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

• Still not impressed? He wrote "I'm a Believer" and "Sweet Caroline"!!

And 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, plain-spoken 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. You always have that lingering doubt when you take on a project, because I've been doing this since I was 16 years old, and you just never do know whether something is going to come out. You can make all the plans and you make the commitments, and you sit down with your guitar and you hope that something worthwhile starts to take shape. So that was a real high, because I liked the songs that were coming, and it was very encouraging and gave me a lot of hope. It was a natural high."

The lows that played into some of the songs were the health problems that plagued his 37-year-old Australian girlfriend, Rachel Farley.

"I don't want to get into it too deeply, but my girl was going through a very difficult time after surgery, and, by the way, she's much better now, getting around, and doing fine, but when the album was being written, she was in real trouble, and I had a lot of conflicted feelings about trying to write music and create beautiful things while someone that I loved was going through such a difficult time. So it was a low for me. It was a challenge, but somehow, through somebody else's graces, I was able to get through it."

Diamond balances the heavier, introspective songs with the unabashed love songs "No Words" and "Power of Two" and "One More Bite of the Apple," inspirational fare about reaching for the "nectar of life." The latter ended up being a duet with the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines, who also worked with Rubin.

"It really wasn't [a duet] until I was working with a little cassette player, and my girlfriend was singing along with me while I was writing it, which I didn't appreciate, but she was in the background there. When I listened back to it, I thought, yes, this absolutely should have a girl singing there, because it sounded great, despite the fact that she can't sing a lick. So, that put that in my mind. When I finished the song, I spoke to Rick about it, and he immediately suggested Natalie Maines. He said she was a great singer, so we sent the record over to Natalie. I had done my verse, done my vocal, and she told me later that she called her manager before the record was finished and said, 'I want to do it.' So we both went into the studio and we both sang the song again."

Asked about his working relationship with Rubin, Diamond says, "The first time I met with him, he's a pretty imposing guy physically. He's a big man. He has this huge beard, and he looks very serious and very intense, but it turns out he's really a pussycat. He's a very sweet guy, and he's totally involved in music and making beautiful music .... I think his strongest attribute is knowing when not to say anything and let the music take its own course and develop and grow of its own natural power. I don't know. He lets it happen, and that, to me, is a great talent."

While Rubin is fully aware of what's happening in pop music at all times, the same can't be said of Diamond, who has managed since the '70s work to work outside of what's contemporary. He's one artist who can easily dismiss a question about following trends.

"I was never good enough to, because to follow a trend you have to be able to know what the trend is, you have to be able to copy it, and you have to know enough about music to be a good imitator, and I've never been that. I've always had to follow my own thing because it was the only thing I could do. It was the only thing I felt I could do well. So, I haven't followed any trends. To me, trends don't exist. The only trend is music. Either it's good or it's bad. Either it's beautiful or it's not. Either it involves the listener or it doesn't. Either it moves me when I perform it or not. These are the considerations."

Likewise, he dismisses the notion that taking the Cash path of working with Rubin in stripped-down fashion was an attempt to re-invent himself at this stage of the game.

"No, I like the way I was invented originally. I've kind of gotten used to it. This is just another step, that's all. I've been taking steps since the beginning, from 'Cherry, Cherry' to 'I Am ... I Said' to 'America' to Christmas music to 'Home Before Dark.' It's me. I'm not reaching out for anybody but the audience that wants to listen. That's all. I'm not doing anything logical. I'm not pre-planning anything. Maybe I would have had a better career if I had and thought it out, but it was all based on how well I could write the songs, and how good the songs would be, and how the audience took it to their hearts, or not, and it's still that way -- exactly that way."

Despite not being a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a snub he brushes off, Diamond's had a pretty remarkable run to still be topping the charts and selling out arenas five decades into his career. He only takes partial credit.

"There are a lot of talented people out there, but to go for a long time and to try and remain productive, that's, I think, in the hands of the gods. Luck has a lot to do with it. I've seen more talented people than I fall by the side of the road -- road kill in a business and a world that can be very cynical and very difficult and has lots of traps and potholes. So I do believe that good luck and maybe a little karma play a part in this whole scenario. I also think that you have to absolutely be in love with what you're doing if you want to be around for a while, because you're around for as long as you want to be around. Nobody will stop you from making music."