DIAMOND LABORS

“HEADED FOR THE FUTURE,” Neil Diamond. Columbia OC 40368. This album, timed to coincide with Diamond’s CBS-TV special tonight, features an all-star lineup of producers and songwriters, including Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams, Maurice White, Burt Bacharach and David Foster. Even with that powerhouse support, only half of the 10 songs possess the bristling dynamics or eloquent grace that have characterized Diamond’s best hits. The rest are slushy or labored, and suggest that Diamond (profiled on Page 3) remains in a creative slump. Three of the best cuts were produced by Maurice White, who also oversaw the best tracks on Barbra Streisand’s 1984 album “Emotion.” One of them, “Stand Up for Love,” has the proud, high-stepping strut that was the hallmark of White’s hits with Earth, Wind & Fire. For the most part, though, the album title “Headed for the Future” is so much wishful thinking. A more fitting title would have been “Still Treading Water.”