Neil Diamond has been holed up at the Arc Angel, the L.A. studio he's called home for more than three decades, working on his new album, 'Home Before Dark.' Before he plays it across the U.S., Diamond has an unlikely engagement: A two-night appearance on 'American Idol.' The show will introduce the songwriter behind the Monkees' 'I'm a Believer,' UB40's 'Red, Red Wine' and Urge Overkill's 'Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon' (not to mention his own 'Sweet Caroline' and 'I Am...I Said)' to a new generation of music devotees.

The release of the sublimely intimate, Rick Rubin-produced 'Home' -- which features a duet with the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines -- reminds us where else fans should be able to catch a glimpse of Diamond: In the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Spinner caught up with the legendary singer-songwriter to talk about everything from Frank Sinatra to the mysteries of songwriting.

How was working with Rick Rubin for the second time different from the first?

It was pretty easy both times, although it was probably more [a process of] getting to know each other the first time. Maybe I was a little more nervous the first time working with these musicians, the first time working with Rick. You put yourself in somebody's hands and you really don't know what they're going to do. But as it progressed, it became apparent that it was going to be comfortable and it was going to be good. This one was a lot easier. There were less songs. I knew the musicians. We'd done an entire album together. You get to know people pretty good working that close.

Did that relaxation influence the album?

It did influence the writing, but I'm not really sure how. See, I hadn't written an original album .... I started really with the 'Tennessee Moon' album, co-writing all the songs. It was intentional to work with a lot of different writers in Nashville. I had a lot of fun. That started to get the barnacles and rust off of my writing chops. Then, 'Three Chord Opera' was maybe all mine. That continued that process of the rust falling off. And '12 Songs' took me just a little bit further. I was flying with this one. It's about as good as I can get as a writer. I was in the groove. I knew what I wanted and when I heard something that I liked, I knew when to follow up on it.

Since the folks at the helm of the United States government once devoted piles of tax dollars to trying to bring in dangerous criminals like John Lennon, it's not hard to imagine their counterparts across the pond engaging in similar pursuits -- albeit with their sights set considerably lower. Although it was abandoned before reaching its inevitable Keystone Kops conclusion, one cockamamie plot involved trying to derail the perilous UB40 juggernaut by entrapping the band's members in a bogus drug sting.

Former undercover cop in the Midlands area has written a book detailing his two decades in uniform, during which he was asked to take part in a scheme that code-named 'There's a Rap in My Kitchen' -- a takeoff on the band's Brit hit 'Rat in Mi Kitchen.' We're not certain why the authorities were so set on attacking the 'Red Red (Wine)' menace when fellow Brummie Ozzy Osbourne was right down the road dispatching small mammals and breeding speciments like Kelly and Jack, but if they could've stopped the recording of that 'Light My Fire' cover, we'd have supported the effort whole-heartedly.