Having stumbled with Primitive, Diamond attempted, with Headed for the Future, to re-establish himself as a contemporary artist, co-writing with Stevie Wonder, recording songs by Bryan Adams and Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire, and employing nine producers and nine recording studios. The result was a slight upturn in sales and Diamond's last singles-chart entry with the title track. But the album was also overblown and unfocused, record-making by committee, and Neil Diamond as an individual artist was getting lost in the process.