When a legendary crooner records a version of the “Titanic” sinker “My Heart Will Go On,” something is either very wrong or very right.

In the case of Neil Diamond’s new two-disc collection, “The Movie Album — Time Goes By,” it is the latter.

The record features 20 movie classics by such names as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and The Beatles, caroled by Diamond and backed by a 67-member orchestra conducted by another legend — film composer Elmer Bernstein.

“The songs on the album go back to the ’30s and bring you right up to the present,” Diamond said in the Sept. 26 issue of Billboard. “[Making this record] was the equivalent of making a movie. We put in lots of hours, talent and experimentation.”

Best known as one of the world’s most beloved singer-songwriters, Diamond first dabbed into movies as composer of the score for 1973’s “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” which earned him Grammy and Golden Globe awards and became his No. 2 all-time best seller.

In 1980, Diamond ventured back to the silver screen by staring in and composing the music for a remake of the classic film “The Jazz Singer.” The multi-platinum soundtrack introduced such hits as “America” and “Love On The Rocks.”

“I like the movies and go whenever I can,” Diamond said. “The music is such an integral part.”

Although he has always been a movie buff, it wasn’t Diamond’s idea to do a movie record but Columbia Records president Don Ienner’s.

“No male has ever done justice to a movie album, but Neil makes the listener relive the movie,” Ienner told Billboard. “With an icon like Neil, it’s important to have a concept, as opposed to just 10 really good songs. We sat down and discussed it. It evolved from just Oscar songs to movie songs that Neil loved.”

“The Movie Album — As Time Goes By” is bookended by two versions of the “Casablanca” classic, “As Time Goes By,” and also includes Jimmy Cricket’s “When You Wish Upon A Star” from Diamond’s favorite film — “Pinocchio.”

Other well-known classics on the record include “Unchained Melody,” “Puttin’ On the Ritz,” “In the Still Of The Night” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love.”

“These songs are all special and memorable for me,” Diamond said in a press release. “And I love the fact that I’ve got a Beatles song in there [‘And I Love Her’ from ‘A Hard Day’s Night’], which works beautifully with a large orchestra.”

Bernstein, whose 200-plus film credits include “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Age of Innocence” and “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” penned one of the tunes on the record, the theme from “Love With a Proper Stranger,” the 1963 romance starring Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen.

“It’s a movie I always loved,” Diamond said. “And when I found that the theme was written by Elmer, I immediately put it on the list.”

“The Movie Album — As Time Goes By,” is a dramatic shift from Diamond’s last album, 1996’s “Tennessee Moon,” a country record featuring appearances by Waylon Jennings and the Maverick’s Raul Malo.

But next to his unparalleled charm, Diamond has always been known for being unpredictable.

As a pre-med student attending NYU on a fencing scholarship, Diamond left college six months before graduation to accept a songwriting position with a publishing company for $50 a week.

He eventually leased an office on Broadway where he devoted all of his time to composing. At his first recording session in 1966, Diamond cranked out “Solitary Man” and “Cherry, Cherry.”

Diamond also penned his first No. 1 record as a writer, with the Monkees’ “I’m A Believer” that year, and kicked off a record-a-year streak that would continue for 10 years and spawn hit singles “Sweet Caroline” and “Song Sung Blue,” among others.

In 1973, Diamond signed with Columbia records and released “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” and “Serenade,” which included the hit “Longfellow Serenade.”

For the next 25 years, Diamond would have an amazing impact on the singer/songwriter genre. From his “Christmas Albums” to his 1993 salute to ’50s pop, “Up On The Roof — Songs From The Brill Building,” he has discovered ways to redefine his boundaries.

One thing has remained constant, however, and that is Diamond’s acclaimed live show. Mixing in his classics with whatever project he is supporting at the time, Diamond concerts attract crowds of all ages and backgrounds.

“My basic audience will stay with me until I’m dead, but there is no reason not to figure out a way to get to the kids,” Diamond told Billboard. “I do see a new audience at shows. I guess Neil Diamond is hip and getting hipper every day.”

Neil Diamond will perform at Hilton Coliseum tonight at 8. Tickets are $40 and $25.50 and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets.