COLE COMES THROUGH THE WRINGER.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Eighteen months after Natalie Cole's divorce from Andre Fischer, the Grammy-winning songstress says, ``It's taken me this long to recover, to regain my focus and energy.''

Energized she is.

Natalie's getting ready to perform at the House of Blues nightclubs in Chicago on May 1 and L.A. May 11 and 12 with the aim of having fun, she says - and to play with some r&b tunes and other material for the album she'll record this year.

She's also rethinking the autobiography she began writing with much fanfare in 1995, which stalled when her marriage crashed into a bitter legal war that included her accusations of spousal abuse.

``I was pretty devastated,'' she says now. ``I couldn't write anything. If I'd written the book then, it would have been horrible, because I was a p----d-off person. I feel happier, healthier and have a lot more stability now.''

She's certainly following her own instincts these days.

She says of her upcoming disc, ``At first, I felt this pressure to jump on the band wagon and record some of the kinds of things that have been selling lately. But the songs that were sent to me were crap - overly influenced by what's going on in radio and media hype. You know, out of about the last five No. 1 hits, only one has been a real song, Celine Dion's ``My Heart Will Go On.'' Songwriters - great ballad writers I know - are feeling pressure to change their styles because they think record companies will reject them if they don't, and they're probably not wrong.''

She issues the declaration, ``Don't send me songs that sound like they were written 90 years ago. Don't send me songs that sound like my father. Just send me good songs.''

Back to Bedrock

The long-talked-about sequel to John Goodman's 1994 hit ``The Flintstones'' is now set for a June 22 production start. But get this: It's yabba-dabba-DON'T for Goodman. They're recasting Fred Flintstone - and his buddy, Barney Rubble, played by Rick Moranis in the first film. The Universal and Amblin production is going to be a prequel to the familiar cartoon saga of the modern stone-age family. Elizabeth Perkins and Rosie O'Donnell - Wilma and Betty - are out, too, which means a disappointment for Rosie, who recently told us she'd love to play the character again. The new Flintstones will, however, have Brian Levant back as director. As for who will play the younger Fred? It's hard to imagine anyone filling Goodman's prehistoric togs. As ``Flintstones'' creator Joe Barbera told this column, ``They stamped `Save for the Flintstones' on Goodman's rump the day he was born.''

Sounds like

Sylvester Stallone's brother Frank, John Travolta's brother Joey and Patrick Swayze's brother Don have been cast as ousted brothers of famous people in the UPN series pilot ``Movie Stars.'' That's the planned sitcom that will have Harry Hamlin and Cary Grant's daughter Jennifer starring as - you guessed it - movie stars.

Lord, have mercy

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is getting very fancy with its contest for a genuine title of nobility, which kicks off Tuesday in conjunction with the video release of ``Anastasia.'' The winner will be named lord or lady of Whinnymoore, Nottinghamshire, England. Now, they're adding a meeting with the real-life Sheriff of Nottingham to the grand prize, which already includes a trip to London and Paris, plus $5,000 spending money. The winner will be announced in late May, and a title ceremony will follow. Let's just hope the new noble won't turn out to be one of the ``Jerry Springer'' crowd.

Lisa, Lisa and more Lisa

Lisa Nicole Carson, who plays a district attorney and Ally's roommate on ``Ally McBeal,'' will be all over the tube tonight. She's guesting as a tough lieutenant on Damon Wayans' ``Damon'' sitcom, and she pops up to delivers a singing telegram to Jon Cryer on his ``Getting Personal'' sitcom. Then, there's ``Ally McBeal.'' In tonight's episode, says the actress, her character has a problem with a date, which leads to her arrest on an assault and battery charge, which puts her DA job in jeopardy.

With reports by Stephanie DuBois.

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Photo

Photo: Natalie Cole

``I was pretty devastated''