TORONTO -- There's a fine line between putting a fresh spin on songs you've been singing for nearly 40 years and altering them -- and their presentation, almost beyond recognition. The former is definitely desirable, but the latter can be a little unsettling.

For the first of his three Toronto shows this week -- the others are tonight at the Phoenix and tomorrow at the Kool Haus -- Bob Dylan chose the latter route. During his entire set at Ricoh Coliseum last night, he stood off to one side of the stage, singing and playing a keyboard and occasionally a harmonica. Not once did he pick up a guitar, move around or take the spotlight. This left a strange blank space at centre stage, with the rest of the band hovering around the double drum kit -- yes, there were two drummers.

Meanwhile, new arrangements made many of Dylan's most well-known songs practically unrecognizable until a familiar riff or lyric emerged to set the crowd cheering.

Older folkie songs like Highway 61 Revisited became bluesy slide guitar workouts, while the breathtaking country duet with Johnny Cash, Girl From The North Country, was an entirely different creation -- pretty, to be sure, but missing the majesty of the Nashville Skyline version. Others, like Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine, Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again, Just Like A Woman and Ballad Of A Thin Man, became simple blues-rock tunes lacking the subtle nuances of the originals.

Of course, such antics are nothing new for someone who's taken so many different tangents over the decades, from going electric to getting religious, and the generationally mixed crowd was more than forgiving of Dylan's whims. That probably had something to do with their appreciation of his magnificent touring band, which included Freddy Koella and Larry Campbell on guitars, bassist Tony Garnier and drummers Richie Hayward and George Recile. The sleek, road-tested group sounded impeccable even in a hockey arena, swinging their way from Nashville country to hard-edged blues-rock to Texas swing/rockabilly.

The same could not be said for Dylan's increasingly peculiar singing voice, which frequently sank into a frighteningly scratchy, helium-laced croak. Newer songs like Tweedle Dee And Tweedle Dum and Summer Days, from 2001's acclaimed Love And Theft album,and Things Have Changed worked well with it, as did the big encores Like A Rolling Stone and All Along The Watchtower. But in others, like It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, it was a distraction.

Still, when you've got such an amazing group of musicians and probably the best songbook of any contemporary singer/songwriter, who cares if you sound like an asthmatic alley cat?

You're Bob Dylan, for heaven's sake.

JAM! Rating: 3 out of 5

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