TORONTO - While he found his political side years ago and his gospel-oriented side more recently with The Blind Boys Of Alabama, it appears that Ben Harper has now found his softer, soulful and more romantic self.

Harper and The Innocent Criminals had the near capacity crowd Friday night at Toronto's Massey Hall enthralled with a solid mix of old-school R n' B in the vein of Sam Cooke or Otis Redding with some of his finer numbers.

The two-hour, 19-song set didn't have as much of the lengthy, slide-guitar solos Harper has been known to deliver, but he and his five-piece cast were at the top of their game wherever they ventured, beginning with Two Hands Of A Prayer and the genre-blending People Lead.

Wearing a beige suit, Harper kept the between-song banter to a minimum but mentioned his love for Toronto a few times. Yet it was his frequent new creations of classic soul that set the tone for most of the evening as the slow, tender Picture In A Frame gave way to the warm, radio-friendly In The Colors from his 2007 album Lifeline. Both were literally and figuratively easy on the ears.

Whether it was a simple nod or a quick wave, Harper fed off the crowd's energy and the case was definitely vice versa. A few brave souls danced during Gold To Me as the seated Harper got busy on his slide guitar. While shining during most of the evening, the Hendrix-like riffs leading into Whipping Boy were worthy of the ensuing applause. Even some exaggerated arm movements from Harper did nothing to stop the momentum.

Although slowing things down halfway through with the decent Fight Outta You, the slightly better By My Side and the pleasing doo-wop tinged Heart Of Matters, Harper saved one of his strongest performances for Needed You Tonight off the new album.

With no guitar in hand, Harper belted out the tune with a great deal of intensity, raising his fist, buckling his knees and reaching back for a powerful, captivating performance.

From there, a cover of the Bill Withers' classic Use Me started small but ended with all on their feet and singing in a give-and-take manner with Harper. The Motown feel of Put It On Me also worked well despite sounding as if it's missing a horn or two in a live setting.

However, the highlight of the evening had to be the set-closing Where Could I Go. Here Harper performed the first verse at the microphone before simply walking to the lip of the stage, putting one finger up and thus silencing the audience. The next verse had Harper performing it entirely without a microphone but it came across still crystal clear.

He also appeared to be quite pleased with nailing the spine-tingling attempt if the little hop upon drummer Oliver Charles' riser was any indication.

Returning for the encore, Harper and The Innocent Criminals covered Bob Dylan's Masters Of War with opening act Piers Faccini sharing vocal duties.

And after briefly but humorously criticizing a fan shouting for Lynard Skynard's Freebird, Harper and company finished the excellent and refreshing evening with the rarely played Not Fire Not Ice.