TORONTO -- As Bob Dylan turned 60 last night, another folk music legend, Gordon Lightfoot, was on stage at Massey Hall recalling the first time he met his American counterpart.

"I'd just been signed by the same management company that had signed him," Lightfoot said, just before launching the second half of his two-hours-and-change show with a version of Ring Them Bells.

"I remember thinking, 'Nobody's ever going to catch this guy.' "

Lightfoot pointed out that he'll always be ahead of his old friend in at least one way: "I'm exactly two-and-a-half years older," he mused.

True to his no-fuss form, the 62-year-old didn't mention that last night kicked off yet another three-night stand at the hallowed venue, a practically annual tradition that dates back over 30 years and must include hundreds of performances by now.

He simply came out in his laid-back uniform -- denim and boots in the first half, T-shirt and sneaks in the second -- and played it like he always does: Even, subdued, nary a note out of place.

Still, with a songbook that includes several of latter-day folk music's most influential, most-covered and most-copied tunes, all delivered in a distinct nasal quaver that has become an aural icon in Canada, Lightfoot has a knack for suddenly making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Among the nearly 30 numbers in last night's set were indelible hits If You Could Read My Mind, The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald, Blackberry Wine, The Canadian Railroad Trilogy and his biggest-ever hit, 1974's Sundown.

Written requests poured in during intermission, though a call for Stone Cold Sober only elicited a wry, "I remember that one, and I was anything but at the time," from the singer.

Other tunes were condensed or chopped down to medley form, including Did She Mention My Name? and For Lovin' Me, which was a hit for Peter, Paul & Mary in 1965. Lightfoot also tossed in some less familiar '80s material in the form of Let It Ride, from 1986's East Of Midnight album and in the second set worked in a new tune, No Hotel, which he wryly joked had taken him 12 years to complete.

Not all of it was stellar stuff. Apart from occasional synthesized strings that served as a reminder of how much better the songs sounded without them, it was also clear that Lightfoot has about three variations on a same theme.

But, backed by his usual machine-tight crew, Lightfoot glided through his best work like a skate.

While the work could stand up to various styles and treatments, there was no muddling about, and it was impressive how the tunes kind of hung there like artifacts -- which may sound like a slight until you realize how often many veteran performers ruin songs by forgetting what made them great in the first place. (More on: Gordon Lightfoot).

JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5