TORONTO - With roughly three dozen studio albums under his belt, it took more than four decades for Van Morrison to return to one of his and rock music's landmarks.

And despite the fact it wasn't played in the same running order as the 1968 record, the Irish soul singer ensured that Astral Weeks was the focal point of his near capacity show Wednesday night at Massey Hall.

With a large backing band - including a small string section - Van Morrison sat behind a black piano to start the 100-minute set with some other non-Astral Weeks efforts. Northern Muse (Solid Ground), the first of several tunes that dabbled almost simultaneously in folk, blues, country, Celtic and soul, set the tone for most of the first half highlights.

Not one for idle banter, Van Morrison, 64, left the piano for good and did a rather ordinary run through of Brown Eyed Girl as the audience eagerly helped out. But it was the ensuing number Fair Play which symbolized the magic of the man and his muse.

Often leading the very attentive group with subtle hand cues and gestures, the performer took Fair Play down a rather lengthy and lovely musical road, giving guitarist Jay Berliner (who played on Astral Weeks) and fiddler Tony Fitzgibbon time to shine as Van Morrison let the song guide him and not the other way around.

The only low moment of the night might have been when Van Morrison figuratively and literally blew it during Little Village. Attempting a saxophone solo, but not quite hitting the desired notes, the singer quickly got help from Paul Moran who fleshed out the horn portion on trumpet.

Nonetheless, the draw to this particular tour is Astral Weeks. Earlier this year Van Morrison released Astral Weeks: Live At The Hollywood Bowl as a live CD and DVD. Next year a documentary entitled To Be Born Again will be released revolving around his return to this particular masterpiece.

After a brief announcement stating Astral Weeks was commencing, the musician opened with the melodic title track, often playing off David Hayes plucking his standup bass. The song was also met with some heads bobbing and toes tapping throughout the audience.

Probably the night's highlight was the middle section where the blues-tinged Slim Slow Slider found its groove early on, bobbing and weaving as Van Morrison strummed his acoustic guitar with more verve. Singing at times a bit off microphone but with a voice that rarely needs amplification, he nailed the swaying, melodic Sweet Thing which he occasionally slowed to a crawl.

The combination of Ballerina and Madame George also soared, the former met with hoots and hollers while the latter - with the song again steering Van Morrison - concluded with a standing ovation, proving it was well worth the steep price to get in.

Closing with the warhorse Gloria, Van the Man thanked the band, took a bow and exited the building, leaving the audience pleased to have witnessed such a rare sweet thing.