TORONTO - Fans of Sinead O'Connor's 20-year career would have been pleasantly surprised by her hits-packed show at Massey Hall on Saturday night.

Ostensibly touring in support of her scriptures-inspired double CD, Theology, the 40-year-old Irish singer-songwriter kept the new material to a minimum.

Just a trio of new songs -- Something Beautiful, If I Had a Vineyard and Rivers of Babylon -- were presented in all their haunting, if subdued, glory.

Instead, O'Connor and her five-piece band -- including John Reynolds on drums -- delivered a crowd-pleasing, greatest hits set, performing some tunes that she hadn't played live in more than a decade, like Three Babies.

Sadly, the concert lasted only an hour-and-25-minutes when it could have easily gone a full two hours had O'Connor been willing.

Dressed in a mannish grey suit and blue dress shirt, the androgynous-looking, head-shaved singer started the evening with a rocking version of The Emperors New Clothes.

That strong opener was followed by equally potent versions of I Am Stretched on Your Grave and You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart.

O'Connor's voice is still exquisite, particularly when she reached for big notes during Nothing Compares 2 U, Thank You For Hearing Me, and The Last Day of Our Acquaintance, or sang In This Heart a cappella in perfect harmony with her female fiddle player and female bassist along with guitarist Ken Armstrong.

But O'Connor, a mother of four children who was diagnosed as bipolar three years ago, doesn't revel in the theatricality of performing.

She avoids eye contact with her audience, preferring to let her awesome voice speak for her, and only occasionally danced on the spot, often weighed down by an acoustic guitar.

Still, O'Connor got off more than a few good one-liners throughout the evening.

"I spent a lot of money on therapy so I'd never have to sing Troy live again," she joked when someone requested one of her early hits during the encore.

Instead, O'Connor returned to the stage to perform Black Boys on Mopeds, Babylon and Back Where You Belong, the latter song a new tune produced by Canadian producer Daniel Lanois as the theme for the film The Water Horse, due in theatres on Christmas Day.