UNLIKE his peers - Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison - there is clearly no such thing as a Paul Simon obsessive. I doubt he loses much sleep over this. Considered appreciation seems more appropriate and entirely his due - and if most of the audience for the first date of his first UK tour in 15 years is of the older vintage of popular music fan, there are enough young enthusiasts to indicate that the tradition of Simon-fondness is being passed on.

Beforehand, I'd have bet on a set that focused on the fine new Eno-co-produced Surprise album with a smattering of tunes from earlier solo discs, but instead he ranged much wider than even someone with only Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits at home had any right to expect.

Fronting a stunning octet of musicians (including the legendary Steve Gadd on drums, and the larger-than-life Mark Stewart on guitars, baritone sax and whistles in a too-long Royal Stewart tartan kilt) and playing much of the trickiest guitar figures himself, Simon included only a few tracks from the new disc alongside songs from Graceland, Still Crazy and just about every other milestone in his remarkably varied career.

If the dead hand of Hall Four's awful acoustic initially threatened to kill the subtleties of the musicianship, and there were lapses in the pacing of the set later on, by half-way through the valuefor-money two hours it was more than clear that this was a gig to be talked of for years to come.

The real surprise, though, was the inclusion of so much material from the Simon and Garfunkel era. There was a distinct rockabilly flavour to Mrs Robinson, a cheery singalong to The Boxer (not that Simon was likely to make that easy for those who still giggle at the line about Seventh Avenue whores) and - astonishingly, really - even Bridge Over Troubled Water, revealed anew as a classic country song.