Bob Dylan, one of rock 'n' roll's true legends, will play at 8 p.m. Sunday at Rec Hall.

The 50-year-old singer / songwriter is touring in support of his latest release Oh! Mercy which has been hailed as his finest piece of the '80s. After an erratic career and a catalog that boasts nearly 40 LPs, including several greatest hits and collaboration records, Oh! Mercy has Dylan returning to the sound that originally catapulted him into popularity.

As a chartered member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dylan stands as a rock icon, but unlike many of his peers, he has continued to produce records that receive vast acclaim.

At Dylan's induction into the Hall of Fame, Bruce Springsteen described him as "a man with guts enough to take on the whole world and who made other folks feel as if they could too."

Springsteen extolled Dylan as a performer who changed the face of music. Without his precedent, Springsteen said, bands like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles would not have transpired.

Dylan's ascent began in '62 with his debut album of acoustic folk songs that captured the troubles of an ever-changing world. His nasal delivery was unlike any other performer and his translations of traditional folk music won him much attention.

"He created a new way a pop singer could sound and broke the limitations of what a recording artist could achieve," Springsteen said.

His sound would, however, continue to change. In '65 the Hibbing, Minn. native shocked many of his folkie followers by plugging in and fronting a fully electric band.

Although he alienated many of his fans with his new approach, Dylan created what some view as his best record, Highway 61 Revisited. With that album he unveiled his single "Like a Rolling Stone," which recently appeared at number two on Rolling Stone magazine's "The 100 Best Singles of the last 25 Years" list.

With his politically potent lyrics, Dylan was tagged as the voice of youth during the '60s and as his audience aged and his lyrics matured he became the voice of the aging youth in the '70s.

The late '70s, however, became a confused time for Dylan's music. After two highly touted albums, New Morning and Blood on the Tracks, Dylan again began a metamorphoses. By '78 he had lost touch with his Jewish upbringing and became a born again Christian.

Dylan's religious affiliation was prevalent throughout his subsequent releases. Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love were albums of gospel-swathed rock that were publicly embraced with indifference. Sales of the albums were slow and the latter two failed to even reach gold status.

After a divorce and a serious motorcycle accident, he came back strong in '84 with the release of Infidels. The idea of salvation still rang clear in his lyrics, but the album's brash attack and illuminating production (provided by Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler) was enough to win back many fans.

In the summer of '87 Dylan took to the stage with the Grateful Dead and the tour spawned a live album, Dylan and the Dead. Last year Dylan reached number one, but did so as a member of the superstars-group, the Traveling Wilburys.

Mack Smith (senior-finance) saw Dylan perform live about 10 years ago and is happy that he has strayed a little further from the religious albums. "I'm a lot older than other students. I've liked Dylan for nearly 15 years and I'm glad he's back to his old style."