A triumphant Steve Jobs returns to work, stage, pulpit

A spry Steve Jobs made a triumphant return Wednesday at Apple's (AAPL) "It's Only Rock and Roll" event in San Francisco to a rapturous reception from several hundred reporters and industry figures in the audience and an untold number following the event on the web.

There was no major product announcement. And the much-rumored unveiling of the Beatles catalog on iTunes didn't happen, just as we reported it wouldn't. But the mere appearance of an energetic Jobs at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts sent the audience into a frenzy.