KEITH THOMPSON’S new album Catch The Fire has been spinning non-stop on my CD deck since his showcase gig at Brewery Blues in Cirencester on Friday.

The Cheltenham-based blues guitarist is always a welcome guest here and was chosen to celebrate the fifth anniversary of John Drummond’s first Brewery Blues concert back in 2009.

Backed by his regular cohorts, colourful sticksman Roy Adams and virtuoso five string bass wizard Neil Simpson, Thompson debuted tracks from his eighth and – to these ears – best album.

The bar was immediately set high by the slinky shuffle of Money, the slow-burning highlight Crazy and the uptempo Paid My Dues with its serious fret-melting guitar runs.

On the LP, Thompson trades licks on a couple of tracks with blues heavyweight and former John Mayall sideman Buddy Whittington as well as young blues rock tyro Laurence Jones. And it was on one of those new numbers Getting Ready for the Burn that Thompson playfully dipped into the vaults of Classic Rock riffs like Layla, Sunshine of Your Love, Black Knight, Purple Haze and Focus’ Sylvia.

Racing headlong to the finale he returned to trademark staples of his set including You Don’t Know Me, a rousing version of Rory Gallagher’s Should’ve Learnt My Lesson and the audience singalong closer Take Me to the River.

Earlier, Cirencester rockers Landslide brought some youthful exuberance to the party, while opening the show was James Daubney.

James is built like a tight head prop but after his gentle and atmospheric fingerstyle acoustic playing had wowed the crowd it was no surprise to hear he has been asked back on October 31.

Before then it is the second and third legs of the venue’s Autumn Blues Trilogy with blues belter Rebecca Downes and her band (September 26) and the magnificent Matt Woosey on October 10.

DANNY HALL