No stranger to the ambitious concept album (Love Chronicles; Past, Present & Future), Al Stewart now turns his attention to wine--and Down In The Cellar is as fine a collection as you could wish from this long-time aficionado. Although not quite so ambitiously wrought as his last album, Between The Wars, faithful followers of the confessional singer-songwriter will not be disappointed. Wine is the river running through, but there are the usual bittersweet reflections on relationships; some dexterous guitar picking; and plenty of strong melodies, sung in that soft, strangely unchanging, very English manner. Stewart even revisits his folk roots on Bert Jansch's "Soho", but the best of these 13 tracks are the atmospheric "House of Clocks", the reflective title-track, and the engaging "Under A Wine-Stained Moon". Down In The Cellar may not rank alongside the very best of his 17 albums, but it is a pointed reminder that there was always more to Al Stewart than Year Of The Cat. --Patrick Humphries