In Brief

George Strait, “Lead On.” MCA ***. Quite simply, this is the best album of the Texan’s long career. The songs ring true throughout--with just a slight dip in freshness toward the end--and the plentiful lyric twists always are in service of real emotion. His ballad singing takes a giant leap forward, displaying the nuanced inflection that separate the pros from the amateurs.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).