Though George Strait has always been a proud Texan, Somewhere Down in Texas finds him embracing his origins more clearly than ever before. He expresses a wistful attachment to his roots on the reflective, poignant title track, and unabashedly extols his home state's virtues on the Waylon-inflected "Texas." But of course, when Strait plumbs the depths of romantic devastation with cold-eyed dread on the masterful "Ready for the End of the World," no cartographic info is necessary.