He's the voice of experience, the voice of regret, or simply the Voice. Though George Jones suffered a near-fatal collision while recording this album, his first for Asylum, Cold Hard Truth has the vocal command of an artist with a new lease on life. Highlights such as "Choices," "Our Bed of Roses," and the album-closing "When the Last Curtain Falls" (with harmonies from Vince Gill and Patty Loveless) extend his reign as the most heart-clenching singer of sob-song balladry in country music. Even comparative throwaways such as "Real Deal"--a title chorus in search of a song--benefit from Jones's patented swoops and leaps. With the mournful strains of fiddle and steel guitar providing the musical frame, the album avoids novelty fare (no "High-Tech Redneck" here) in favor of a sound that echoes, if not equals, the classics of old.