Album Review: Reba McEntire, My Chains are Gone: Hymns & Gospel Favorites

Reba McEntire’s new album, My Chains are Gone: Hymns & Gospel Favorites, covers familiar ground.

The album starts out with her rendition of “Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone,” a song made popular by Chris Tomlin. It’s soft and sweet, different than the original, and Reba easily made it her own.

In a disappointing turn of events, most of the songs on this album are from her Sing It Now album, released a few years ago. But there are some new tracks worth listening to.

“Because He Lives” and “I’d Rather Have Jesus” are both reminiscent of Reba’s music in the seventies. The former is swing style and the latter a little old fashioned, but Reba proves she’s still got it with these tracks.

“The Lord’s Prayer” is interesting. Reba chooses to sing it here, but it doesn’t quite work. It sounds as if someone started playing the piano and asked Reba to freely sing. It’s a bit random in how it flows.

The album ends with Reba’s acoustic version of “Back To God” that she recorded with Lauren Daigle. It’s very pretty and Reba and Lauren sing well together.

Overall, the album is mostly re-releases of Reba’s Sing It Now, with a few new tracks added in. It’s nice if you like compilation albums, but if you were expecting an all new Reba gospel album, this isn’t it.