God's Work
opens with "Spaceship," a showstopping ballad where
LeAnn Rimes
is yearning for deliverance, suggesting that the album will be filled with the kind of showstoppers you'd expect from a vocalist who took home the crown on the fourth season of The Masked Singer. She may retain a taste for grand gestures, but
does indeed deliver upon its titular promise: it's not a gospel album but rather a spiritual journey, one infused with questioning and hope. This interior quest allows
Rimes
to look far beyond herself, a widened perspective that is assisted by a number of guests including
Aloe Blacc
,
Mickey Guyton
Ben Harper
Robert Randolph
Sheila E
Ledisi
, and
Ziggy Marley
. That list of musicians suggests a diverse, inclusive record, which is generally true. "The Only," the track featuring
Marley
and
Harper
, may have a bit of a reggae lilt to its rhythm, but that's the exception to the rule; rather,
fuses pop and world musics, occasionally adding a touch of country or soul as an accent. Most of
unfolds at a stately pace that works its way to a forceful crescendo, a structure the album itself mirrors, as it concludes with the stirring
Blacc
duet "I Do." The dramatic air is heartfelt and striking, albeit a little monochromatic: it's an album delivered in grayscale, the sober execution suiting the probing songs but sounding slightly stifling over the course of 12 tracks. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine