Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

The real transformation of Franklin's life wasn't when he was going to church or first doing gospel music. The real breakthrough came when he joined a church that truly taught him the Bible and he started to understand the truth that could set him free. The 'Hero' album recounted some of those struggles and victories and 'The Fight Of My Life' continues the story and it shows Franklin still at the peak musically and spiritually. There are plenty of top songs and performances here. The beautiful ballads "Help Me Believe" and "How It Used To Be" are packed with the honest lyrics we have now come to expect from Franklin. The more traditional sounding "He Will Supply" and the sweetest of ballads "It Would Take All Day" also hit the spot. Toby Mac shows up for the rock-orientated "I Am God" to continue the collaborations between the two artists. Interestingly on this release Franklin is doing more singing/rapping than ever before. It works best when he collaborates with other great singers/rappers. The highlight is "Little Boy" where the legendary Rance Allen contributes a scorching vocal and the song contains the memorable couplet "let him see your mind not the crack of your behind." Franklin is on his own when it comes to getting away with that kind of lyric in church circles! Franklin's albums have in the past pioneered where gospel music was going and he shows no sign of flagging anytime soon though some critics might observe that on this release Kirk has found a successful formula and is sticking with it rather than pushing back the boundaries. But there's nothing wrong with that, of course, and no one can argue that Kirk continues to make powerful, challenging gospel music.

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