"It's not a blatant Christian song," Joe says. "But it was the first or second one picked—when we decided on the concept for this album, ‘Living Years' was an immediate choice." With its well-known lyrics that speak of family members not mending the fences that separate them, and then finding it's too late, "Living Years" addresses issues that the Katinas have observed not only in their fans' lives but also in their own.
"As we travel, we're seeing the hurt and pain in peoples' lives that stem from family relationships," Joe continues. "And as we get older, we find ourselves going to more funerals and hearing about more deaths, so we just couldn't do this record without addressing this issue." But "Living Years" is personal as it speaks to the Katinas' relationship with their dad.
"Our dad was a strict disciplinarian when we were growing up; it was a relationship born out of fear," Joe notes. "And when our mom died in 1988, there was a huge vacuum between us and our dad. We know that he has regrets, but we also know he did the best he could. In 1993 restoration and healing began—but it's still not always the easiest thing.
"So it taught all of us—because we're all husbands now—that we need to keep communication open between us and our loved ones as much as we can. We never had that growing up, so we want to make sure our kids and our wives get it from us. Like the song says, ‘Say it loud, say it clear,' and do it while you're alive. It's a message we hope that future generations will continue to carry."
Another tune not found in the history of classic Christian music is the brand-new tune the Katinas wrote with co-producer Dan Needham toward the end of the recording process called "Lifetime."
"We were wanting a more up-tempo track," Jesse explains, "and we also felt like we needed to say something from our own hearts as a response to all these great songs, and ‘Lifetime' really reflects the album's concept of spiritual longevity and deep purpose."
And even as the band traced their spiritual journeys during the final song selection process, recording the tracks took things to even deeper levels of realization and breakthrough.
"We first heard many of these songs when we were really young," says youngest brother Jesse, 31, who sings lead along with John. "When you're younger, you get a sense of the melody, but you don't pay as much attention to the lyrics because you're not at a place in your life where you can relate to them as well. So it wasn't until we actually got into the studio to work on our own versions that we really appreciated what the songs were saying lyrically. For instance, Amy Grant's ‘Arms of Love' was really familiar to all of us, but it wasn't until I dove into the lyrics and tried to wring the emotion out of the words and the vocals that I fully appreciated the song. And when you read the lyrics for these songs back to back to back, you understand how powerful they still are."
Joe agreed. "When you're a kid, the world is awesome. But then you grow up, you go through things, and you can get jaded about life. So recording these songs reminded us how we used to look at life and music, about how much fun it can be, and the love we've shared—but I'm mostly reminded of God's love.
"Through all the good and bad things we've experienced, the challenges, God's love brought us through every single thing."
