I came to Joel with the hook (around 1998 it seems).  I read him the story of Simon who “stood among the crowd who lined the road to Calvary.”  After reading it to Joel I said, “I can’t imagine Simon waking up that morning thinking he would be carrying a cross. It was an ‘unexpected cross.’”

I then went on to say if we could tell that story (of Simon) and then bring it to the present tense and allow people to see their own story in the song we might have something.

We all expect or at least hope for good things when we wake up each day.  Sometimes though, we encounter an “unexpected cross” in our life.  Things we do not plan nor would we desire.  But, God can do something eternal and far greater than we ever imagine with our hurts, losses, disappointments, rejections and fears.  Just like He did with the Cross of Christ, He changed history through His suffering.  God can take our pain and change our world, and those we interact with, when we trust His sovereign hand.

But, as the bridge and last chorus states, ONE DAY there will be answers and a reason for it all.

Bridge and Chorus

On that final day
When every tear has been dried
We will see and understand
All the reason WHY.
Sometimes we have to bear an unexpected cross
That leads us to a mountain of sorrow
Though the pain may be great
And the price the price so high a cost
There’s always a reason
For the unexpected cross

Click here to listen.

The List

5. “Little Blue,” by Josh Garrels

Josh Garrels is an independent artist, and one of the most distinctive voices I’ve ever heard. It’s like a new flavor of coffee: surprising when it first hits the taste buds, but once you roll it around for a few minutes you really start liking it. At least I do. This little acoustic performance in the forest is my favorite. It helps in understanding the song if you know that his little girl’s name is Heron. (Yes, his wife has a nose piercing. Try to ignore it and enjoy the lovely music.)

4. “How to Say Goodbye,” by Michael W. Smith

Another small gem, accompanied by a beautiful music video.

3. “Father and Daughter,” by Paul Simon

Haunting, pure class. The lyrics are signature Simon, full of surprising, subtly deft touches. “Trust your intuition/It’s just like goin’ fishing…”

2. “May I Have This Dance?” by Scott Krippayne

Not one of the best-known daddy-daughter songs out there, and a sadly underrated artist. Yet he and it fully deserve the second spot.

1. Cinderella, by Steven Curtis Chapman

Has there ever been a better father-daughter song, or one more poignantly sealed by tragedy? No further comment required.

Honorable Mentions

“Red Robin,” by Clark Richard (I literally just discovered this one and had to place it just a shade under the top 5. I know nothing else about this artist, but I love this song.)

“Goodnight My Angel,” by Billy Joel

“King of the World,” by Point of Grace

“I Will Walk With You,” by John Fogerty

“Daughters,” by John Mayer (As a singer he makes a great guitar player, but I like this song, and it goes well with Father of the Bride, except for the verse about deadbeat dads of course. I almost embedded this live performance with Brad Paisley, which is brilliant when Brad sings, but decided not to when Mayer started—his stage presence is terrible! Still worth watching for Brad’s verse, but just exit before verse two.)

Finding good movies can be difficult. I’m here to offer some of the best picks from my own experience as a passionate cinephile who’s also not ashamed to suggest that there are some movies no Christian should watch, at the risk of being called a fundamentalist. To start off, here are my top five family movies.

Criteria

A great family movie must…

1. Have only negligible content issues, if any.

2. Be well-made (of course this applies to all, but family movies certainly aren’t exempt!)

3. Be fun.

4. Be something even small kids could appreciate (this is why I chose to leave off movies like The Princess Bride, because a 3-year-old won’t really “get” a lot of the fun in the movie).

5. Have a happy ending.

So without further ado, I present….

The List

5. The Aristocats

When people get misty-eyed and nostalgic over “old Disney,” I always want to reply, “Oh, you mean the 60s? Yeah, that was great!” But I know they’re really talking about the 90s, which to them is like, a hundred years ago or something. I guess I’m just an old soul, but in my opinion, the older the better. No, Snow White wasn’t the greatest Disney film ever made, but they improved fast. I may be committing heresy by not putting Bambi on this list, and indeed, I think it’s perhaps the best animated film ever made. But The Aristocats is even more fun and attention-holding for the younger viewers, hence I prefer it as a family film.

The characters are all memorable: Duchess as the sweet but classy rich girl, charismatic leading “man” Thomas O’Malley, Edgar the butler as a devious villain out for cash, the three adorable kittens, Roquefort the loyal mouse,  Scat Cat and his lovable gang of ragged rejects… and more! Something’s happening in every frame, the music is instantly fresh and memorable, and the voice acting is spot-on. Phil Harris is the voice behind Thomas O’Malley and will charm your socks off. O’Malley and Baloo the bear were two characters of his I grew up on. Here’s the show-stopping musical number “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” (written by the ubiquitous Sherman brothers). I understand that some scenes from Paul Winchell’s Chinese cat have been scrubbed from recent editions for politically correct reasons. What a shame. I loved that character.

4. The Black Stallion

Although I enjoy the book, I believe the film surpasses it, if only because of Caleb Deschanel’s breath-taking cinematography on the “island half” of the movie. If I were making a list of the best-shot movies, this would be hovering somewhere near the top. (Despite which, Deschanel wasn’t even nominated at the Oscars. For a nice film-lover’s rant on just how unforgivable a crime this was, see here.) The score by Carmine Coppola is fascinatingly understated, incorporating elements of Middle Eastern music for an atmospheric effect. Together, they create moments of surpassing beauty that require no dialogue. As for the Black… well, just look at him! He and his small rider capture the mystic union of man and beast as perfectly as it’s ever been captured on film.

3. Homeward Bound

Based on the novel The Incredible Journey, this is an off-beat adventure romp that never fails to be entertaining, exciting and poignant. I still come back to it over and over. Don Ameche, Michael J. Fox and Sally Fields truly make their animal characters come alive on the screen. Toss in a great score, and you’ve got the whole package of family film excellence: a reminder that “sacrifice, friendship and even love are more than just the mushy stuff.” Here’s a montage of some of Michael Fox’s classic moments as the exuberant young bulldog Chance (through whose eyes we see the story unfold):

Okay, okay, I have to include the last scene. “Best movie ending of my childhood” does kind of sum it up.

2. Star Wars

Yes, we’re going aaaaaall the way back to 1977 for this, the one, the only, the original, the true Star Wars. Need I say more? I have to give credit to George Lucas: He may have ended up ruining his own good idea, but he did have one good idea, and that’s the movie that started it all. Combining elements of the western genre, Japanese comics, and pure fantasy, plus ground-breaking special effects and arguably the greatest American movie score ever composed, this was quite simply lightning in a bottle. Everything worked. And it launched the career of one of Hollywood’s most successful leading men (I’m speaking of course of Mark Hamill). Here’s a swatch of the film that wasn’t ruined by Lucas’s re-edits.

1. The Sound of Music

If only all of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musicals were as good as this one. Brilliant songs, stellar acting all-round, and an epic tale of love, patriotism and integrity. The perfect family film, still holds up as a bona fide classic after all these years. It’s surprisingly hard to find clips from the movie online, but someone has put the whole thing on dailymotion with Asian subtitles. To watch the very best scene, click here and scroll to about 35:30 minutes, where Captain von Trapp addresses the audience at the family’s last performance and then begins to sing “Edelweiss.” When he is unable to finish, Maria continues for him as the crowd joins in (with the Nazis in the front row looking very uncomfortable). It’s a powerful moment. I don’t care if you’re not Austrian, I question your patriotic spirit if that scene doesn’t stir you and/or bring a tear to your eye.

Looking back over this short list, I notice that a common element of all five films, even the non-musicals, is great music. I guess that shows that an excellent score can take a film that’s already great and give it that X factor that really makes it stick with you.

So what are your top 5 family movies?

Honorable Mentions

The Jungle Book

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Lassie Come Home

Mary Poppins

Song List

(1) Til the Answer Comes (2) Dig Another Well  (3)  Believe In the Dream  (4) Walk On the Water  (5) Travelin’ Through  (6) Church Bells  (7) You’re My Best Friend (8) Black and White (9) Bible and a Belt  (10) Three Wooden Crosses  (11) A Living Prayer (12)Til the Answer Comes (Reprise)

Project available from… Amazon, iTunes, Artist Website

Highlights 

*Listeners will immediately be struck by Mills’ smooth, satisfying country bass voice. Fans of Randy Travis or Josh Turner will similarly gravitate to his sound. While probably not technically a true bass in the strictest quartet sense of the word, Mills can still get down there (on “Dig Another Well,” he ends on what I think is an A1, though he can correct me if I’m wrong—I didn’t double-check with a piano).

* “A Living Prayer”: An Alison Krauss and Union Station cover, previously unfamiliar to me. Readers may enjoy hearing Alison’s original here. Penned by banjoist Ron Block, this meditative piece is the standout track on the album. He sings the first verse, and his wife guest sings on Verse 2.

* “Travelin’ Through”: The title cut and the strongest original song on the album. It moves along at a good clip, and I especially enjoyed the jazzy keyboard work from veteran studio musician Dirk Johnson.

* “Church Bells”: The artwork I received didn’t include an author for this song, so I assume it’s an original from Mills and/or a co-writer. It’s a heartfelt, low-key piece that pays tribute to an old country church. I just liked everything about this one.

*I was impressed by the deep biblical references on a couple of the country covers. “Walk On the Water” talks about the deal Satan made with God to afflict Job, and “Dig Another Well” is a metaphoric re-telling of Isaac’s quest to find fresh water. (Though the lyrics might confuse readers who don’t remember the exact story, since Isaac doesn’t actually find the wells filled with dirt, he just encounters some tribal opposition from local Philistines who begrudge him the land.)

Dislikes

*While subtle pitch correction is common on virtually all studio recordings, I picked up a little more on this recording than seems typical for a southern gospel project. It’s especially prominent on the female vocal for “A Living Prayer.” While I can understand wanting to ensure a pitch-perfect performance from a vocalist who’s unused to the studio, laying on the pitch correction too thick can backfire. In this case, I would have enjoyed the track more had it not been so obviously sterilized. You can also hear it on some of Kevin’s vocals.

* “Believe In the Dream” suffers from a lack of freshness lyrically or musically. In particular, the lyrics use too many cliches (“this world can be a better place,” “miracles can happen,” “if you only believe…”).

*Although I appreciate the sentiment of “Black and White,” the writing is clumsy (especially the bridge, which features a laundry list of “new technologies” like “DVDs and HD-TVs”). Also, the first verse contains a negative reference to rock and roll coupled with a desire to go back to the days of Andy Griffith, but in point of fact, Andy Griffith was at its most popular when rock and roll was  first flourishing! (I know what the song’s getting at but couldn’t resist pointing that out. As a matter of fact, I did once watch an interesting interview with Griffith and Don Knotts where they were remarking on that very oddity. They were consciously trying to evoke the atmosphere of the 50s despite working in the 60s.)

*Except for “A Living Prayer,” none of the songs really made me sit up and think “Wow, that’s a great song!”

In Closing…

Kevin Mills is a voice definitely worth checking out. Fans of gospel-flavored country music will enjoy this solid mix of tunes. For an instant taste of what he can do, check out these videos:

Review copy provided. A positive review was not required.