Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

It's hard to believe listening to this album 30 years later but 'Changing' was a radical cutting edge release that had an enormous impact at the time. The idea of marrying gospel to a contemporary funk style had been pioneered in America by Andrae Crouch but a British band hadn't yet managed the trick with any success. Recorded in London and released in 1978 on a mainstream reggae label, 'Changing' broke all the rules and the band struggled to gain acceptance in the black led church because the elders often took exception to their funkiness! The band had a huge influence on young gospel musicians and the contemporary gospel explosion of the '80s with artists like Lavine Hudson and Paradise owes a huge debt to these pioneers. These days Andrae Crouch is near enough regarded as traditional gospel and so it is with Kainos because when you hear their versions of "I Believe" or an original like "How Sweet", time has muted their impact. At the time though, their take on Stevie Wonder's "Have A Talk With God" and the groove of the title track was definitely taking gospel into new territory. Vocally although Carl Booth was the lead singer, support from the rasping Joe Pitt gave the band an extra punch. Kainos' mainstage Greenbelt '79 appearance and live version of Jackie DeShannon's "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" on the Greenbelt album of that year only broadened the band's appeal. Sadly, Kainos couldn't sustain their early momentum and broke up. Interesting facts. . . the band's organist was one Basil Meade who went on to form LCGC while their guitarist was Joel Edwards who went on to head up the Evangelical Alliance. The engineer on the project was a very young Les Moir who these days is label head of Survivor Records. So 'Changing' is an interesting artefact whichever way you look at it. Someone should think of a CD re-release!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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