Description
Changing is the sole album by the British gospel-funk group Kainos, released on Tempus Records in 1978. The album was recorded by Les Moir at ICC Studios in Eastbourne, England; with John Francis producing. Includes covers of “Somebody Told Me”, a song written by Andrae Crouch, and the Stevie Wonder classic “Have A Talk With God”.
Kainos features Carl Booth on lead vocals, Basil Meade on organ and vocals, Joe Pitt on piano and vocals, Verl Beccan and Joel Edwards on guitars, Dereck McIntyre on bass, Errol Meade on drums, and Keith Stewart on percussion and congoes.
Kainos were an 8-piece London based gospel-funk band formed around 1977. They were pioneers of contemporary gospel music mixing gospel with the Brit-funk of the day. The recording was marketed on the reggae label Tempus. The group were the first English outfit of its time to experiment with the fusion of funk and gospel. They played all over the London area and even made an appearance at the Greenbelt music festival in 1979. The festival was filmed and contains rare live footage of the band, who also appeared in Hollands equivalent Kaamperland. Kainos disbanded in 1980 but left a legacy of a sub-genre of music which has influenced black British gospel artists to this day, such as Paradise and London Community Gospel Choir (LCGC) (Kainos’ organ player Basil Meade went on to become the leader of the London Community Gospel Choir).
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! [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, March 2010]
Eight-piece black rock/soul/gospel outfit who had a lively cover of «Put A Little Love In Your Heart» on the Greenbelt Live! album. Here you get the studio version of that out along with eight other songs. Sort of a UK version of Andrae Crouch & The Disciples, but with a wee bit more muscle. Gets a semi-disco beat going a few times, though the favoring of piano and organ over synths gives them an older, leaner, more gospelly feel than most contemporary r&b of the times. Includes a funky upbeat version of Stevie Wonder’s «Have A Talk With God». Interesting cover collage of the moon and stars, skyscrapers, factories, a decaying old cathedral and a broken stained glass image. Kainos is Greek for “new” or “fresh”. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th Edition]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Put A Little Love In Your Heart”
A2. “I Believe”
A3. “Somebody Told Me”
A4. “Our Prayer”
Side Two
B1. “Changing”
B2. “Have A Talk With God”
B3. “God Gave Me A Song”
B4. “How Sweet”
B5. “We’ll Meet”
“Put A Little Love In Your Heart”, Live at Greenbelt 1979
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