At least I think this is a batch review. I was led down this road while exploring Bopol Mansiamina’s recording history. It turns out that there were 8 releases on the label Disques Innovation, all united by the title of “Innovation” and a volume number. That is the only thing they all share. Five out of the 8 also share the “Orchestre Mode Success” designation. However, 2 of those are by Julios Lukau (Vol. 2 and Vol. 2/5), and 3 are by Bopol and singer Assaka Baba Ley. What a mess.
I was originally just going to listen to the 3 Bopol/Assaka albums, but in listening to the first Julios Lukau release just for completeness in the "Orchestre Mode Success" sub-series, I discovered one of the finest albums of African music/soukous I have ever heard. What a hidden treasure. David Noyes on Ambiance Congo has a better post than mine on this series, but he doesn't seem to mention how brilliant Vol. 2/5 is, I'm not sure why. See my separate review of that. In any event, the three Bopol/Assaka albums are (some have subtitles, which I don't reproduce here because they don't appear on the cover, which I will fix if I ever get copies and can inspect them properly):
Innovation Vol. 1 - 8 (A-) -- on wantlist (same cover as Vol. 4, except for volume designation in blue star in upper right corner)
Innovation Vol. 3 - 7.5 (high B+) -- on wantlist
Innovation Vol. 4 - 8 (A-) -- on wantlist
As noted above, Vol. 2 and 2/5 by Julios Lukau are in a separate review.
Volumes 6, 7, and 8 are all Nyboma and Bovi albums. I listened to each once (being able to find at least 3 of the 4 tracks on each to sample), and I have decided not to go on with these. There are some very good tracks in there, but not enough to inspire going further down this particular rabbit hole. Maybe one day, if I live for another 30 years, which I surely hope I don’t.
Innovation Vol. 6 appears to have been issued with 2 different covers, one credited to Nyboma/Bovi and the other to Orchestre Kamale. While the first track on each is titled differently, they are both written by the same individual and my guess is that they are the same song. Interestingly, the Orchestre Kamale version does appear to be the sixth release with that band's name associated with it, the only one of the first six releases by that band on Disques Innovation. Complicated and strange, eh? There is either a mad genius involved in this series, with a method I don't really comprehend, or these are some extraordinarily strange coincidences. Here are the covers:
Innovation Vol. 7
Innovation Vol. 8
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