Detroit duo Insane Clown Posse exist in many minds as a broad-based punchline, which is kind of a shame. Despite the goofy, shlocky nature of their music and image, like something out of a nightmarish, coulrophobic slasher film, the hatchet-wielding, Faygo-spraying antics of Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J have sold millions of records and endeared the group to their loyal blue-collar fanbase of Juggalos. (The controversy they've drummed up still continues, with a protest march on Washington, D.C. planned this month in response to the FBI's unfair classification of Juggalos as an organized gang, as opposed to a working-class segment of enthusiastic music lovers.)
This month, UMe helped commemorate one of the group's most memorable albums with a 2CD/1DVD expansion of The Great Milenko, the duo's 1997 effort. In keeping with ICP's mythology, the album is part of a deck of "Joker's Cards" that illustrate "The Dark Carnival," a villainous circus that warns about the evils of society like racism, sexism and abuse. With track titles like "Piggy Pie," "Boogie Woogie Wu," "Down with the Clown" and "The Neden Game," it might sound a little ridiculous--but it's certainly undeserving of more than some minor controversy over lyrical content.
And indeed it was: Milenko was the band's first release on Hollywood Records, after preceding LP The Riddle Box marked their major label debut on Jive Records. But within a day of release, The Walt Disney Company (Hollywood's parent company) caved to pressure and took the album off the shelves. Undeterred, ICP signed with Island Records and watched as the album hit the Billboard 200 (their first of eight to do so) and was certified platinum.
Two decades later, The Great Milenko is now available as a deluxe edition pairing the remastered album with a bonus disc of rarities (curated by Violent J, the disc includes five unreleased outtakes and a new track, "Black Blizzard") as well as a DVD featuring the out-of-print longform feature Shockumentary.
This reissue is available now. Full specs and Amazon links are below!
The Great Milenko: 20th Anniversary Edition (Psychopathic Records/Island/UMe B0026986-00, 2017)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K.
Disc 1: Remastered original album (first released as Hollywood Records HR-62071-2, 1997 - reissued as Island 314 524 442-2, 1997)
- Intro
- Great Milenko
- Hokus Pokus
- Piggy Pie
- How Many Times?
- Southwest Voodoo
- Halls of Illusions
- Under the Moon
- What Is a Juggalo?
- House Of Horrors
- Boogie Woogie Wu
- The Neden Game
- Hellalujah
- Down with the Clown
- Just Like That
- Pass Me By
Disc 2: Bonus Spells
- Black Blizzard *
- Hokus Pokus (Headhunta'z Mix) (from Island Records single 572 307-2, 1997)
- What Is a Juggalo? (Alternate Mix) *
- Piggy Pie (Old School) (from Forgotten Freshness Volumes 1 & 2 - Island Records 314 524 552-2, 1998)
- Mr. Johnson's Head (Remix) (from Hallowicked '97 cassette single - Psychopathic Records PSY-1013, 1997)
- $85 An Hour - Twiztid feat. ICP (from Mostasteless - Psychopathic Records PSY-1019, 1998)
- Boogie Woogie Wu/The Neden Game Mashup *
- Mental Warp (from Tunnel of Love: X-Rated Version EP - Psychopathic Records PSY-1015X, 1996)
- Rare Milenko Phone Skit (from Mutilation Mix: Greatest Hits (That Never Were Hits) - Psychopathic Records PSY-1016, 1997)
- Confessions (from CD single with issue no. 8 of The Pendulum - Chaos! Comics/Psychopathic Records, 1998)
- House of Wonders (from Mutilation Mix: Greatest Hits (That Never Were Hits) - Psychopathic Records PSY-1016, 1997)
- Witching Hour - Myzery feat. ICP (from Para La Isla EP - Psychopathic Records PSY-1017, 1998)
- Hellalujah (Early Mix) *
- Pumpkin Carver (from Hallowicked '98 single - Psychopathic Records PSY-1020, 1998)
- Gone *
- Down with the Clown (Alternate Mix) *
DVD: Shockumentary (originally released as Island 440 057 595-3, 1998)
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