Although it is usually seen as the album where ICP came into their own, The Great Milenko suffers from a case of ADD only slightly less serious than that of Carnival of Carnage. The 'anything goes' whimsy of Ringmaster and Riddle Box disappears into a whirlwind of mid-paced, scratch-and-kick, drum-heavy beats, accented by guitar licks which clash more than complement. Although Clark's production takes a big step up, The Great Milenko offers little ICP hasn't already brought to the table, and does not improve on the formula. The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost sees Clark relinquish control of production to a team of in-house Psychopathic Records regulars.
Full list of Insane Clown Posse songs, sorted alphabetically by name. You can also sort the list of songs by year recorded (from oldest to newest, and from most.
Although conceptually and sonically most similar to Hell's Pit, Lost swaps trip-hop atmosphere for dark, aggressive and polished Danny Brown and Waka Flocka-style molly rap that sacrifices silliness for violent morality tales. Although technically proficient, ICP foregoes its strengths—pop and murky horrorcore—for a cold and relentless litany of darkness. Breaking things up with painfully earnest Scott Stapp-style vocals at a few unfortunate moments certainly doesn't help. Bizaar/Bizzar pushes the circus themes and skits mostly to the side for a rap-rock double album that signals the end of ICP's flirtations with the mainstream. The final albums that ICP recorded as part of its tempestuous deal with Island Records is heavy on murder and mayhem, but comes off as sterile and forced rather than fun or menacing.
Not without its high points (the singles 'Let's Go All the Way' and 'Tilt-A-Whirl' are particularly strong), Bizaar/Bizzar mostly sounds like the Clowns wanted to get on with their business away from the pressure of chart success. The Wraith's companion album is its conceptual and sonic opposite. The sound of Hell's Pit stands out from the rest of ICP's catalog through Mike Puwal's restrained minimalism, reminiscent of mid-period Massive Attack and J Dilla, which is unusually prescient of the critically acclaimed dark electronics of The Haxan Cloak and Demdike Stare, which it predates by a few years. Although the first half of the album bears a little too much of a resemblance to Korn's disappointing output of the early 2000s, the consistency of the second half of Hell's Pit makes it one of ICP's stronger offerings. Is the album that introduces the modern, and best, incarnation of the Insane Clown Posse.
Mike E Clark directs a marked shift away from the narrative-driven rap that dominated most of ICP's career to this point, pushing it toward pop-first songwriting which has always been J and Shaggy's biggest strength. The closest thing to a primer on ICP's eclectic career, almost every song on B!B!P! Illustrates a different facet of the group's strengths while letting them finesse their classic pop and rock influences. From the gothic earnestness of 'Vera Lee' to the Halloween surf rock of 'The Bone,' B!P!B! Sees J and Shaggy shape a cornucopia of influences into a cohesive whole with very little fat. Insane Clown Posse usually deliver their death-first subject matter through a veneer of cartoonish ultra-violence that puts it in the world of tongue-in-cheek self-parody.
This is not the case with the distinctly melancholic The Mighty Death Pop!, in which ICP approaches its typical subject matter in a way more bitterly sardonic than silly. Clark's clean, Detroit techno and dark ambient-flavored production suit J and Shaggy's tales of people driven to sudden, early deaths, with poppy palette cleansers providing welcome distraction. S tight songwriting and unusual humanity makes it one of ICP's best albums. Insane Clown Posse have arrived. The Amazing Jeckel Brothers sees a distinctive shift in songwriting away from the meandering narrative rap of the first four albums toward tight pop arrangements which suit their bombast remarkably better. Familiar rap elements are beefed up with significantly more nuance thanks to Mike E Clark's meticulous production and guitarist Legz Diamond's tasteful flourishes, and the album is allowed to breathe with genuinely funny skits and high profile features from Snoop Dogg and Ol' Dirty Bastard.
Shaggy 2 Dope
The Amazing Jeckel Brothers sees ICP hit their stride and transform the clunky rock elements of The Great Milenko into a varied, seamless rap-rock classic.