The Great Milenko is the fourth of six "Joker's Cards" albums released by the Insane Clown Posse. The Great Milenko is a necromancer and master of illusions, who tempts people into following a path of hedonism and evil for material comforts. Released in 1997, this is perhaps Insane Clown Posse's most popular album; it features some of ICP's most famous tracks, including "Hokus Pokus", "Boogie Woogie Wu", "The Neden Game", "Down With The Clown", and "Hall of Illusions".
The album was recorded at the studios of Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned record label. After recording was completed, a board of Disney representatives threatened to halt the release of the album unless some significant changes were made to its material. Fearing that their major-label debut would never see the light of day, ICP obliged and was forced to remove three whole songs from the album, and alter the content of others, as requested by Disney. However, just hours after the album's initial release, it was unexpectedly pulled from the shelves, ICP's upcoming tour was cancelled, and they were dropped from the record label. It was later revealed that Disney had received much criticism from certain religious organizations, and in fear of tarnishing their reputation, forced Hollywood Records to drop the act.
A media frenzy soon followed, fueled by ICP appearances on MTV expressing outrage over their plight by Hollywood Records. Originally unwilling to nullify ICP's recording contract and relinquish ownership of the album, a deal was eventually reached with Island Records (which ironically was owned at the time by Hollywood's then-distributor PolyGram), who promptly rereleased the album in uncut form. In the end, the controversy turned out to be a blessing in disguise for ICP; the high-profile debacle had created huge public interest in the group and their music. The album went on to become certified platinum.
| Released | June 24, 1997 | |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded | Late 1996-Early 1997 | |
| Genre | Horrorcore, Rap | |
| Length | 67:31 | |
| Label | Island Records | |
| Producer | Mike E. Clark | |
Tracks listing
- Intro (featuring Alice Cooper) 2:00
- Great Milenko - 1:56
- Hokus Pokus - 4:21
- Piggy Pie (featuring Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols) - 5:46
- How Many Times - 6:21
- Southwest Voodoo - 4:00
- Halls of Illusions (featuring Slash) - 4:21
- Under The Moon - 5:00
- What Is A Juggalo? - 3:57
- House Of Horrors - 4:20
- Boogie Woogie Wu - 4:24
- The Neden Game - 4:05
- Hellalujah - 4:57
- Down With The Clown - 3:52
- Just Like That - 1:24
- Pass Me By - 6:42
