Review: Insane Clown Posse - The Calm
The Calm. My darling wife had to buy this disc on release day, for no other reason than "just because". Now that's "clown love" right there. I listened to this short EP on our living room stereo, which I might add kicks some major ass without annoying the neighbours. The first thing that struck me was how the beat from "Rollin Over" really filled up the room - it has a great presence and sounds better the louder it goes.
So I figured I'd write up a review of this disc, which really ain't bad in the slightest. It's an EP, so it's basically just something to tide you over between major releases, and it fills that job amicably. So prior to writing a review, I figured I'd check out what others were saying about it.
Just like punks, the vast majority of vocal Juggalos never cease to amaze me. Punk runs paralell with the dark carnival, the common theme being something along the lines of "this is what we do, fuck anyone who doesn't like it". Yet I'm amazed at the number of people who are judging ICP for their decisions regarding the development of this EP. Just look at this little gem from cali Juggalo "hatchetman20":
The clowns I know sing chicken huntin and Piggy Pie with some wicked sh*t mixed in like dead body man. Hells Pit was horrible. Not one track on that CD was tolerable. Now Ive been down for 8 years but I have to say that since they got rid of Mike Clark ICP isnt ICP anymore.
Bitch, the clowns you know? If you knew anything about being a "Juggalo" (unless I've seriously missed the boat with my understanding), then why the fuck would "the clowns you know" even give a fuck what you think? They're doing what they do, and probably having a blast doing it. If you don't like this disc, sell it and shut the hell up. Or put it into your rotation for some variation.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not ragging on the people who talk shit about any ICP disc - there are some that I've talked shit about, and I'm not entirely thrilled with this disc anyway. It's the "they should go back to their roots" and "bring back the wicked shit" comments that piss me off.
Perhaps if (like most of the people who posted reviews on Amazon of this disc) you're a 2-year Juggalo, you'd prefer they just re-released Great Milenko over and over with new beats and some new guest stars? If you're a veteran of the Dark Carnival who thinks the Carnival of Carnage was the greatest thing ever to hit the ground, you'd prefer to have the shit remixed out of that?
I guess it goes back to my comments on the punk scene earlier - I'm amazed at how people who pride themselves on not pandering to anyone's expectations simply go and setup a new set of expectations for their peers. It's complete bullshit.
Anyway, now that the rant's out of the way - on to the disc. As I said earlier, "Rollin' Over" is a solid track that sounds great up loud. Other standouts include "Rosemary" and "We'll be alright". "Like it like that" isn't bad, but a little repetitive.
One of the cool things about this EP is that ICP actually decided to give 100% of the development a shot themselves. To be honest, it's quite amazing that it doesn't suck shit, and I think that's worth buying it to encourage them to keep pushing in new directions.
On the whole, if you pay $5-$8 for this disc, and you like anything ICP have done in the last 2 years, you'll get your $5-$8 worth of enjoyment out of this disc - unless of course you're a close-minded wannabe who is just going to cry about them still not "returning to the wicked shit". If you don't like the disc, feel free to say so - but don't fall into the rut of expectations and expect ICP to follow you.
Update: Last time I checked, they had this CD for ridiculously cheap on half.com. I guess a lot of people didn't like The Calm after all? :\