Escape Club - Wild Wild West

I agree with everything posted thus far, but I thought since my CD collection probably doesn't overlap with many others, I'd post my findings as well.

The LP version is found on these CDs (all 139.2 BPM except where noted):

• Rock The First Vol. 3 (Sandstone D233043-2, 1992; mastered by Steve Hoffman and the best-sounding of the bunch of LP versions; runs 5:45)
• Cosmopolitan Vol. 9 (Sandstone SAN 5023, 1994; also mastered by Steve Hoffman and sounds great; runs 5:42)
• Rock Of The 80's Vol. 4 (Priority P2 53684, 1993; mastered too loud and clips severely; runs 5:43)
• Modern Rock 1988-1989 (Time-Life R828-07, 1999; differently EQ'd version of Rock Of The 80's mastering, also clips; run 5:44)
• This Is Music 6 (Quality Canada QRSPD-1094, 1989; EQ a little thin but no clipping at all; runs about 0.2% too fast at 139.5 BPM; runs 5:43)

The true 45 is an edit (same mix) of LP version, but sped up by about 0.8% to run at 140.4 BPM. It's found on:

• Totally '80s (Razor & Tie OPCD-4544, 1993; mastered by Steve Hoffman and is best-sounding 45 version; runs 4:02)
• Atlantic's Year In Review: 1988 (Atlantic PR 2566-2, 1989; runs 4:02)
• The "A" List Disc 43 (Swaitek, 1994; runs 4:04 and 140.3 BPM)

There is another mix in circulation, alluded to above. It's missing some production elements, like the synth note before the vocals start, and its drums are mixed way too far out in front. It's slower than the LP version by about 1.5% and runs at 137.1 BPM.

Because production elements are missing, compared to the LP version, and it's slower than the LP version, I doubt that this would have been a candidate for a single release at the time - both of those are the opposite of what the trend was for single remixes in 1988.

This version simply didn't exist when I was in college radio in 1988, and first turned up (to the best of my knowledge) on the Time-Life compilation below from 1995.

There are one or two other instances of odd mixes that have turned up only on the Time-Life compilations - one that springs to mind is an odd mix of the Champs' "Tequila", which appears in its proper mono 45 version on the reissue of The Rock 'N' Roll Era 1958 (1992), but is slowed down and has stereo overdubs on the original release of that disc from 1987.

The odd "Wild, Wild West" mix is 137.1 BPM for all versions and appears on:

• Sounds Of The Eighties - 1988 (Time-Life R988-10, 1995; mastered a little bit loud and clips in a few places; runs 4:07)
• Sounds Of The Eighties - Everything '80s (Time-Life R988-24, 2002; digitally identical to above; runs 4:06)
• Retro Lunchbox - Squeeze The Cheeze (Universal MSD-37132, 1997; digitally exactly 0.66 dB quieter than above two; runs 4:06)
• Like Omigod (Rhino 7-CD box; mastered too loud and clips quite a bit; runs 4:06)

FYI - The odd mix appears to have turned up first on
Rhino's Billboard Top Hits 1988 from 1994. The
other discs that include are digital clones of the
Billboard disc, except the Like Omigod box,
which sounds pretty darn close to the Billboard
disc.