Duran Duran – Master Mixes (US 12″ EP)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1987

“Master Mixes” is a 12″ EP by Duran Duran, released in Asia, Hong Kong, and the USA by Capitol Records-EMI-Masterdisk on 20 June 1987 and in Brazil during December 1987.

The 12″ vinyl edition released in Asia, Hong Kong, and the USA is a double one-sided record, housed in a plain white stickered sleeve.

The Brazilian edition was issued in a picture sleeve in December 1987 for promotional purposes, to coincide with the Hollywood Rock Festival shows in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in January 1988.

Rumour had it that the band were readying either “American Science” or “Vertigo” as a likely fourth single from the album Notorious, commissioning remixes in anticipation. However, as both “Skin Trade” and “Meet El Presidente” failed to enter the top 20, plans for a fourth single were quietly scrapped.

Masterdisk released this Master Mixes collection, compiling the unused remixes, as well as a further mix of “Skin Trade” and a megamix called “Notoriousaurus Rex” in time for Duran Duran’s USA leg of The Strange Behaviour Tour in June and July 1987.

**As a special bonus, I have included “Skin Trade (S.O.S. Dub)” which was taken from the US “Meet El Presidente” 12″ promo single. This mix has never appeared on an official CD.

DISC 1:
American Science (Chemical Reaction Mix) 7:42
Edited By – Tuta Aquino
Engineer – Daniel Abraham
Remix – Justin StraussMurray Elias

Vertigo (Do The Demolition) (Mantronix Mix) 6:27
Edited By –Jose “Chep” Nunez*
Remix – Curtis/Mantronik*

Skin Trade (Parisian Mix) 8:09
Edited By – Jose “Chep” Nunez*
Remix – Daniel Abraham

DISC 2:
American Science (Meltdown Dub) 7:24
Edited By – Tuta Aquino
Engineer – Daniel Abraham
Remix – Justin StraussMurray Elias

Vertigo (Do The Demolition) (B-Boy Mix) 5:57
Edited By –Jose “Chep” Nunez*
Remix – Curtis/Mantronik*

Master Mix (Notoriousaurus Rex) 7:20
Edited By [With Edits By] – Jose “Chep” NunezOmar SantanaThe Hit Squad (2)The Latin RascalsTuta Aquino
Featuring [Featuring Mixes By] – Daniel AbrahamJustin StraussCurtis/Mantronik
Larry LevanMark S. Berry*Murray EliasNile RodgersThe Latin Rascals
Remix [Collaged By] –  Tuta Aquino

**BONUS CUT:
Skin Trade (S.O.S. Dub) 7:16
Edited By, Tracking By [Dubs] – Jose “Chep” Nunez*
Keyboards [Additional] – Kevin Jones (3)
Remix, Engineer – Daniel Abraham

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Capitol Records – VB-15320-1, Capitol Records – VB-15320-2
Format: 2 x Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single Sided, Limited Edition, SRC Pressing, Gatefold
Country: US
Released: Jun 20, 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: House, Downtempo, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Mastered By – HW*
Producer – Duran DuranNile Rodgers

NOTES:

This is a limited edition release of two single-sided records, issued in a stickered white gatefold jacket that is enclosed in a sealed, stickered non-shrink wrapper.
It also includes a letter-size sheet of paper with remix credits printed on it.
The sticker and paper bear both cat#s.
The records, packaging, and remix sheet are all professionally typeset, using a typewriter-style font and accompanied by Masterdisk Corporation logos, all in order to make the release resemble a test pressing.
It is, however, an official, commercial release on Capitol Records.

The last track is listed as “Notoriousaurus Rex (Master Mix)” on the insert, and as “Master Mix (Notoriousaurus Rex)” on the jacket and label.

A1, C1 remixed for Pop Stand Productions. A3 remixed for S.O.S. Productions. A2, A3, C2 edited for S.O.S. Productions.

“MASTERDISK” and “SRC” logos are machine-stamped in the dead wax.
“HW” is inscribed under Masterdisk in the dead wax.

“Original versions can be heard on the album, NOTORIOUS.

Printed in the U.S.A.

Find the 12” at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp:
Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning
: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans
: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

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Axel F80
Axel F80
December 14, 2023 10:40 am

AMAZING!!! Thank you! How has nobody rated this 5 STAR yet (until now)?!?

opoder
opoder
April 3, 2022 8:27 pm

I saw this rip on another site. I knew it could only have come from here. There’s even the extra track: SOS Dub, he must have copied it from here…
Anyway… Thank you Paul

Muff Diver
Muff Diver
October 7, 2021 11:49 am

Thank you so much Paul, for this treat!

TRANSITO SALVADOR CONTRERAS ACUÑA
TRANSITO SALVADOR CONTRERAS ACUÑA
September 29, 2021 10:02 am

Paul, tremendous contribution, from a group that I saw live, together with my daughter, thank you.

Joey
Joey
September 28, 2021 3:25 am

Thank you Paul. This is so Amazing. Love this 12″ when I got it in the used bins, it totally faked me out into thinking it was a promo kind of release. One thing though… oddly enough I was going through my CD’s recently and I came across an extremely rare Capitol promo CD called Maxi Meg Mobile Master Massive Madness Mammoth Multiple Monster Mixology! Capitol [DPRO -79023] which actually includes The SOS Dub of Skintrade among the other remixes included on that Presidential Suite promo 12″ as well as a mixes of songs by by Skinny Puppy and Freddie… Read more »

Ingmar
Ingmar
September 25, 2021 10:58 am

First of all, a special thank you for the work. That goes far beyond a normal contribution and is a particular pleasure for me with so much listening pleasure at one point.

If the record really came out in the middle of 1987, then it is surprising that both records say (P) 1986. Which suggests that this publication could be long in preparation. Or am I missing a detail?

Freddy
Freddy
September 25, 2021 7:43 am

Thanks a lot Paul !
It will be cool to have all the promo remixes of ‘Electric Barbarella’ ! What do do think ?

song and dance
song and dance
September 25, 2021 6:39 am

What Jeff said 😉 😉 I love American Science and Vertigo and their remixes. Like those tracks much more than Meet El Presidente of which I like the original album version best. I still can´t get my head around the fact that except for the title track itself the singles can be seen as chart failures. I think the first time I heard the chemical reaction remix of American Science was when I had bought the Strange Behaviour 2-cd which apparently has become a rare collector´s item by now. Again, love your post including the bonus. This has been a… Read more »

Ian
Ian
September 25, 2021 6:18 am

Amazing Duranie motherload this week Paul. Adding my thanks.

One clarification on today’s bonus track please…when you say US promo am I correct in saying it’s from SPRO-79008/SPRO-79009?

Ian
Ian
Reply to  DjPaulT
September 25, 2021 10:59 am

Thanks Paul 🙂

SuperC
SuperC
September 25, 2021 1:12 am

Another stunning post, Thanks Paul. This is a true treasure! and makes for great listening…

John
John
September 24, 2021 5:16 pm

Durantastic post, Paul…..In the 90’s I bought Duran Duran – The Presidential Suite 12″ Promo with Skintrade (S.O.S. Dub), unfortunately in the noughties I sold my Duran Duran vinyl collection for more CD’s and MiniDiscs.
Always great to hear your quality versions and also great that Duran Duran today released “Tonight United,” with Giorgio Moroder (composer) and Saffron Le Bon (background vocals).

negative1
negative1
September 24, 2021 4:58 pm

hi paul, thanks for this great release preservation. i actually have it on a fanclub cd, but i’m sure yours sounds better. i lost track of duran after wild boys. and did not care for anything from notorious single or the album. however, some of these mixes are pretty good, and i did end up liking amercian science. too bad, duran duran was in a huge decline after this album. but glad they’re still around. i’m glad they tried different styles. but not everybody that liked them liked what they were doing. so different songs appealed to different people. have… Read more »

Retro Hound
Retro Hound
September 24, 2021 12:52 pm

Amazing!! Thank you for these meticulous posts! And what a way to end the week… Happy Friday to us thanks to you!

Jeff
Jeff
September 24, 2021 12:40 pm

ONE OF YOUR BEST WEEKS EVER PAUL!!! I clearly had multiple climaxes on seeing this release!! You see,I LOVE all the talent collected here, from the ones who did the remixes to the many Edit Kings who went nuts with their razor blades!!! These are freaking incredible mixes that get my blood pumping and the big blue vein to throb!!! I have these mixes digitally, but I can only imagine how awesome they will sound under your ripping expertise! Paul, thanks again for this monster! The mega-mix I’m really excited about. Have a great weekend Paul, Song And Dance, Daniel… Read more »

Tom
Tom
September 24, 2021 11:58 am

Thank you for this Paul! As you probably know, the Master Mix (Notoriousaurus Rex) 7:20 mix on this vinyl release has also never been released on CD. The more complete version (with Proposition) *has* been released by EMI, but this edited version has not appeared anywhere else. I’m honestly not sure if it is simply an edit, or a complete new ‘collage’ by Tuta Aquino.

Daniel
Daniel
September 24, 2021 11:35 am

Thanks Paul for the exclusive Skin Trade (S.O.S. Dub). Have a nice weekend

Ian
Ian
Reply to  Daniel
September 25, 2021 5:00 am

Now Paul said it “has never appeared on an official CD”. He didn’t say exclusive to the US promo he ripped it from….as it’s not.

It is available as a digital download as part of the 2010 5-track download only “Remix EP”.