Originally posted March 25, 2010
“Wild, Wild West” is a song by The Escape Club from their similarly named debut album, Wild Wild West. The single hit the charts in late 1988 eventually reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of November 12, 1988, making The Escape Club the only British artist to have a No. 1 hit in America while never charting in the UK.
The lyrics, with phrases such as “I love her eyes and her wild, wild hair,” “heading for the ’90s, living in the wild, wild west,” are augmented with gunshot, laser and blaster sound effects. Critics have noted that portions of the song bore a strong similarity to Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up” due to the distinct drum beat and vocal patterns during the verses.
The music video is noted for using mirror imaging of actors to give the illusion of disembodied arms and legs.
In 1989, Wally Wingert parodied it on the Dr. Demento radio show as “Adam West,” in response to the casting of Michael Keaton as the title character for that year’s Batman film.
I added as bonus tracks the “Artillery Mix” and “Bacapella” which I lifted from the US 12″ promo these versions are exclusive to this release. “We Can Run” is a non-lp track.
SIDE A:
Wild, Wild West (Dance Mix) 7:54
Wild, Wild West (Single Edit) 3:59
SIDE B:
Wild, Wild West (Wild, Wild Dub Club) 7:20
We Can Run 3:40
BONUS TRACKS:
Wild, Wild West (Artillery Mix) 5:58
Wild, Wild West (Bacapella) 5:45
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Wild, Wild West | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #1 |
| 1988 | Wild, Wild West | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #3 |
| 1988 | Wild, Wild West | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #36 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – 0-86544
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Dance-pop
CREDITS:
Design, Art Direction – Stylorouge
Engineer – Gary Hellman
Management – Paddy Spinks*, Tony Smith (13)
Photography By – Nels Israelson
Producer – Chris Kimsey
Producer [Additional], Mixed By, Edited By – John Luongo
Written-By – The Escape Club
NOTES:
Also available the LP “Wild Wild West”
Find the 12″ on DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: 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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
