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Who is Robert John Mutt Lange

Although country-music fans probably think of Robert John "Mutt" Lange as Shania Twain's husband, rock n' roll fans from the late 1970's and 1980's think of Mutt Lange as one of the greatest rock n' roll producers ever. Some may consider it strange that a man who is best know for his production of heavy metal bands, can find himself now engrossed in country music. The fact is Mutt Lange has always been known for producing multi-multi-platinum artists and Shania Twain's album, "The Woman In Me", which has sold over 12 million copies in the United States, certainly fits the bill. Her second album produced by Mutt Lange, "Come On Over", has sold over 20 million copies in the United States. Mutt Lange has always associated himself with good musicians and Shania is no exception.

Mutt Lange's Beginning

Trying to find out personal information about John Robert "Mutt" Lange, is about as easy as finding the lost keys to a Lamborghini. What I have found out is that Mutt Lange was born in 1948 and is 16 years older than Shania. Mutt Lange grew up in Belfast, New Zealand (South Africa) and is one of three brothers who all had unusual school boy nicknames. So to put things in perspective, I'm sure "Mutt" Lange had no more trouble accepting his nickname than his brother "Slug" had accepting his nickname.

Mutt Lange first got his start as a producer in 1976 where he played bass and produced City Boys' self-titled debut. Also, that year he produced Graham Parker's "Heat Treatment". In 1977, his production credits include The Motors' "Motors 1", Supercharge's "Horizontal Refreshments", and one of my favorite original new-wave groups The Boomtown Rats', self-titled debut and their 1978 follow-up "Tonic For The Troops". Rounding out the late 70's, was various other productions including The Outlaws' "Playing To Win", The Michael Stanley Bands' "Cabin Fever", XTC's "White Music", and City Boys' "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" (a band which included guitarist Mike Slammer who has played with Steve Walsh in his band Streets and more recent with Christian musician and former Stryper vocalist Michael Sweet).

Mutt Lange and Metal

Mutt Lange did have one other album out of the 1970's that was of considerable importance. AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" which was released in 1979. However, with the death of lead singer Bon Scott just months after the release, AC/DC seemed to be in a bind. However, Mutt Lange's trademark "big drum, big guitar" on AC/DC's 1980 follow-up, "Back In Black", more than made up for the loss of Scott at least as far as album sales. "Back In Black" has sold over 22 million copies in the United States thus far. Mutt Lange and AC/DC struck again in 1981 with "For Those About To Rock We Salute You", an album which launched AC/DC into superstardom and made Mutt Lange one of the most sought after record producers in the business.

1981 proved to be good to Mutt Lange in other respects. A group of British teenagers, had released an album, one year prior, called "On Through The Night". This group showed enormous potential. Critics throughout the world began calling them the next Led Zeppelin (since they were from the United Kingdom). However, the production on the album was not equal to the content. But never fear, Mutt Lange was there. When he had taken over the reigns to produce their second album, things had begun to change. The 1981 release, "High and Dry", the second album from Def Leppard, was packed with a hard rocking sound that in my mind forever changed the sound of heavy metal. Although it didn't produce a hit at the time (although years later "Bringing On the Heartbreak" became a legendary ballad hit), it certainly caught the eyes of both critics and youth alike.

In 1983, Def Leppard released their third album, "Pyromania", which was not only produced by Mutt Lange, it had him credited as co-writer on all of the songs (some as principle writer). It seems like Mutt Lange's songwriting touches seemed to be exactly what the band needed and as a result, Def Leppard had several big hits such as, "Photograph", "Rock of Ages" and "Foolin'". After millions of copies were sold (over 10 million to date in the United States), Def Leppard and Mutt Lange had made it big. In fact, Def Leppard members often referred to Mutt Lange as the 6th member of the band.

In 1986, it looked as if Mutt Lange was invincible when his latest production, AC/DC's "Who Made Who", became another chart topper. However, things looked grim when an automobile accident involving drummer Rick Allen led to the loss one of his arms. Also, in December of 1986, Mutt Lange was also involved in a car wreck which resulted in leg injuries that required three weeks of hospitalization.

In 1987, four years after "Pyromania" and with Rick's determination and Mutt Lange's innovative production skills, a unique electronic drum sound was formed, and Def Leppard's next release, "Hysteria", was an instant smash eventually selling over 12 million copies in the United States. Like "Pyromania", Mutt Lange co-wrote all of the songs with the band including the smash "Poor Some Sugar On Me". The story goes that Mutt Lange had went to the restroom and Def Lep singer Joe Elliott was just "goofing around" in the studio when "Mutt" returned sooner than expected and overheard Elliot singing "Pour Some Sugar On Me". To Elliot's surprise, Mutt Lange really liked the hook Elliot was singing and the results were the biggest smash hit off the album for Def Leppard.

Hysteria was the last album that Mutt Lange actively produced for Def Leppard turning over the day to day production to Mike "Bat Ears" Shipley. However, he stayed on as executive producer for the 1992 "Adrenalize" album where he continued to be co-writer on all of the songs except for one.

Mutt Lange and Rock Music

As I stated, 1981 was a very kind year to Mutt Lange. He proved to be very beneficial to Foreigner, who's 2nd and 3rd albums did not quite live up to the debut album and resulted in Mick Jones' reducing the band from 6 members to 4. Gone was Foreigner's two-guitar attack as well as the keyboardist who contributed so much to the patented Foreigner sound. But to the surprise of the critics, Mutt Lange made his debut with Foreigner and came in and gave the new stripped down sound of the band the raw edge that it needed to make Foreigner's "4" album their most successful to date. "Urgent", "Juke Box Hero" and "Waiting For A Girl Like You" were three of the hits on the album. In addition, Mr. Mutt Lange also contributed background vocals for the album as well.

Mutt Lange's 1984 production of The Cars' "Heartbeat City" proved that Mutt Lange's abilities were not limited to heavy metal. The results were four smash hits, "You Might Think", "Magic", "Hello Again" and "Drive", as well as several other songs that got quite a bit of radio play.

Also, in 1984, Mutt Lange's songwriting abilities began to really surface. He was the sole writer on the smash hit song, "Lovin' Every Minute of It", performed by the Vancouver-based band Loverboy. This song seemed to give Loverboy, a band who's songwriting had begun to slump, a temporary boost.

Mutt Lange and Pop Rock

By 1988, Mutt Lange began to turn his back toward heavy metal and hard rock and began to focus more on popular rock. In 1988, he produced "Tear Down The Walls" which was recorded by Billy Ocean. In 1989, he teamed up with Bryan Adams to produce "Waking Up the Neighbors". In 1993, Mutt Lange was nominated for a Grammy Award for the song he produced and cowrote with Michael Bolton entitled "Said I Love You . . . But I Lied.".

Mutt Lange came to the rescue of Heart, who was also enduring a song writing slump, on their 1990 album "Brigade". He wrote two of the biggest songs for "Brigade", "Wild Child" and the smash hit "All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You". He also wrote another Heart hit, "Will You Be There", for the 1993 album "Desire Walks On".

Mutt Lange and Recent Projects

Interesting enough, the song "All I Want To Do is Make Love To You" was wrote in 1979, over a decade before Heart made it a success. The song was definitely written for a female vocalist with a female point of view. So I may be drawing a conclusion, but I will always wonder if that was Mutt Lange's fantasy, to find his dream female vocalist that he could settle down with and make beautiful music together for the rest of his life.

Well, fourteen years after he wrote that song it seems like his dream, if that was indeed his dream, came true. Mutt Lange had found Shania Twain and the two of them have been making beautiful music together ever since.

However, Mutt Lange still stays in touch with his rock n' roll roots. In between recordings of Shania's "Woman In Me" and "Come On Over", he worked again with Canadian artist Brian Adams. Brian's 1996 release "18 'til I Die" was co-produced by Mutt Lange and Bryan. With the exception of one song, Mutt Lange and Adams co-wrote the album together. In addition, Mutt Lange played either guitar or bass on most of the tracks.

Mutt Lange in the Studio

Well, if you have manage to read this far you must think that Mutt Lange is the closest thing to the world's finest music producer. Although life in the studio with Mutt Lange reaps multi-platinum results, the same life can also present its own form of misery. Mutt Lange has been described as "a brilliant totalitarian record producer", "a guy who just made us do it over and over and over . . . ", but perhaps most accurately "slow and meticulous".

Def Leppard finally broke ties with Mutt Lange after 1992's "Adrenalize because the band members felt that they were trapped in the studio. Their albums, in particular 1987's "Hysteria" and 1992's "Adrenalize," took years to record, with each layer carefully added. While the band is very proud of those records, the studio process with "Mutt Lange" became so arduous that Def Lep guitarist, Phil Collen, says he seriously considered quitting the band. Collen is quoted as saying "I spent four years in the studio making `Hysteria,' and it got to the point where I'd go to the loo so I could just get out of the room. I'd get coffee and go, `I don't want to go back in there. It's worse than working in a factory.' We'd spend months doing the same guitar riff. We started doing that again on `Adrenalize,' and it wasn't valid at that point. That was some kind of turning point." In fact, Collen also had to redo Steve Clark's last guitar work to bring the album up to snuff.

Regardless, Def Leppard probably would have never made it to the extent they did if it weren't for Mutt Lange. They know it, and yes, they are still friends despite the break-up. It seems that even the people that do have negative comments toward Mutt Lange still have the utmost admiration for the man and his abilities. It is basically a matter of working with him. Bryan Adams once joked: "Mutt Lange could work with my mom and have a hit record."

Mutt Lange's production of Shania's "The Woman In Me" has been said to be the most costly production of any country music record to date. However, with typical Mutt Lange class, he reimbursed the record company himself for the money that the album went over budget. Since "The Woman In Me" has sold over 12 million copies to date, I bet that Mutt Lange is no longer paying expenses out-of-pocket for "Come On Over".

As far as Mutt Lange's productions with Shania, it is no secret that he makes Shania the focus of the music. Every song is specially and uniquely mic'ed to make the most of her vocals. Mutt Lange does his recordings with Shania in his Nashville studio, but he also has studios in London, New York and Los Angeles.

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Select songs produced or written by Robert John Mutt Lange:

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You Brandy 1998
(If You`re Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here! Shania Twain 1 1995
(Wanna Get To Know You) That Good! Shania Twain 2002
(Wanna Get To Know You) That Good! [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
18 Til I Die Bryan Adams 1997
Ain`t No Particular Way Shania Twain 2002
Ain`t No Particular Way [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
All The Love In The World Corrs 2000
All The Love In The World [Remix] Corrs 2000
Animal Def Leppard 11 1987
Any Man Of Mine Shania Twain 1 1995
Armageddon It Def Leppard 4 1988
Black Eyes, Blue Tears Shania Twain 1997
Breathless Corrs 34 2000
C`est La Vie Shania Twain 2002
C`est la Vie [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
Can I Touch You... There? Michael Bolton 27 1995
Come On Over Shania Twain 1999
Do I Have To Say The Words? Bryan Adams 30 1991
Do To You Bryan Adams 1996
Do You Believe In Love Huey Lewis and The News 7 1982
Don`t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You) Shania Twain 1 1997
Foolin` Def Leppard 28 1983
Forever And For Always Shania Twain 2002
Forever And For Always [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
From This Moment On Shania Twain 5 1999
Get Out Of My Dreams (Get Into My Car) 18+ Fenix TX 2002
God Bless The Child Shania Twain 1995
Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad Def Leppard 14 1992
Home Ain`t Where His Heart Is (Anymore) Shania Twain 1995
Honey, I`m Home Shania Twain 1999
House Arrest Bryan Adams 1991
Hysteria Def Leppard 11 1988
I Ain`t Goin` Down Shania Twain 2002
I Ain`t Going Down [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
I Finally Found Someone [from The Mirror Has Two Faces] Barbra Streisand and Bryan Adams 23 1996
I Thought I`d Seen Everything Diamond Rio 1995
I`m Gonna Getcha Good Shania Twain 2002
I`m Gonna Getcha Good! [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
I`m Holdin` On To Love (To Save My Life) Shania Twain 1997
I`m Jealous Shania Twain 2002
I`m Jealous [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
I`m Not In The Mood (To Say No) ! Shania Twain 2002
I`m Not In The Mood (To Say No) ! [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
If It Don`t Take Two Shania Twain 1995
If You Wanna Leave Me (Can I Come Too?) Bryan Adams 1991
In My Car (I`ll Be The Driver) Shania Twain 2002
In My Car (I`ll Be The Driver) [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
Irresistible Corrs 2000
Is There Life After Love? Shania Twain 1995
Is Your Mama Gonna Miss Ya? Bryan Adams 1991
It Only Hurts When I`m Breathing Shania Twain 2002
It Only Hurts When I`m Breathing [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
Juanita Shania Twain 2002
Juanita [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
Juke Box Hero [Live] Foreigner 1981
Ka-Ching! Shania Twain 2002
Ka-Ching! [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
Let`s Get Rocked Def Leppard 17 1992
Love Bites Def Leppard 2 1988
Love Gets Me Every Time 18+ Shania Twain 1 1998
Man! I Feel Like A Woman! Shania Twain 23 1999
Nah! Shania Twain 2002
Nah! [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
No One Needs To Know Shania Twain 1995
Photograph Def Leppard 15 1983
Pour Some Sugar On Me Def Leppard 1 1988
Pour Some Sugar On Me Emm Gryner 2001
Pour Some Sugar On Me Groovenics 2001
Raining On Our Love Shania Twain 1995
Rock Of Ages Def Leppard 16 1983
Rock This Country! Shania Twain 1999
Rocket Def Leppard 18 1989
She`s Not Just A Pretty Face Shania Twain 2002
She`s Not Just A Pretty Face [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
Thank You Baby! (For Makin` Someday Come So Soon) Shania Twain 2002
Thank You Baby! (For Makin` Someday Come So Soon) [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
That Don`t Impress Me Much Shania Twain 7 1999
The Woman In Me (Needs The Man In You) Shania Twain 14 1995
There Will Never Be Another Tonight 18+ Bryan Adams 31 1991
Thought I`d Died And Gone To Heaven Bryan Adams 13 1991
Touch The Hand Bryan Adams 1991
Up! Shania Twain 1 2002
Up! [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
Waiter! Bring Me Water! Shania Twain 2002
Waiter! Bring Me Water! [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
What A Way To Wanna Be! Shania Twain 2002
What A Way To Wanna Be! [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
When Shania Twain 1999
When You Kiss Me Shania Twain 2002
When You Kiss Me [Green Mix] Shania Twain 2002
Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under? Shania Twain 11 1995
Will You Be There (In The Morning) Heart 39 1994