History Music / RobertJohnMuttLange

Born in Zambia, Robert John "Mutt" Lange entered the music industry in TheSeventies as a sometime session musician and budding producer, and eventually made his mark on rock music as RecordProducer in TheEighties through his high-profile collaborations with some of the biggest names of the day.

Lange started off producing such British stars as Graham Parker and the Boomtown Rats. Lange's international breakthrough came when he produced ''Highway To Hell'', ''Back In Black'' and ''For Those About To Rock We Salute You'' for Music/{{ACDC}} and he gained further recognition when he co-produced ''4'' by Music/{{Foreigner}} with the band's leader Mick Jones. However, it's arguable that his SignatureStyle is best-represented by ''Pyromania'' and ''Hysteria'', two of four hugely successful albums he co-wrote and produced with DefLeppard, and ''Waking Up The Neighbours'' by Music/BryanAdams.

In TheNineties, Lange married [[{{CountryMusic}} country-pop]] superstar ShaniaTwain and produced her Diamond selling albums ''The Woman In Me'', ''Come On Over'' and ''Up!'' Since their subsequent split, the famously reclusive Lange has largely retreated from public view, resurfacing to work on albums by {{Nickelback}} (''Dark Horse''), {{Maroon 5}} (''Hands All Over'') and LadyGaga (some production on ''Born This Way'').


!!Tropes associated with Mutt Lange include:
* ControlFreak: Lange has been accused of exhibiting such a tendency, notably when he butted heads with Mick Jones of Foreigner during the production of ''4'', and his insistence on using a drum machine for much of the production of ''[[DefLeppard Pyromania]]''. The same occured on ''Hysteria'', where Lange and engineers Erwin Musper and Ronald Prent had to record all of the drum sounds and play them through a Fairlight CMI because of Rick Allen's difficulties in playing the drums after losing his left arm.
* TheManBehindTheMan: One interpretation of his relationship with Def Leppard during the eighties.
* RecordProducer: He fits into several of categories listed on the page, including...
** '''Acrimony Producer:''' He reportedly had a hard time getting along with Mick Jones of Foreigner during the sessions for ''4'' because they both had extensive studio experience but different attitudes toward how the album should be approached. It ended up taking ten months to record and going significantly over budget, but it turned out to be their best record.
** '''Helping Hand Producer:''' He was reportedly this for Def Leppard, whose love of bombastic hard rock matched his own and allowed them to achieve great success with ''Pyromania'' and ''Hysteria''.
** '''One Trick Pony:''' He developed his over-produced, grandiose style on the albums he produced with Music/{{Foreigner}} and DefLeppard and subsequently applied it to his work with Music/BryanAdams, ShaniaTwain and other artists with whom he was less involved.
* SelfBackingVocalist: As well as being one of his favourite studio techniques, Lange frequently contributes his own backing vocals to albums he worked. This trope is probably most in evidence on the albums he produced with then-wife Shania Twain.
* SignatureStyle: As noted, Lange became associated with massively over-produced arrangements and vocal harmonies, which have been a feature of many of his production jobs since the early eighties. He is so famous for this that it can be surprising to listen to the raw production job he performed working with Music/{{ACDC}}.

Lange started off producing such British stars as Graham Parker and the Boomtown Rats. Lange's international breakthrough came when he produced ''Highway To Hell'', ''Back In Black'' and ''For Those About To Rock We Salute You'' for [[Music/{{ACDC}} AC/DC]] and he gained further recognition when he co-produced ''4'' by Music/{{Foreigner}} with the band's leader Mick Jones. However, it's arguable that his SignatureStyle is best-represented by ''Pyromania'' and ''Hysteria'', two of four hugely successful albums he co-wrote and produced with DefLeppard, and ''Waking Up The Neighbours'' by Music/BryanAdams.

* SignatureStyle: As noted, Lange became associated with massively over-produced arrangements and vocal harmonies, which have been a feature of many of his production jobs since the early eighties. He is so famous for this that it can be surprising to listen to the raw production job he performed working with {{ACDC}}.

* ControlFreak: Lange has been accused of exhibiting such a tendency, notably when he butted heads with Mick Jones of Foreigner during the production of ''4'', and his insistence on using a drum machine for much of the production of ''[[DefLeppard Pyromania]]''.

* SignatureStyle: As noted, Lange became associated with massively over-produced arrangements and vocal harmonies, which have been a feature of many of his production jobs since the early eighties.

* CreatorCouple: With Shania Twain.

* ReclusiveArtist: Famously private, he hasn't given a proper interview in nearly thirty years and only emerges from seclusion to do occasional work.

** '''One Trick Pony:''' He developed his over-produced, grandiose style on the albums he produced with {{Foreigner}} and DefLeppard and subsequently applied it to his work with Music/BryanAdams, ShaniaTwain and other artists with whom he was less involved.