Mutt Lange

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 15 Jan 2002 10:05 am

Thought this was an interesting article on Shania's husband and producer Mutt Lange...
http://www.nationalpostbusiness.com/home.asp?include=9&section=9&articleid=304

David Pennybaker · Post by **David Pennybaker** » 15 Jan 2002 11:09 am

Last year, he reportedly bought the rights to nearly every photograph ever taken of him.

Where's he live again? I could probably fund a really nice long lens if I could snag a photo of him with it.

erik · Post by **erik** » 15 Jan 2002 12:40 pm

I could not get to the article. Even tried from the web site. I am familiar with this name because i remember when he produced an Outlaws album back in the 70s. I think he also produced ACDC.

Chris Walke · Post by **Chris Walke** » 15 Jan 2002 2:20 pm

And Def Lepard

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 15 Jan 2002 3:18 pm

....and Foreigner

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 15 Jan 2002 5:17 pm

As a former rock dude I liked the early rock crunch that he produced on albums, the 1979 AC-DC album is a real classic of the genre.
Maybe it has something to do with working with Foreigner, but the slickness got to the point where it was vapid and so slick that I'd call it souless.
Those Def Leppard albums are possibly the most overproduced souless pieces of big dumb-ass stadium rock ever made, the early ones were quite interesting.. the latter ones that made them quite filthy rich were frankly, quite dreadful.

I have been a critic of this guy since the 1980s, and I remain one to this day, personally I think his production style is predictable and is basically a formula for the whitest of white fools who love the big beat so they can shake their drunken ass without having to worry about anything.
Yeah I'm being harsg, but I've been listening to this guys candy-ass rock and now country for a good chunk of my life and I've pretty much wanted to try and escape it for just as long.
The fact that these records sell in such mass quantities do very little to reassue me about the taste of my fellow human beings and lead me to the conclusion that the avergae schmo is just that...pretty average and will happily consume a lot of sugar coated $h!t every day.
A bunch of teenagers I don't blame, they need dumb testosterone music, but who's buying those dreadful Shania albums?

My apologies to anyone that has, I've never been a big fan of stadium rock or power ballads, I recall the 1980s with a disdain and a repulsion like no other era. Mutt takes me back to the power ballad MOR (middle of the road) addled 1980s every time I hear one of his records.
I have vented, please continue........

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 15 Jan 2002 5:34 pm

Thanks for the link John. Very interesting!

I'm not going to argue with sucess!
Those dollar figures are astounding.

Artistically, I agree with Jason, but would I trade lives with Mutt??

The phone's ringing... Shania ????

[This message was edited by Joey Ace on 15 January 2002 at 05:38 PM.]

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 15 Jan 2002 6:10 pm

Waiting to hear the New Material out by Mutt & Shania! Theresa

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 15 Jan 2002 6:22 pm

Jason: Interesting point of view ! I like your ability to say what's on your mind. I wonder if our thinking coincides on a Diva from Rock who early on was titled: Bimbo Rock !! And do we now have Bimbo Country as well ?? Considering the management, if the shoe fits; wear it !!

Regards, Paul

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 15 Jan 2002 6:25 pm

But Jason, Mutt really likes YOU

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 15 Jan 2002 6:52 pm

This is a reply from engineer/producer Brian Tankersley on a similar thread running on the Paris Users Group. Brian is a very prolific mixer in Nashville, and I love his reply, so I am sharing it here. And I agree with him 100%.

Quote:

"I think it's fairly easy to explain this thread.

You guys listen to records like musicians. But nobody else besides
musicians does that. Therein lies the difference.

And that also explains why musicians tend to hate most of the biggest
selling albums in any given era. Let's call it what it is. Musical
snobbery. Seriously. Think about it.

If you ever loved a movie that some director or critic picked to pieces
(and who hasn't been there), you've been where most of the real world
lives compared to us on their choice in records. They hear with
different ears and are just looking for something they dig. Whether we
think it's "cheesy" or not.

Remember the way you felt hearing records on the radio when you were a
kid? Remember not knowing any better than to just enjoy hit songs?

I've had the pleasure to work with Mutt on a few things. And to my
surprise, when we talked about the philosophy of making records, his was
simple. He loved the way he felt as a kid in South Africa when he heard
hit songs on the radio. The bright spot in his day. And doing the same
thing for other people is his target. All he's really after. The fact
that it pays rather well is a nice bonus, I suppose.

Outside of being the world's most polite guy, Mutt is a consumate
musician and singer. Simply brilliant as a musician, as a writer and
most especially as a producer. His powers of concentration and his focus
blew my mind. And I've worked with more than a few "name brand" people.

But it's his ability to perform and analyze like a monster, then turn
around and *hear* it all like a kid would that is his "secret". He can
still hear it like a kid would. And kids are arguably the most excited
people about music. What makes your musical opinion on pop music more
valid than a 14 year old girl who loves N'Sync? Ain't no right 'n wrong
here. Just taste.

Guys, there's not a musically snobby bone in Mutt's body. And as a
result, a few hundred million people know every lyric to many songs he's
written and/or produced.

I find that very inspiring, personally."

Regards,
Brian T

Thanks Brian, well said...

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 15 Jan 2002 8:35 pm

Very good post John. I think I'm with you. I despise what he did to country music, but admire him for his production ability. Its just not country. He is excellent at what he does. I just wish they would keep it off country radio. Same thing with Mark Maguire.
Jason, very well put.

David Pennybaker · Post by **David Pennybaker** » 16 Jan 2002 10:36 am

A bunch of teenagers I don't blame, they need dumb testosterone music, but who's buying those dreadful Shania albums?

A lot of those same teenagers, I think.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 16 Jan 2002 4:27 pm

You know there will always be a top #40, no matter what. I know that, you know that, Mutt knows, ...even the Pope probably knows that.
My point is that there's always going to be someone who makes a processed wonder hit out of a pretty ordinary song, ('Man, I Feel Like a Woman' for eg.) and sure why not.
But at the same time I hold to my convictions that anyone who uses a formula that was tried and tested 20 years ago to market to a new teen audience, might not be the most crediable recipient for the term genius. At least not with the term 'creative' or 'musical' being used in the same sentence. Maketing genuis perhaps.

For example the Velvet Underground had their debut album of 1966 held up until 1967 as a release and even then they hardly sold anything remotely worth getting excited about.
They managed two major ours outside of New York in 1966 (as part of Andy Warhol's Plastic Exploding Inevitable) and in 1969.
The group folded in the mid 1970s while founder members Lou Reed and John Cale went into more successful solo careers.
They had not hits.
Their records arer still available today, they influenced they style of punk (1970s), Hardcore Punk, noisecore, artcore, indie rock, the Paisley underground and various other rock bands styles in the 1980s and this continues to present day.
Their fans and devotees include Teenage Fanclub, Nirvana, Patti Smith, P.J. Harvey, Nick Cave, Mazzy Star, Frank Black, the Strokes (currently a chart album band), the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Beck, the Sonic Youth and about a zillion other bands.

Despite the fact that they never had a hit they've influenced a couple of generations of fans and musicians, it's not so bad when the record buying public miss an act, and it seems that it's not a bad thing to get into something that's different.
It's just a tiny example, one straight off the top of my head.
I am enjoying the comments here though and despite my hard stance, yeah it's all about sales really.