Showing posts with label Back in Black. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Back in Black. Show all posts

Sunday, November 5, 2023

Mutt Lange: Top 100 Songs/Top 20 Albums

Mutt Lange

Top 100 Songs

Producer Mutt Lange was born Robert John Lange on November 11, 1948, in Mufulira, Zambia. His father was a mining engineer from South Africa and his mother was from a prosperous family in Germany. He was nicknamed “Mutt” at an early age. He grew up a fan of country music, particularly Slim Whitman. He and future-wife Stevie Vann played together in the band Hocus during the ‘70s, but the marriage dissolved by decade’s end.

In the late ’70, he wrote and sang for his own band Supercharge, including the 1979 song Do You Believe in Love? which became a hit for Huey Lewis & the News in 1982. He also did his first production work for the Boomtown Rats, most notably on their 1978 #1 UK hit Rat Trap.

During the ‘70s and ‘80s, he did production work for some of the biggest albums in rock history, including AC/DC’s Highway to Hell (1979) and Back in Black (1980), Foreigner’s 4 (1981), and Def Leppard’s Pyromania (1983) and Hysteria (1987). He was also a co-writer on major singles including Def Leppard’s Photograph (1983) and Rock of Ages (1983), Loverboy’s Lovin’ Every Minute of It (1985), and Billy Ocean’s Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car (1988).

He also co-wrote one of the biggest hits of the ‘90s, Bryan Adams’ Everything I Do (I Do It for You) and produced his Waking Up the Neighbours album. He met and married Shania Twain in 1993, producing her next three smash albums.

He has also produced or written songs for the Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Loverboy, Muse, Nickelback, Britney Spears, Tina Turner, and Dionne Warwick.

Links:

Awards:

Top 100 Songs

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. These are the top 100 songs produced and/or written by Mutt Lange.

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Bryan Adams “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” (1991)
2. AC/DC “You Shook Me All Night Long” (1980)
3. Shania Twain “You’re Still the One” (1997)
4. AC/DC “Back in Black” (1980)
5. Def Leppard “Pour Some Sugar on Me” (1987)
6. AC/DC “Highway to Hell” (1979)
7. Foreigner “Waiting for a Girl Like You” (1981)

DMDB Top 2%:

8. Def Leppard “Photograph” (1983)
9. Bryan Adams, Sting, & Rod Stewart “All for Love” (1993)
10. Bryan Adams “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” (1995)
11. Def Leppard “Love Bites” (1987)
12. Shania Twain “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” (1997)
13. The Cars “Drive” (1984)

DMDB Top 5%:

14. Foreigner “Urgent” (1981)
15. The Cars “You Might Think” (1984)
16. Def Leppard “Rock of Ages” (1983)
17. Foreigner “Juke Box Hero” (1981)
18. Shania Twain with Bryan White “From This Moment On” (1997)
19. Shania Twain “That Don’t Impress Me Much” (1997)
20. Billy Ocean “Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car” (1988)

21. Def Leppard “Hysteria” (1987)
22. AC/DC “Hells Bells” (1980)
23. Billy Ocean “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going” (1985)
24. Shania Twain “Forever and for Always” (2002)
25. Def Leppard “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” (1981)
26. Bryan Adams “Please Forgive Me” (1993)
27. Def Leppard “Foolin’” (1983)
28. Def Leppard “Animal” (1987)

DMDB Top 10%:

29. Heart “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You” (1990)
30. Huey Lewis & the News “Do You Believe in Love?” (1982)

31. Bryan Adams “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started” (1991)
32. AC/DC “For Those About to Rock We Salute You” (1981)
33. Def Leppard “Armageddon It” (1987)
34. Michael Bolton “Said I Loved You…But I Lied” (1993)
35. The Cars “Magic” (1984)
36. Maroon 5 “Misery” (2010)
37. Billy Ocean “Loverboy” (1984)
38. Shania Twain “Any Man of Mine” (1995)
39. Def Leppard “Rocket” (1987)
40. Def Leppard “Let’s Get Rocked” (1992)

41. Lady Gaga “You and I” (2011)
42. Def Leppard “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?” (1992)
43. Shania Twain “If You’re Not in It for Love, I’m Outta Here” (1995)
44. Shania Twain “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!” (2002)
45. The Corrs “Breathless” (2000)

DMDB Top 20%:

46. The Cars “Hello Again” (1984)
47. Bryan Adams “The Only Thing That Looks Good on You” (1996)
48. AC/DC “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” (1980)
49. Bryan Adams “Thought I’d Died and Gone to Heaven” (1991)
50. AC/DC “Shoot to Thrill” (1980)

51. The Cars “Why Can’t I Have You?” (1984)
52. Loverboy “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” (1985)
53. Def Leppard “Too Late for Love” (1983)
54. Def Leppard “Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)” (1992)
55. Def Leppard “Make Love Like a Man” (1992)
56. Bryan Adams “There Will Never Be Another Tonight” (1991)
57. Bryan Adams “Let’s Make a Night to Remember” (1996)
58. The Boomtown Rats “Rat Trap” (1978)
59. Michael Bolton “Can I Touch You…There?” (1995)
60. Bryan Adams “Do I Have to Say the Words?” (1991)

61. Muse “Dead Inside” (2015)
62. Shania Twain “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” (1995)
63. Def Leppard “Tonight” (1992)
64. Def Leppard “Promises” (1999)
65. Foreigner “Break It Up” (1981)
66. Barbra Streisand & Bryan Adams “I Finally Found Someone” (1996)
67. Huey Lewis & the News “It Hit Me Like a Hammer” (1991)
68. Shania Twain “You’ve Got a Way” (1997)
69. Nickelback “This Afternoon” (2008)
70. AC/DC “Let’s Get It Up” (1981)

71. Tina Turner “Why Must We Wait Until Tonight” (1993)
72. Shania Twain “Up! (2002)
73. Def Leppard “Women” (1987)
74. Heart “Will You Be There in the Morning” (1993)
75. Shania Twain with Mark McGrath or Billy Currington “Party for Two” (2004)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

76. Michael Bolton “Ain’t Got Nothing if You Ai’t Got Love” (1993)
77. AC/DC “Girls Got Rhythm” (1979)
78. AC/DC “Have a Drink on Me” (1980)
79. The Boomtown Rats “Diamond Smiles” (1979)
80. Eddie Money “Heaven in the Back Seat” (1991)

81. Nickelback “Never Gonna Be Alone” (2008)
82. Nickelback “Something in Your Mouth” (2008)
83. Shania Twain “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)” (1997)
84. XTC “This Is Pop?” (1978)
85. Shania Twain “Come on Over” (1997)
86. Maroon 5 “Never Gonna Leave This Bed” (2010)
87. Shania Twain “Don’t” (2004)
88. Shania Twain “It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing” (2002)
89. The Boomtown Rats “Someone’s Looking at You” (1979)
90. The Boomtown Rats “Like Clockwork” (1978)

91. Bryan Adams “18 Til I Die” (1996)
92. The Boomtown Rats “She’s So Modern” (1978)
93. Shania Twain “Love Gets Me Every Time” (1997)
94. Def Leppard “Let It Go” (1981)
95. The Boomtown Rats “Looking After No. 1” (1977)
96. Shania Twain “Honey I’m Home” (1997)
97. Bryan Adams “I’ll Always Be Right There” (1996)
98. City Boy “5.7.0.5.” (1978)
99. Maroon 5 “Give a Little More” (2010)
100. The Cars “Heartbeat City” (1984)

Top 20 Albums

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by album’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, critics’ ratings, and awards. These are the top albums which prominently feature Mutt Lange as a producer and/or songwriter.
  1. AC/DC Back in Black (1980)
  2. Shania Twain Come on Over (1997)
  3. Def Leppard Hysteria (1987)
  4. AC/DC Highway to Hell (1979)
  5. Def Leppard Pyromania (1983)
  6. Shania Twain Up! (2002)
  7. Foreigner 4 (1981)
  8. Shania Twain The Woman in Me (1995)
  9. Shania Twain Greatest Hits (compilation: 1994-04, released 2004)
  10. Def Leppard Vault (compilation: 1980-1995, released 1995)

  11. Bryan Adams Waking Up the Neighbours (1991)
  12. Def Leppard Adrenalize (1992)
  13. Bryan Adams The Best of Me (compilation: 1984-1999, released 2001)
  14. The Cars Heartbeat City (1984)
  15. Def Leppard High ‘N’ Dry (1981)
  16. Nickelback Dark Horse (2008)
  17. AC/DC For Those About to Rock We Salute You (1981)
  18. Muse Drones (2015)
  19. Maroon 5 Hands All Over (2010)
  20. Bryan Adams 18 Til I Die (1996)

Resources and Related Links:

DMDB Encyclopedia Entries for:

First posted 11/11/2018; updated 11/5/2023.

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Friday, May 22, 2020

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Album Inductees (May 2020)

Originally posted 5/22/2020.

January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog. To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This month marks the sixth group of album inductees. There have been 38 albums in history with reported sales (officially and unofficially) of 30 million or more. 21 of those featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time. 11 have already been inducted: The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles Abbey Road (1969), Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977), Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987), Michael Jackson Thriller (1982), Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Metallica Metallica (aka ‘The Black Album’) (1991), Nirvana Nevermind (1991), Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973), U2 The Joshua Tree (1987), and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (1977). That leaves 10 albums to be inducted in this batch.

See the full list of album inductees here.

AC/DC Back in Black (1980)

Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

The Australian group was on the cusp of “worldwide breakthrough success” AMG when leader singer Bon Scott died from choking on his own vomit after a drinking spree. The band mourned for two days and then went right back into action, recruiting Brian Johnson as their new lead singer and roaring back into action months later with what All Music Guide’s Greg Prato called “one of hard rock’s greatest achievements.” AMG Read more.

Dire Straits Brothers in Arms (1985)

Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

When most albums were still being recorded on analog equipment, Dire Straits embraced new digital techniques, making this a “must-have record for serious audiophiles.” ZS It become the first album to sell one million copies in the CD format. WK Industry insiders suggested anyone who owned a CD player owned this album. PR Of course, the album was also helped by the huge #1 hit “Money for Nothing.” Anyone who had MTV saw the song’s inescapable video. Read more.

Eagles Hotel California (1976)

Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

By their fifth album, the Eagles had shifted from country-rock to mainstream rock. While they lost two founding members along the way, they gained a larger audience than ever before. The album sported two #1 hits with “New Kid in Town” and the title cut, a classic rock staple, but the entire album got played on album rock stations. Read more.

Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

This is Elton John’s “commercial and creative apex.” ZS It “plays like a greatest hits album, overflowing with classic songs” RV which “remain standards more than 30 years later thanks to Bernie Taupin’s sharpest lyrics, John’s propulsive keyboard skills and vocals that leap into falsetto without losing any of their power.” TL Read more.

Bob Marley & the Wailers Legend (compilation: 1973-83, released 1984)

Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

“Ask someone to name a reggae artist, and the first name that comes to mind is always Bob Marley.” NO “For many Marley embodied the music to the exclusion of all other artists.” PR “Often called Reggae 101,” VU this compilation is “the classic Marley album, the one that any fair-weather reggae fan owns.” AMG “To many, this compilation is the reggae album,” NO setting “the standard by which all other reggae albums are judged.” VU Read more.

Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

“There is no other album like Bat Out of Hell, unless you want to count the sequel” AMG which came out in 1993. This collection of “mini-epics” AMG makes for “one of rock’s most theatrical, grandiose records” RS and one of the genre’s “least likely hit albums.” AZ It is “overwrought and undeniable;” AZ “gothic, operatic, and silly – and it’s appealing because of all of this.” AMG Read more.

Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill (1995)

Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

After two dance-pop albums released in her native Canada, Alanis partnered with producer and songwriter Glen Ballard and tapped into her bitter diary entries of teen angst to transform into an “angry rocker chick.” ZS She was savvy enough, however, to give the songs enough pop gloss to churn out multiple hits from the album and inspire “a generation of soundalikes to bare their souls on record.” PR Read more.

Pink Floyd The Wall (1979)

Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

This is “a narcissistic, double-album rock opera” AMG which “has become synonymous with, if not the very definition of, the term ‘concept album.’” BU Roger Waters, the band’s bassist and lyricist, crafted a story of “an emotionally crippled rock star” AMG and the “implications of self-imposed isolation, symbolised by the metaphorical wall of the title.” WK Ironically, the album made Pink Floyd bigger than ever thanks to the anthemic #1 hit “Another Brick in the Wall Part II.” Read more.

Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. (1984)

Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

Prior to Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen was as close to cult status as an artist could get who’d had platinum-selling, top-10 albums and the occasional top-40 hit. However, his seventh album transformed him to pop icon on the strength of seven top-10 hits and a slew of well-received videos on MTV – all while still keeping his core album-rock audience. Read more.

Various Artists (including Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta) Grease (soundtrack, 1978)

Inducted May 2020 as “Top 100 Albums with 30 Million + Sales.”

This “high-camp classic” ZS whisked listeners away “to the ‘50s teeny-bopper days” ZS by boasting “summer-loving hits that will be on karaoke playlists until the end of time.” ZS “Grease was a huge success as a Broadway musical prior to hitting the big screen in 1978…It was a runaway box office success, and then became a TV, cable, and video favorite.” AMG The soundtrack produced three top-5 hits and spent a dozen weeks atop the album chart in the U.S. Read more.
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Monday, November 23, 1981

AC/DC released For Those about to Rock We Salute You

First posted 9/4/2010; updated 9/7/2020.

For Those About to Rock We Salute You

AC/DC

Buy Here:

Released: November 23, 1981

Peak: 13 US, 3 UK, -- CN, 3 AU

Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, -- UK, 8.0 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: hard rock/heavy metal

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.)

  1. For Those about to Rock We Salute You (12/5/81, #15 UK, #4 AR)
  2. Put the Finger on You (12/19/81, #38 AR)
  3. Let’s Get It Up (12/19/81, #44 US, #13 UK, #9 AR)
  4. Inject the Venom
  5. Snowballed
  6. Evil Walks
  7. C.O.D.
  8. Breaking the Rules
  9. Night of the Long Knives
  10. Spellbound

Total Running Time: 40:10

The Players:

  • Brian Johnson (vocals)
  • Angus Young (guitar)
  • Malcolm Young (rhythm guitar, backing vocals)
  • Cliff Williams (bass)
  • Phil Rudd (drums)

Rating:

3.500 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

Quotable: “A record Beavis and Butthead would describe as ‘cool’ – and, as usual, they’d be right.” – Andrew Mueller, Amazon.com

About the Album:

“Lesser bands might have been put off their stride by the death of their lead singer, but not AC/DC. No sooner had Bon Scott met his whiskey-sodden end in 1980 than AC/DC recruited a new singer, Brian Johnson – who sounded almost exactly like Scott – and released, in Back in Black, the biggest-selling album of their career.” AM

“For Those About to Rock We Salute You is a suitably triumphant follow-up” AM with “some decent material,” SH but it also marks the point when “AC/DC’s hot streak began to draw to a close.” SH While Back in Black was infused with the energy and spirit of paying tribute to Bon Scott, it became apparent on the follow-up that the group really did miss Scott more than it initially indicated.” SH The band “slowed down the tempo frequently, sounding less aggressive and inspired.” SH

“Brian Johnson’s lyrics started to seem more calculated and a bit clichéd, lacking Scott’s devil-may-care sense of humor,” SH although they did also show that his “lyrical preoccupations were broadly congruent with those of his predecessor: Let’s Get It Up and Inject the Venom are as subtle as their titles sound.” AM And, of course, no matter how you view the whole album, “the cannon-punctuated title track – the most auspicious marriage of music and artillery since Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture’ – still provides a spectacular finale to AC/DC concerts.” AM

In the end, this is no Back in Black, but it “is a record Beavis and Butthead would describe as ‘cool’ – and, as usual, they’d be right.” AM

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Saturday, December 13, 1980

AC/DC chart with “Back in Black” single

Back in Black

AC/DC

Writer(s): Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young (see lyrics here)

First Charted: December 13, 1980

Peak: 37 US, 39 CB, 35 GR, 54 HR, 1 CL, 51 AR, 27 UK, 65 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.6 UK, 4.05 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 612.0 video, 1293.42 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

After five successful albums in their native Australia, AC/DC were finally being embraced by an international market with 1979’s Highway to Hell, an album which went top 10 in the UK and top 20 in the U.S. Then tragedy struck. Rock singer Bon Scott died on February 19, 1980. On his death certificate, the official cause was listed as acute alcohol poisoning.

The group considered disbanding, but on the advice of their producer, Mutt Lange, brought in Brian Johnson for an audition. Scott himself had seen him perform with his former band Geordie back in 1973 and talked up the singer to the rest of the band. SF By the end of March, he had the job as the new singer for AC/DC.

Among the new songs recorded by the group was a song called “Back in Black,” which was a tribute to Scott. Guitarist Malcolm Young already had the main guitar riff down and the group already had the idea for the title before it had any words. SF Johnson recalled that the band asked him to write the lyrics, saying “it can’t be morbid – it has to be for Bon and it has to be a celebration.” WK Johnson responded with words such as “Forget the hearse, ‘cause I never die” and what he considered “mumbo jumbo” lines like “Nine lives. Cats’ eyes. Abusing every one of them and running wild.” The band, however, told Johnson “they saw Bon’s life in that lyric.” WK

While the song wasn’t a big hit from a chart standpoint, its iconic opening guitar riff made it into what The Guardian called “a classic metal anthem.” WK Metal Hammer magazine said, “There are rock songs that appeal to metal fans. And there are metal songs that appeal to rock fans. Then there is ‘Back in Black’ – a rock song and metal song that appeals to everyone…and it all hangs on that monumental, no-nonsense, three-chord monster of a riff.” WK

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First posted 10/24/2020; last updated 7/23/2023.

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Tuesday, August 19, 1980

AC/DC released “You Shook Me All Night Long”

You Shook Me All Night Long

AC/DC

Writer(s): Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Brian Johnson (see lyrics here)

Released: August 19, 1980

Peak: 36 US, 42 CB, 42 HR, 1 CL, 38 UK, 8 AU (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.4 UK, 3.75 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 467.63 video, 1069.60 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

AC/DC’s Back in Black has become such a mainstay on “best albums of all time” lists now that it is easy to forget the uncertainty the band faced when the album was released in 1980. On February 19 of that year, the band’s lead singer, Bon Scott, died after a drinking binge. It was Scott’s father who encouraged the band to find a new singer and soldier on. SF Brian Johnson stepped in and the band found the greatest success of their career.

Guitarists Angus and Malcom Young already had the title and the chords, but needed words. Johnson supplied his “gravelly, raspy vocals and easy-to-learn, almost exultant, double-entendre lyrics.” AMG (“She told me to come but I was already there”). The song is basically “a night-after bragging session with a heavy dose of swagger and pomp.” AMG It “was equal parts naughty and proud, pop-tinged yet stomp-worthy,” AMG which probably explains the song’s popularity at strip clubs. SF

The inspiration for “You Shook Me All Night Long” came while the band was recording in the Bahamas. Never a band known for “deep, meaningful lyrics,” SF Johnson turned images of American girls into lyrics where he compared women to cars in lines like “She was a fast machine/ She kept her motor clean.” SF Johnson said it “just fell into place so I can’t claim any credit on that thing.” SF Of the Young brothers’ work, he said, “It’s one of the greatest rock and roll riffs I’ve ever heard in my life.” SF

It has “a simple beat; a melodic, heavy rock-boogie riff; a shrill, pumping guitar solo.” AMG The “pop-tinged guitar chords give the song a slap-on-the-back, beer-swilling friendliness” AMG which is probably why it has become “a hard rock staple…popular at sporting events and bars, and…one of…hard rock’s most memorable party anthems.” AMG Johnson told USA Weekend he considers the song the highlight of the band’s catalog because “It was the first song I wrote with the guys and it has a special groovy beat that won’t let you go. It has such a special place in my heart…it might be one of the best rock songs ever written – if I do say so myself.” SF

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Last updated 4/11/2024.

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