Showing posts with label Highway to Hell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Highway to Hell. 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, July 25, 1980

AC/DC released Back in Black

Back in Black

AC/DC

Released: July 25, 1980

Peak: 4 US, 12 UK, 1 CN, 11 AU

Sales (in millions): 25.0 US, 0.1 UK, 50.0 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: hard rock/heavy metal

Tracks:

(Click for codes to charts.)
  1. Hell’s Bells [5:09] (10/31/80, 3 CL, 50 AR, 7 AU, 6 DF)
  2. Shoot to Thrill [5:14] (4/11/81, 4 Cl, 60 AR, 98 UK)
  3. What Do You Do for Money Honey [3:33] (26 CL)
  4. Given the Dog a Bone [3:30] (18 CL)
  5. Let Me Put My Love into You [4:12]
  6. Back in Black [4:13] (12/13/80, 37 BB, 39 CB, 35 GR, 54 HR, 1 CL, 51 AR, 27 UK, 65 AU, 4 DF)
  7. You Shook Me All Night Long [3:28] (8/19/80, 36 BB, 42 CB, 26 GR, 42 HR, 1 CL, 38 UK, 8 AU, 3 DF)
  8. Have a Drink on Me [3:57] (8/19/80, 8 CL, 32 DF)
  9. Shake a Leg [4:03]
  10. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution [4:12] (11/29/80, 6 CL, 15 UK, 7 AU, 14 DF)

Songs written by Johnson, Young, and Young.

Total Running Time: 41:31

The Players:

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

Rating:

4.679 out of 5.00 (average of 33 ratings)

Quotable: One of “hard rock's greatest achievements” – Greg Prato, AllMusic.com

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

The Bon Scott Years

The Young brothers Malcolm (rhythm guitar) and Angus (lead guitar) formed AC/DC in Australia in 1973. They went through a variety of personnel changes in their early years, but cemented their identity with the arrival of vocalist Ron Belford “Bon” Scott (originally the band’s chauffeur), CS in 1974. They released their first album, High Voltage, in 1975. They released five more albums in the last half of the decade, culminating with 1979’s Highway to Hell.

The band appeared “poised for worldwide breakthrough success” AM since the album became their first in the United States to reach gold status. Then tragedy struck. Scott went on a drinking spree and was found dead in the back seat of a car, having choked on his own vomit. 500

The Arrival of Brian Johnson

Bon Scott’s dad told the band at the funeral, “You can’t stop, you have to find someone else.” CM After two days of mourning, Malcolm called Angus and they went back to work. Five months later, the result was “this smoking album with the most prophetic title ever.” ZS It “is the ultimate example of a band turning a career-threatening negative into a remarkable positive.” AM It “is one of the greatest comeback stories in rock history.” CQ

New vocalist Brian Johnson “was a perfect fit” CQ “with a voice like gravel and swagger to boot.” CQ He “was as willing to shred the upper end of his voice as Scott had been” TM and “had the same bluesy edge as Scott” AM but “sang with more power and conviction.” AM The band was able to retain “their core identity as world class hard-rock riffers” CQ even as Johnson stamped “his own personality, not to mention distinctive rasp, on the record.” VH1 He “sings as if he’s being tortured – and thoroughly enjoying it.” TL

Mutt Lange

Producer Mutt Lange had worked with AC/DC on their Highway to Hell album and gave the band “a meatier sound.” CS He returned behind the boards for Back in Black. Prior to AC/DC, he’d worked with acts like Graham Parker and the Boomtown Rats. His work with AC/DC, however, cemented him as one of the most successful rock producers of all time. He would later work on blockbuster albums like Foreigner 4 as well as Def Leppard’s Pyromania and Hysteria.

Lange’s “penchant for sonic perfection and pop accessibility would keep the wheels moving.” CQ Lange “helped the group focus its high voltage rock,” AM crafting “a delicate balance of power and finesse that defined the commercial side of heavy music for years.” TM

Meat and Potatoes Rock and Roll

“It doesn’t get any simpler than this meat-and-potatoes rock and roll.” CRS Critics knocked the band for its “testosterone-laden paeans to sex, booze, and more sex and more booze,” RV but “AC/DC was never a band to bother with any niceties in their music.” CRS They charged forward with “completely straight-ahead guitar power chords, brutal beats pounded out in 4/4 time, and blistering vocals on top.” CRS

The rhythm section of bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd “fuse traditional blues with stadium rock dramatics.” CM They get “right near the boiling point and then hang there, waiting for the schoolboy-uniform–wearing Angus Young to deliver demonically twisted lead guitar that pushes things over the edge.” TM

Legacy

“Coming after years of synthesized disco and overproduced AOR, Back in Black proved once again the resilience of live, loud, and melodic rock, and listeners immediately responded.” TB Author Chris Smith goes so far as to say that AC/DC “rescued heavy metal.” CS He says in 1980, “metal dinosaurs like Deep Purple and Black Sabbath were losing their touch…and newcomers like Van Halen and Ted Nugent were hard to take seriously….AC/DC…remind[ed] everybody what heavy metal was all about: alienated teenagers bobbing their heads in unison to crunchy power chords, banshee screams, and a thundering rhythm section.” CS

It was one of “the greatest hard-rock album of the decade” RV and “one of rock’s all-time classics.” AM “For many, [it is] the essential hard-rock record of the modern era.” TB It “might be the purest distillation of hard rock ever;” 500 it “is a ten-song feast of tightly wound, enormously disciplined stomp rock” TM infused with “the relentless logic of a sledgehammer.” sup>500 ''This is the goes-to-11 playlist of men behaving badly the world over..” EW’12 Rolling Stone called it “the leanest, meanest record of all time.” CM

The Songs

Here are thoughts on the individual songs from the album.

“Hell’s Bells”
The “eerie Hells Bells” AM served as an “ominous opener.” CQ “It could be the most perfect opening to any album. For a full 20 seconds there’s nothing but the lone, eerie sonics of a giant ringing church bell. Then Malcolm Young plays an impossibly slow, circular rhythm guitar riff that is pure funeral march,” CM making for a fitting farewell to Bon Scott.

“Shoot to Thrill” and “What Do You Do for Your Money Honey”
That unforgettable opening is followed by “the melodic Shoot to Thrill,” AM which then moves on to What Do You Do for Money Honey. On the latter, Lange “made sure that every walloping rhythm guitar supporting Johnson’s tales of lasciviousness…weighed in at industrial strength – and was executed with surgical precision.” TM

“Given the Dog a Bone” and “Let Me Put My Love into You”
“Given the Dog a Bone breaks the rules of chivalry and grammar – this testosterone filled romp’s passion for bangin’ is less focused on hips than heads.” TL “Though unabashed in its misogyny – Let Me Put My Love into You would be nicer if it were a request rather than a command.” AM

“Back in Black”
The album includes “such perennial rock anthems as the stomping title track” AM with its “proud peacock strut.” TM “Few recorded riffs have proven catchier, with axeman Angus Young peppering blues runs between massive power chords. You couldn’t have chosen a better song to introduce Brian Johnson. In a gutsy move, the lyrics are eerily self-referential (‘I’m let loose/ From the noose/ That’s kept me hanging about’) and Johnson snarls ‘em with intent.” CQ

“You Shook Me All Night Long”
The “primo dance-metal banger You Shook Me All Night Long” 500 is “unabashedly sleazy.” CQ This song and “Hell’s Bells” “are arena anthems of uncorrupted hookiness and sonic quality,” TL not to mention “strutting blues-based guitar heat.” sup>500 The song gave the band their first top-40 hit.

“Have a Drink on Me” and “Shake a Leg”
“Not a single weak track is included; even the lesser-known album tracks are strong (Have a Drink on Me, Shake a Leg).” AM

“Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution”
AC/DC wraps up their metal masterpiece with “the album-closing battle cry Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution,” AM an “epic…that says it all: ‘We’re just talkin’ about the future / Forget about the past / It’ll always be with us / It’s never gonna die, never gonna die.’” CM

Review Sources:

Related DMDB Pages:

First posted 7/22/2012; last updated 12/9/2024.

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Tuesday, February 19, 1980

AC/DC's Bon Scott died: February 19, 1980

Originally posted February 19, 2012.

image from licklibrary.com



Ronald Belford “Bon” Scott was born on July 9, 1946 in Scotland, but moved to Australia when he was 6. It was there he became known as the lead singer and songwriter for one of that country’s best known musical exports – rock group AC/DC.

From 1964 to 1974, Scott worked with various bands including The Spektors, The Valentines, Fraternity, Fang, and The Mount Lofty Rangers. In 1974, he replaced Dave Evans as the lead singer of AC/DC. A few Australian-only releases followed (1974’s High Voltage and 1975’s T.N.T.) before a 1976 compilation, also called High Voltage, was released internationally. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Let There Be Rock, and Powerage followed over the next few years. The group’s real breakthrough came with 1979’s Highway to Hell, a top 20 album in the U.S. The group appeared primed for monster success.




However, On February 19, 1980, Scott passed out after a night of heavy drinking. The next day he was found lifeless and, after being rushed to the hospital, was pronounced dead, officially from acute alcohol poisoning. Initially the group considered disbanding, but instead opted to soldier on with new lead singer Brian Johnson. Before year’s end, they recorded and released Back in Black, a tribute to their fallen comrade and one of the best-selling albums in history.

filmed just 10 days before Bon Scott’s death



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Friday, July 27, 1979

AC/DC released Highway to Hell

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

Highway to Hell

AC/DC

Buy Here:

Released: July 27, 1979

Peak: 17 US, 8 UK, 40 CN, 13 AU

Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, -- UK, 15.0 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: hard rock/heavy metal

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.)

  1. Highway to Hell (9/1/79, #47 US, #14 UK, #29 AR)
  2. Girls Got Rhythm
  3. Walk All Over You
  4. Touch Too Much (2/2/90, #29 UK)
  5. Beating Around the Bush
  6. Shot Down in Flames
  7. Get It Hot
  8. If You Want Blood, You’ve Got It
  9. Love Hungry Man
  10. Night Prowler

Total Running Time: 41:40

The Players:

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

Rating:

4.167 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings)

Awards:

About the Album:

Highway to Hell is the final album recorded with “Bon Scott, AC/DC’s original lead singer who died just months after this album was released. Scott had a rusty, raspy, scream of a voice, like he might break into a coughing fit at any moment.” DC “He had the perfect instrument for such wild-living anthems” DC and “provided the group with a fair share of its signature sleaze;” STE “Scott literally partied himself to death, dying of alcohol poisoning after a night of drinking, a rock & roll fatality that took no imagination to predict.” STE

“In light of his passing, it’s hard not to see Highway to Hell as a last testament of sorts, being that it was his last work and all, and if Scott was going to go out in a blaze of glory” STE this collection of “crunchy, hook-heavy metal classics” DC was “certainly was the way to do it. This is a veritable rogue’s gallery of deviance, from cheerfully clumsy sex talk and drinking anthems to general outlandish behavior. It’s tempting to say that Scott might have been prescient about his end – or to see the title track as ominous in the wake of his death – trying to spill it all out on paper, but it’s more accurate to say that the ride had just gotten very fast and very wild for AC/DC, and he was simply flying high.” STE

“After all, it wasn’t just Scott who reached a new peak on Highway to Hell; so did the Young brothers, crafting their monster riffs into full-fledged, undeniable songs. This is their best set of songs yet, from the incessant, intoxicating boogie of Girls Got Rhythm to If You Want Blood (You've Got It).” STE There’s also “Get It Hot which is more roadhouse rock than metal” DC

“Some of the credit should also go to Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange, who gives the album a precision and magnitude that…[earlier albums] lacked in their grimy charm.” STE “Highway to Hell was the first AC/DC album not produced by Harry Vanda and George Young.” WK “Filtered through Mutt’s mixing board, AC/DC has never sounded so enormous, and they’ve never had such great songs, and they had never delivered an album as singularly bone-crunching or classic as this until now.” STE

“The change proved to be fortuitous, and the album was the band’s biggest yet.” WK “This would be the first solid success that AC/DC would achieve in the U.S.” WK “and it propelled AC/DC into the top ranks of hard rock acts” WK as Highway to Hell became the band’s “first album to break the U.S. top 100, eventually reaching #17.” WK “Lange would go on to produce the band’s next two albums and biggest sellers, Back in Black and For Those About to Rock We Salute You.” WK

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