"Well, if you have manage to read this far you must think that Lange is the closest thing to God. Although life in the studio with Lange reaps multiplatinum results, the same life can also present its own form of misery. Mutt 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 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" became so arduous that 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, `Shit, 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. 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 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 could work with my mom and have a hit record."
Mutt'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 Lange class, he reimburssed 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 is no longer paying expenses out-of-pocket for "Come On Over".
As far as Mutt's production's 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 does his recordings with Shania in his Nashville studio, but he also has studios in London, New York, and Los Angeles."
I don't know anything about signal chains, but you can bet no expense was spared.
