“He sings on all our stuff. You hear him on AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Shania’s stuff. He has the best voice in the room”: Phil Collen says Mutt Lange is an ace vocalist who can nail it in one take – and it’s the same with guitar

Phil Collen plays live onstage with his signature Jackson Soloist.

Phil Collen has described working with Mutt Lange as “like going to school for your favourite subject,” crediting the super-producer as not only being instrumental in helping Def Leppard find their unique box-office rock sound, but for also being consistently “the best singer in the room” – and no slouch on guitar either. 

Speaking with Chris Shiflett, on the latest episode of the Foo Fighters lead guitarist’s Shred With Shifty podcast, the Def Leppard guitarist was asked about the impact of Lange on the Sheffield rock institution’s sound. What it was like in the studio? Was it really true that Lange really had them play each note in a chord individually?