Mutt Lange’s legendary production career includes Grammy wins and collaborations with rock and pop giants — but according to former Cars guitarist Elliot Easton, working with him on the band’s 1984 comeback album Heartbeat City was a demanding and often exasperating experience.
The band, known for hits like “Just What I Needed” and “Let’s Go,” had previously worked with Roy Thomas Baker, the producer behind Queen’s early success. Baker had shaped The Cars’ first four albums and played a crucial role in their ascent. But for Heartbeat City, which featured their biggest single “Drive,” the group opted to team up with Lange, whose résumé included major acts like Def Leppard, Foreigner, and AC/DC.
While Easton acknowledges that Lange helped produce “a beautiful album,” he also remembers the seven-month studio process at Battery Studios in London as intensely grueling. “Mutt’s approach is very cinematic, widescreen, but he also wanted balls and clarity,” Easton told MusicRadar. “It’s almost contradictory — he wanted spontaneity and perfection.”
This method clashed with The Cars’ identity as a tight, self-contained new wave band. “Some of the things Mutt was used to doing with Def Leppard and AC/DC didn’t really wash with us,” Easton said. “We were just looking for his sonic touch to give us a great-sounding record.”
Instead, Lange brought a hyper-detailed approach to every aspect of the recording — including arrangements, tone, and even songwriting suggestions. While Baker focused on achieving a massive sound without interfering in the band’s creative content, Lange micromanaged the sessions to the point of frustration.
Easton elaborated, “Mutt had arrangement ideas for parts that he would suggest, not all of which we accepted… If I’m not mistaken, Mutt wanted to ‘help’ Ric [Ocasek] with writing a part, and Ric did not want any help. But he would push, man.”
The pressure extended even to the small details. “I remember tuning up after every take on guitar,” Easton said. “It could be a three-note punch-in, and he’d have me check the tuning. This went on and on.”
Eventually, the stress reached a boiling point during the tracking of the song “Magic.” Easton was using a Stratocaster Elite, a rare model with unusual features like button controls and noiseless pickups. After repeated tuning requests and suggestions for a “David Gilmour approach,” Easton snapped.
“I just gave him the guitar and said, ‘You tune it. I can’t take this anymore!’” Easton recalled. “He said, ‘Can you try like a David Gilmour approach?’ I got really mad and said, ‘How about if I try an Elliot Easton approach?’” That next take ended up being the one that made the final cut.
Lange’s obsessive focus on guitar tuning brings to mind stories from Yes guitarist Steve Howe, who once told Guitar Player he never let anyone else tune his instruments. “I didn’t believe anybody else could tune them better than me,” Howe said, recalling how even his guitar techs would eventually earn his trust only if they could match his own standards.
Despite the creative tension, Heartbeat City became a commercial triumph and played a significant role in defining The Cars’ legacy in the 1980s. But for Easton, it also left behind memories of a recording process pushed to the edge by Lange’s relentless pursuit of perfection.
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