Good questions, Craig -- the only situation in which an arranger is evident, as far as I've seen, is the easy listening situation -- the older artists like Sinatra and Johnny Mathis, for instance. Jack Nitzsche arranged some great strings for Neil Young on the "Harvest" album, but I've come across very few arrangers in a pop or rock project. The producer should serve as the arranger, or he's not really a producer, in my opinion. In fact, the arranging function was the most important function I served in my sessions. In rehearsal, I'd suggest many changes -- in song structure (cut the intro in half, or get rid of the 3rd chorus, or move this to there) and in parts (in the bridge play the hi-hat cymbal instead of the ride cymbal, and play quarter notes instead of eighth notes -- and we'd try these changes out. Some were good, some sucked. We'd keep the good ones (a democratic decision always) and incorporate them into the recording after a reasonable amount of rehearsal. I would also create most or all of the keyboard arrangements. I can't read or write, but I'd sing the desired parts to the players. I had my favorite keyboard guys, and I usually had a variety of keys for any band that didn't have a keyboard player in the band itself. I'd also suggest and sometimes sing harmonies and backing vocals.It was a collaboration, where the producer temporarily becomes another member of the band.I was completely dependent on the engineer, since I am a total technoramus. The only time I touched the board, really, was during the mix, and only to deal with volume changes of various instruments. I'd tell the engineer what I wanted, and he'd do it. I knew what all the pieces outboard gear did, but had no clue as to how they did it. I made some pretty average records in the beginning -- ones that I wasn't at all satisfied with the sound of -- but it's a learning process like anything else. The producer either makes or is part of every decision from the selection of songs through rehearsal, studio and engineer selection, instrument placement, microphone choice and placement, even down to what kind of beater we want for the kick drum and which snare drum we would use for each song. Mainly, I'd just sit there while we played the tune bak, or take it home with me and listen at home, and parts would come into my head. There were certain things I did almost always, as a rule -- double rhythm guitar parts, use a Hammond B3 organ under guitar power chords, and I played all the percussion on my records, too (yes, with the band's blessing). Many producers are engineers who moved into the producing function, but George Martin had Geoff Emerick engineering for him, and many of the most well known and successful producers had the same engineer work with them for years and years. I used four different engineers over a 20-year period. During an album, you're basically married to your engineer for 12 hours a day, so you'd better be a compatible duo. A sense of humor in both parties is essential. After mixing the record, I would take it to mastering (the last step) and after the band approved it, it would be delivered to the label, who would listen to it and accept it. Some are rejected or sent back for more work, but I never experienced this. That's when the label began working to release and market the LP, and the producer went on to his next project. Hope this helps to answer your question.
