Damn, Chas...it's opinions like this that made you the obvious choice for the gut bucket player for our folk group. Repeat after me...."four strong winds...." La, LA, LA, etc.
You probably already guessed it, but I'm not much of a fan of arrangers, and use them only when absolutely necessary. Good tools, but would prefer to do things a different way. Sadly, sometimes using the arranger is the only thing that works from a budget standpoint. My attitude is to use it when necessary, but keep things in prospective, and, for me, that means playing with other players with the same philosophy as often as possible. That interaction is where my satisfaction comes from. You and I aren't big arranger fans; others think that they are the real answer to success in the music business.
Whatever works. Honest opinions stated with the understanding that the opinion is right for the individual. Differences of opinion are just that; nothing more.
Man, you ought to hear UD play Rocky Top on that cherry Bontempi he "stole" from me!
Stay well, friend,
Russ
[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 10-19-2007).]