"In 1963 or 1964, the artist would choose the song, then go into a small office and work with the arranger," Mardin told Carlo Wolff in a 1998 interview. "The following day, an orchestra - two guitars, Fender bass, piano, maybe a Wurlitzer, a drummer, 10 to 12 strings and a few woodwinds - would come together. The vocalist would be in a separate booth. The record would be made right there, no overdubs. Tom Dowd would mix it to a mono quarter-inch tape, with the correct balance. He would also record it to eight-track."
The aim of the process was purity, Mardin said. But that could be restricting, and as technology progressed, constraints were loosened. One day, when Ray Charles was recording "Believe to My Soul," Charles didn't like the way some female backup vocalists sounded. So Dowd told Charles four tracks were free to record on, and "Charles filled those in himself," Mardin says. "He sang the girls' parts."
In 1969, Mardin released the first of his two solo albums, Glass Onion (Journey, a less thematic work, followed several years later). Glass Onion included Mardin's jazzy arrangement of the Rascals' 1967 hit, "How Can I Be Sure." The Mardin version ultimately became a lounge hit in London dance clubs - in 1996.
In the '70s, after creating a monster funk aggregation in the Scottish group Average White Band, his greatest achievement was producing the Bee Gees. With the brothers Gibb, Mardin scored worldwide hits in the melodic disco of "Jive Talkin'," "Nights on Broadway," and "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)."
Mardin said he didn't realize the Bee Gees were breaking ground; he also didn't sense how big they'd be. But he and the Bee Gees worked hard during that era, particularly on Main Course, their 1975 breakthrough.
Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb listened to a lot of rhythm 'n' blues before making that album. "I really enjoyed those sessions," Mardin said, adding he especially relished Barry Gibb's falsetto. "I always like vocalists to hurt up here," he jokes, pointing to his throat.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
What an incredible resume this man had. I didn't realize Mardin has had a hand in so many great records over the years. You could probably make a far shorter list of artists he hasn't worked with. Very nice eulogy EO.
-Glen
2 - JP
This guy's a legend, no doubt. So many careers influenced, it's hard to sum up..but you've done so pretty well.
Godspeed, Arif.
3 - Eric Olsen
thanks Glen and JP - I was kind of in a hurry or I would have gome more into specific records, but the bottom line is he worked with almost everyone of consequence who wasn't hard rock at Atlantic
4 - DJRadiohead
He did work with damn near everyone, didn't he? I know him best from the two Norah Jones records he produced. Beautiful, timeless records. Come Away With Me sounds incredible on SACD- just a magical record that was incredibly well made.
5 - Eric Olsen
I agree - to have had that kind of artistic and commercial successful so late in his career is simply amazing. The combination of space and warmth on the Jones records is remarkable.
6 - Mark Saleski
and Come Away With Me on vinyl? oh...my...gawd.
7 - DJRadiohead
The combination of space and warmth on the Jones records is remarkable.
The warmth of the vocals on the SACD version (and I would imagine even moreso on the vinyl) is positively amazing. I felt like I was hearing the record all over again when I bought the hybrid version. I wish Come Away With Me had been SACD'd as well.
8 - Eric Olsen
Mardin and soulful women: Jones, Aretha, Dusty, Chaka, Roberta Flack, Anita Baker, Nyro - remarkable
9 - Murat
What a great gentleman and accomplished professional. Growing up in Istanbul, I used to turn over Atlantic Record covers and look for his name as well as the names of Ahmet Ertegun and Nesuhi Ertegun. They made me and the rest of Turkey so proud with their achievements in the New World.
I read in your article ""How Can I Be Sure." The Mardin version ultimately became a lounge hit in London dance clubs - in 1996." How can I find the version that was popular in the 90s?