Don Felder Quotes

I can't leave the studio until everything is as it should be. And I can't put a record out unless I am completely happy with it. I never want to be at a signing and hear my album playing and think, 'Oh no, I could have done that top note better.'

I've never been the type of person to jump up and throw out the album without it being what it's supposed to be.

Many people think of me as a perfectionist, someone who polishes and shines each song and performance. I've always been bothered by that assumption.

The sad truth is that excellence makes people nervous.

I'll probably never put out another album because I'm a tough critic of my work, and I don't think I could come up to those standards any more.

I don't take any shorts. I don't say, 'Okay, it's good enough.' I try to get exactly what I'm hearing in my head to the tape, and I won't let it move until then.

I'm a perfectionist, and I'm not going to let the world hear a record until it's ready.

I don't try to be difficult. I just care so much about these albums that I get crazed sometimes when I'm making them.

I've got perfectionist issues, as I can't seem to let tracks out the studio - it drives my manager nuts.

I don't want to release a CD; I want to release the real deal, so we're just gonna take our time.

Unless I can do myself justice and play well, I'm not going to play.

When you're a producer on top of that, just havin' a beat that's hot is not enough. Now you know your sound, 'cause you've been workin' on your sound for so long, and now you're extra picky. You might do a beat that's ill, that the average rapper would pay big money to get on, but you don't wanna do it because you're like, "Ehhh... it's not what I'm looking for, it's not what I'm goin' for." So you're extra picky.

I was always critiquing my work. I let everybody else around - producers, directors, other actors - they give the nod of approval or the praise. Because I tried to always bring the best, so even if they were happy with it, I was still scrutinizing it.

I'd gotten used to recording background vocals perfectly, doing 18 takes of them until they line up. Not recognizing the inherent beauty in each performance, but just making something good.

Wayne and Drake, it takes them so long to do a song. I understand why, because they want it to be perfect. But I think I can do a perfect song in 10 minutes.

Our customers are quality maniacs.

I'm a stickler when it comes to every aspect of my line. My development team probably hates working with me sometimes... but in a good way. I think that I push them to a certain degree to create something that's going to withstand the test of time.

I've always been a really hard critic of everything I do.

I don't like the word 'perfectionist,' because it's self-flattering. It's tooting your own horn and implies that you actually can achieve perfection. I prefer 'particularist.'

Sometimes I'll do something when I'm tired at night, and it'll sound hot. But in the morning, when I'm wide awake, I'll listen again and think it's way off. Nobody else would notice it, but I'm like, I've got to fix that!

I'm a big perfectionist, and I like to make sure everything 120 percent, from the production to the vocal performance to the lyrics, the melody and everything.

When I leave a recording session, there is usually a lot of paranoia or superstition on my part, like I'm afraid to hear what we've done.

We never enter the studio unless we feel like, right now, if these are the songs we record, that we would have an album that we're proud of and we're excited about. And we put everything under the microscope and examine it the best we can to make sure that we're prepared.

I'm a perfectionist, and to actually finish something is good for me.

I enjoy making music and take my time to do everything until it is 'perfect.'