When it comes to making records, substance should outweigh perfection. Great records are all about feel, and if it comes down to making a choice, I'll go for the take that makes me dance over a bland one with better sound any day.
[on persuading Frank Sinatra to re-record some of his signature songs] I reminded Frank that while Laurence Olivier had performed Shakesepeare in his twenties, the readings he did when he was in his sixties gave them new meaning. I spoke with conviction. 'Don't my children and your grandchildren deserve to hear the way you're interpreting your classic songs now?'.