Some bands are stuck in a moment... others have instant inspiration
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U2's lengthy hiatus between albums this decade -- averaging one record every four years -- is nothing on Guns N' Roses. The band, fronted by Axl Rose, took 13 years to make Chinese Democracy, which was finally released last month.
The album -- which was panned by the critics -- is reportedly the most expensive of all time, with more than €13m spent on a slew of recording studios and producers.
And even Axl Rose has to play second fiddle to Brian Wilson. In 2004, The ex-Beach Boys leader released Smile -- an album he had first started working on in 1966. It had often been referred to by music fans as "the greatest album never released".
The Beatles took an entirely different approach. Their early albums such as Please Please Me and Let It Be were recorded in a matter of days. And even in their most creative period, in the late 1960s, they brought out at least one album a year. Considering the groundbreaking qualities of Revolver, The White Album and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, it's an achievement that continues to beggar belief.
Between 1963 and 1970, Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr released 13 studio albums. That's two more than U2 have released in a 28-year recording career.
David Bowie also enjoyed a hugely productive period, averaging one studio album a year in the 1970s. In 1977 alone, he released two albums, Low and Heroes, both widely considered among the most important releases of that decade.
More recently, The White Stripes have made a virtue of recording material at breakneck speed with their Elephant album completed in a week. And Icelandic post-rock outfit Sigur Ros recorded, mastered and released their latest album, Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust, within a month. It's one of the best received of the year.
