20 of the Longest Gaps Between Studio Albums

Even in rock 'n' roll, there are sometimes deadlines to meet — labels, tour promoters and all sorts of other bureaucratic forces run a tight ship.

But sometimes there really is no rush to get to the next thing, whatever that is, and so time can be taken to breathe for a moment, ponder what project may come next. Sometimes these moments turn into years and before an artist knows it, it's been decades since their last release.

That's what we're taking a look at today: 20 of the Longest Gaps Between Studio Albums. In this gallery, all of the albums have at least 30 years between them — practically a lifetime in rock 'n' roll – though of course there are plenty of examples out there where 10, 15 or 20 years have gone by. They're listed in chronological order from smallest to biggest gap.

It's typically not very purposeful. Lineup changes, label disputes and a hundred other things can shift the trajectory of an album's release. Or sometimes it's a matter of other creative commitments taking priority – Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, for example, was a little busy with his primary band for, well, decades, which might explain why he only managed to squeak out three solo albums on his own time. Meanwhile John Lodge of the Moody Blues released one solo album in 1977 while his group was on hiatus and then simply didn't release another one for close to 40 years.

These things are usually worth the wait though, as you'll see below...