Sessions for the new Guns N’ Roses album Chinese Democracy began in 1993 and the album has so far cost $US13m (£6.6m). Axl Rose on the official GnR website announces that January concerts have been cancelled so the band can finish the record, which may possibly be released in March. That’s fifteen years after work began.

Other bands in other times have been a little more productive. The January issue of Mojo reports that the recording of Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde in 1966 took about eight days (nights, really) in the studio.

The same issue has a small piece on Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger’s 1968 version of “This Wheel’s on Fire”, a massive hit which took “four to five hours” to arrange and record. That’s less than bands spend on getting the drum sound these days.

John Harris’s book on Pink Floyd’s 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon says it took about 40 days to record, spread over seven months.

Let’s see. That’s one classic hit single in an afternoon, one classic album in a week, and another all-time mega best-seller in six weeks.

I'm not a betting man, but I've got $5 here that says that after 15 years, Chinese Democracy sucks.