Why do some albums take forever?

Why do some albums take forever? I think you keep your inspirations close to your heart whenever you write. You remember how your favorite albums feel as complete as films and as you draw on your own experiences (emotionally if not realistically), you might have a general sense of how things should feel before you even start. Letting the pie bake on the shelf, so to speak, is an important part of the process. In the case of my new album, I had cut tracks with a band, but was not so impressed with the arrangements. The grooves were solid and well-recorded, so they stayed with me like a finished foundation. I tend to push myself into new situations personally and professionally for the sake of some type of plympton-esque experiences that I can use as fodder, or more politely, “stems” for songs. You can be somewhat objective about your own process, as if the goal was to create a mixtape with your own work. You could seek to represent your breadth of ability, or choose to go deeply in one direction. In either case, the window-cooling aspect of the work is important. The silences more important than the notes. You might find yourself hitting some expressions perfectly, or tearing things up and starting over when you cannot triangulate your experience, abilities, and the moods of the chord sequences you’ve created. You might know that you don’t know something and need to hit it from a variety of directions. It’s normal to feel uncertain much of the time. At the same time, if you have some taste, you’ll have known when you’ve hit it and when you’re far off the mark. I've just released an album I've been working on and off on for 13 years. I'm proud of some of it. Most of it, I can stand. I see some areas that definitely need improvement, but you know when it's done. https://bobgaulke.bandcamp.com/