Here's another anonymous guitar album, presumably featuring a European musician since the CD is manufactured in the U.K.
There's a reason there's no name (or a fake one) attached to most of these albums: They aren't very good and the musicians (in many cases only a solo guitarist) are paid peanuts.
This album is a happy exception in the quality department. It's a pleasant, well-played mixture of the usual pop standards (The Lady in Red, Music of the Night, etc.) and a couple of classical warhorses. Although the backing strings sound electronic, they're not shrill and obboxious like they are on many cheap instrumental albums. Here's a sample track.
Air on a G-String
Sweet Guitar, released in 1996, has long since been deleted, but there are cheap used copies available on several U.K. sites, including Amazon. The album doesn't appear to be available as a download (legal), although one can never be too sure since these anonymous CDs are often endlessly repackaged under different titles and artist names.
Exactly who are the musicians that put together these albums where no credit is given? In the case of Sweet Guitar, we're not even told in which country this album was recorded.
And what is the target market for these recordings? Do you know anyone that sits around waiting to buy a CD where the artist isn't credited? Presumably the manufacturer is aiming at the impulse buyer who doesn't want to spend more than a couple of bucks for background music to accompany the macaroni and cheese entrée.
Still, as Sweet Guitar proves, there are few satisfactory purchases to made from the discount bins.
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