Golden Hits of Guitar

For an album with the uninspired title of Golden Hits of Guitar this cassette release contains some pretty fair guitar instrumentals. The cassette was manufactured in Canada and released on the SuperSound label, but the sound of the guitars indicates that the music on this mysterious release originated in Europe.

There is no information other than song titles and a catalogue number on the insert -- no date, no recording information, no artist, nothing. And what's with that cover picture?

Some of the guitar instrumental warhorses are here, Guitar Boogie Shuffle, Apache and Sleep Walk among them. Then there's this piece entitled The Dream. When you listen to it you'll probably recognize Romanza, a familiar classical piece by an anonymous composer that probably dates from the late 19th century. In recent times it's also often recorded under the title of Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits) because of its use in the 1952 French film of that name.

The Dream



I'm sure these recordings have been endlessly repackaged under various titles, as is usually the case with these anonymous recordings. And who knows, you might even spot this cassette at a garage sale or thrift store. Who could resist cover art like that?

Here's a more classical interpretation of Forbidden Games. It's a nice clean digital recording, but again credits are sadly lacking.