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Rene Erickson Presents New Single 'Never Gone'

  • Writer: Curious Cat
    Curious Cat
  • Mar 22, 2023
  • 2 min read

Rene Erickson’s single, “Never Gone,” begins rather strangely. It sounds

like Erickson is tuning up, before getting into the composition. Then

again, maybe not. I’m not a guitarist – at least, not a very good one –

so maybe this is not what I think is happening. However, the first few

seconds of “Never Gone” just don’t sound all that musical. Be not

dismayed, though, because once Erickson digs into the meat of the melody

and the intricacies of this acoustic guitar instrumentation, it is truly

a lovely piece of music.


At about the 20-second mark, Erickson applies an arpeggiated chord

progression to create an enjoyable instrumental. This selection is taken

from Silent Street, Erickson’s most recent long player. The song sounds

a lot like vocal-less folk music. It rolls to a gentle, contemplative

feel. It may remind you of music that came out years ago on the Windom

Hill label. Remember that? Music from that company was called New Age

music, which was such an inappropriate description. New Age was/is also

associated with many times wacky religious practices. Just why so much

wonderful, precious music received such an unfitting association is a

question many of us have been asking for years. Worse still, much of the

music created under that New Age banner was just plain bad instrumental

music. (Not most of the Windom Hill stuff, mind you). Too much of it was

too-smooth-jazz, to be honest.


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“Never Gone” creates a calming aural atmosphere. It’s like the eye of a

hurricane, in that once you put this track on, you soon forget all the

noise of the world. Both the literal and figurative variety. Do listen

to it with a good pair of headphones, so you can completely block out

the unwelcome sounds of the busy planet. It also creates a kind of

mental quiet and peace, though, too. There’s something comforting about

an expertly fingerpicked acoustic guitar that just brings one a

contented sense of well-being.


It's not always wise to speculate on what the title to an instrumental

recording means, but one can’t help but wonder about that, anyhow. What

do we have in life that we can never lose? That’s ‘never gone’? It can’t

be material possessions, as these can break, wear out or get lost. It

also cannot be about people, as friends come in and out of our lives and

– tragically -- some pass on to the great beyond. It could be related

to our spiritual state. It could also refer to special memories. How

many times have we had a great experience where we stated, ‘I’ll never

ever forget that?’ All or none of these suggestions might fit Rene

Erickson’s musical creation’s naming. Then again, it may just be a handy

title.


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Whatever its inspiration, “Never Gone” is a lovely piece of acoustic

music. Like all stellar instrumental tunes, it begs the listener to use

his/her imagination. It will paint whatever picture you invite it to

make. Erickson is both a skilled and creative guitarist, and this short

piece – with its pleasurable simplicity – is the sort of track one can

listen to over and over again, never getting tired of it. Put it on, and

see if it doesn’t immediately calm your nerves.

© 2025 CURIOUS FOR MUSIC

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