Album review: DONNIE VIE – Beautiful Days

Deko Music [Release date 07.06.19]

Former Enuff Z’Nuff vocalist Donnie Vie returns with a new album, his first in four years and a treat as it looked that after his last album, ‘The White Album’, he wasn’t overly keen on making more music. The album also features special guests Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Jellyfish) and Mike LePond (Symphony X).

This is yet another album that got caught in the collapse of Pledge Music, although luckily Deko Music have given the album a full release after limited availability on Pledge. What of the music? Donnie Vie sums it up nicely by stating ‘It’s like an ice cream sundae made out of sounds & colors, with more hooks than a tackle box.’ It does indeed have plenty of hook filled songs, from the psychedelic title track through to ‘Plain Jane’, which sounds like classic Enuff Z’Nuff.

The musical planets certainly aligned on ‘I Could Save The World’, where he enlists Roger Joseph Manning Jr. of Jellyfish fame to produce a little bit of pop rock magic. His biggest musical influnence, the Beatles, shines through on ‘Whatever’, an autobiographical look at his musical trip to date.

Make sure you get the bonus edition as it includes his wonderful cover of John Lennon’s ‘Instant Karma’, which also has an accompanying video highlighting the effects of and the amount of people affected by bullying, something Vie himself has been on the receiving end of.

It is highly unlikely we’ll see a reunion between Vie and Chip Z’Nuff, however as fans we are lucky both are releasing fine music and long may that continue. Quite possibly Vie’s finest solo album to date and his vocals are as good as they have ever been – just listen to his wonderful performance on the piano led ballad ‘Fly’. ****

Review by Jason Ritchie

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THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)

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09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)