A new album from Donnie Vie is always a wonderful thing for those that consider him to be one of the very best writers of his generation and up there with the greats of yesteryear. But enough of the bluster the question most of us will of course have is where does this sit in the scheme of things and how does it fit in the context of his earlier work?
I could just say I love this album. Because I do, I love this album probably more than I’ve loved a Donnie Vie solo album before, and whilst I’m the first to admit the man has created some wonders over the years this seems to be the distillation of all that has come before. At times you feel like smiling and jumping into the air with delight and at others you feel like shedding a tear as you hear the most beautiful melodies that you know in your heart could have made the world a better pace if only more had has a chance to listen.And all the way through the journey you hear echos and snatches of his past catalogue and when you do it’s impossible to hold back a smile.
Things start wonderfully with ‘Beautiful Things’ as dreamy Sgt. Pepper like washes of sound cascade against the speakers,and you are lifted up by soothing melodies and dream-infused vocals. It’s a helluva spot to start a journey before ‘Plain Jane’ takes the tempo up and comes across like vintage Enuff Z’Nuff with an early Beatles thrust and directness, as it swims in seas of wonderful backing melodies, like laying on your back drifting in a warm pool watching lazy white clouds drift overhead. After that introduction ‘Breaking Me Down’ starts with a jangly guitar and has a Spanish tempo before taking off into melodies that fly as the guitar thrusts and we fall back into a simple verse that builds and glows and shines as we soar into the chorus.
The next song ‘I Could save the World’ will be familiar to fans, premiered as it was, in October. As Vie noted in interviews at the time it was the first track that arrived as result of the creative renewal that came with his recent hiatus. The track features Roger Joseph Manning Jr. of Jellyfish, on “pianos, strings and things,” drummer Matt Walker (of Morrissey and Beck) as well as other friends “who helped him flesh things out”. It’s typical Vie, as he croons and tells tales of days gone by. The melodies are so sweet you’d swear that they’d been spun from sugar and even AC/DC get a name-check. It’s close to perfect.
Maintaining that high of course has to be an impossible ask doesn’t it?
‘Fly’ therefore gives you a little breather, it’s a gentle piano ballad, just you, Donnie and the piano underscored with some gentle soothing strings that allow you to drift into the song. It’s the sort of stripped back simplicity that Vie does so well and perfectly placed in the running order. By way of contrast ‘Tender Lights’ twists the volume dial a little, nudging it into the perfect ‘wake-up song’ territory that even carries a country-like tint before the vocals hit that blue sky chorus and you’re lifted up again.
Remarkably it doesn’t waver for a second: ‘I’ll Surrender’ is Vie at his best, mid-tempo, lilting, melodic and irresistible; whilst for our ante-penultimate delight Donnie serves us ‘Whatever’ which takes us in a different direction altogether with a light breezy strummed power pop breeze through Donnie’s career, almost his own take on ‘C’est La Vie.’ That leaves us with just two.
Last but one ‘Fallin’ Through The Pages’ is a real joy, a light and easy sixties-style mid tempo sing-along stomp that’s as well-realized as anything here, and like all of the best of Vie’s songs seems instantly familiar. The final word though goes to ‘Back From the Blue’ a second piano ballad that builds into a summer sky song of hope and warmth. It’s Vie at his very best and most connected and it’s simply beautiful.
It’s been 4 years now since 2014’s ‘The White Album’ but this has definitely been worth the wait, as a piece of art it’s stunning. This collection of songs is a wonderful addition to the legacy Vie has constructed over the last four decades, but not just that, these are songs we’ll remember for years to come. These are songs to keep in your heart and let out when you need to get back from the blue.
At the moment this release is only available via Pledge Music.
