For power pop fans, singer songwriter Donnie Vie will need no introduction. With Enuff Z’Nuff, he lent his vocal and songwriting chops to a string of great albums, released at a time when a blend of Cheap Trick obsessions crossed with a 60s inspired, flower power cool was decidedly uncool. Their first three albums (‘Enuff Z’Nuff’, ‘Strength’ and ‘Animals With Human Intelligence’) are cast iron classics which still play brilliantly, decades after the fact. During the second half of the nineties and beyond, the band’s tendency to take a cut ‘n’ paste approach to making albums could be frustrating, but for the more patient fan, there was always a little more gold to be mined, and an on-form Vie continued to show his very natural melodic gifts on tracks like ‘There Goes My Heart’, ‘Believe In Love’ and ‘What Can I Do?’
His solo album ‘Beautiful Things’ (originally released in Japan in 2019) sometimes adopted more of a 60s vibe, but at its best, the material outshone almost everything a Vie-less E’ZN could muster from that point on. One of the record’s highlights, ‘Plain Jane’ was given a belated digital/7” single release by Wicked Cool Records in 2026. Better late than never, as they say, but it’s easy to see why the track would be chosen to re-promote an album that was given a welcome US release in 2021.
The chiming guitars that fill the intro of ‘Plain Jane’ tap into Vie’s late 60s obsessions with the strongest tones, and from there, a very confident sounding tune falls into place. Against the dominant guitar lines, a bass pumps a strident rhythm, and Vie uses a solid backdrop to share a see-sawing vocal melody that taps firmly into his retro pop manifesto, and with a delivery that’s absolutely unmistakeable. By the time the simple chorus hits, contrasting Donnie’s slightly gravelly tones with some really bright pop harmonies, this sounds like something that could’ve formed the basis of a classic, early Enuff Z’Nuff number. It only really lacks a distinctive guitar part from the much-missed Derek Frigo. This, naturally, ends up sounding like something Vie’s devoted fans will feel like has been a part of their record collections forever – but in this case, that’s certainly a good thing.
‘Plain Jane’ has been coupled with a cover of John Lennon’s ‘Instant Karma’, making this of even greater interest to fans and collectors. It’s fair to say that Vie doesn’t really bother putting his own stamp on the track. His love for Beatles related fare is well known, so to meddle with things might seem somewhat sacrilegious. What fans get, of course, is a great take on a great track (one of about eight genuinely decent solo Lennon efforts…) where Vie appears to be in his element working through a familiar melody where stabbed piano chords mesh with power pop infused vocals, and a rousing hook suits his voice brilliantly. For the dyed in the wool fan, as predictable as this recording might seem, it’s still a treat.
For those yet to invest in a copy of ‘Beautiful Things’, ‘Plain Jane’ will, hopefully, provide the inspiration to backtrack and check out the full album. ‘Instant Karma’, meanwhile, is definitely a track that deserves being added to the playlist of your favourite Beatle-related cover tunes. These recordings don’t just sound great — they compliment each other: something genuinely familiar meeting with something that already feels as if it’s been resurrected from about thirty five years earlier, making for a classic Donnie twofer.
February 2026
