When Gene Simmons said, “Rock N’ Roll is dead”, he must have forgotten about a lot of musicians making powerful rock music today. One of those musicians is Australia’s guitarist supreme, Orianthi. For me, she is the female answer to Stevie Ray Vaughan. She is a master of the guitar, and she is living large in this day and age of music dominated by rap, and the other ubiquitous nonsense that Simmons referenced. Orianthi’s first major solo artist success, as a singer-songwriter and guitarist, was with the Geffen Records release of According to You, which is now RIAA-Certified Platinum® and has over 17 million streams on Spotify.
Orianthi has returned to recording, this time, with a live album, Live from Hollywood; which documents how entertained her audiences actually feel during her shows. The performance was captured on January 8, 2022, at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood, CA. The album was released on July 15th, of 2022, by Frontiers Music Srl.
Every song on this album is an example of the powerful chords this lady can play. She also sings these songs, mostly from her latest album, O. There is a supporting DVD and Blu-ray, which I do not have yet, but I will in the near future. I have seen clips; and watching Orianthi play guitar ‘live’, is quite a fantastic experience.
Orianthi plays lead guitar and sings vocals; Nick Mayfield, plays supporting guitar; Carmen Vandenberg, plays guitar on “You Don’t Wanna Know”; Justin Andres, plays bass guitar; Michael Bearden, plays keyboards; and Glen Sobel, plays drums.
Every track on this album is worth your time and listening experience. Just try concentrating on the persona and the method of guitar play she exemplifies, and tell me you don’t hear SRV at times. She plays well enough to play for such legends as Michael Jackson, Carlos Santana, Carrie Underwood, and Alice Cooper; so, she definitely knows her way around a stage.
“Contagious”, the opener, and her hit single off O, “Sinners Hymn”, are excellent and kick off the show well. “Think Like a Man”, has a Shania Twain feel to it, and that just adds to the fun. On “You Don’t Wanna Know”, Orianthi teams up with good friend, Carmen Vandenberg, for a lady guitarist duo which will stay with you long past the first play of this album. It is a fantastic highlight for sure.
“Blues Won’t Leave Me Alone”, with its added keyboards and deep bass, is definitely another SRV-like highlight and maybe the best track on the live album. It is one of the longest tracks on the album and has so much power that it took me back to SRV’s “Couldn’t Stand the Weather”, “Texas Flood” or my all – time favorite of his “Tin Pan Alley”. “How Do You Sleep” closes the album. It is the longest album track, and you will hear more of that unbelievable guitar playing that you remember from SRV, when he was alive. SRV is unfortunately gone, but we still have Orianthi and that is a very good thing.
Orianthi also has a new album coming in October, so look for that one to be reviewed here as soon as I can get my hands on it.
Please give this album a listen. I am sure you will love this almost as much as SRV, if you were a fan. The blues, the way it was meant to be. Still played with character and style. Thanks, Orianthi!
Track List:
1. Contagious – 4:02
2. Sinners Hymn – 3:59
3. Heaven In This Hell – 4:00
4. Think Like a Man – 4:39
5. You Don’t Wanna Know – 5:14
6. What’s It Gonna Be – 2:49
7. Blow – 4:15
8. Impulsive – 4:26
9. Blues Won’t Leave Me Alone – 6:48
10. According To You – 3:20
11. How Do You Sleep – 7:08
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https://twitter.com/orianthi
https://iamorianthi.com/