Orianthi
By Mike O’Cull
Platinum-certified rock guitarist and vocalist Orianthi takes her fiery style and muscled-up backing band to the concert stage on her new release Live From Hollywood.
The live album and performance video are set to release on July 15th, 2022 via Frontiers Music s.r.l. and document a show captured January 8th, 2022 at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood, California. They’ll be available in CD/DVD and Blu-ray formats. Live From Hollywood is meant to be a bit of a teaser for Orianthi’s next album of new material, which is slated for later this year, but stands tall on its own as a righteous hard rock show by one of the genre’s finest practitioners.
The set also capitalizes on Orianthi’s recent emergence as a TikTok star among Generation Z listeners, letting them and everyone else out there know that rock guitar playing is very much alive. She’s becoming an ageless, cross-demographic artist who has the rare ability to remain relevant as time marches on and fits that role quite well.
The Australian-born Orianthi first came to prominence as Michael Jackson’s last guitarist, rehearsing with The King of Pop for his This Is It tour and also by performing with Carlos Santana and shock rock originator Alice Cooper after appearing on the 51st annual Grammy Awards in February 2009 as Carrie Underwood’s lead guitar player. These gigs put her on the map quickly and led to her 2009 debut single “According to You” hitting number three in Japan, number eight in Australia, and number 17 in the USA. The track has over 17 million plays on Spotify and 83 million views on the “According to You” hashtag, which qualifies it as a genuine viral trend. She has worked with other stars including Michael Bolton, Dave Stewart, and James Durbin and performed at the Kennedy Center Honors Gala celebrating the music of Carlos Santana. She has put out four solo albums before this one and is widely acclaimed as one of modern rock music’s most vital musicians.
Orianthi opens her show with the dynamic rocker “Contagious” and immediately begins hauling the mail. It’s a catchy song with a strong message and a pounding groove. Orianthi’s vocals and guitar work are solid and all-pro all the way. Her band, featuring Nick Maybury on guitar, Justin Andres on bass, Michael Bearden on keyboards, and Glen Sobel on drums, is every bit her equal and together the five players make a stellar ensemble. They put out the breathless, urgent energy all great bands possess and the assembled crowd responds to it at once.
Watch “Sinners Hymn”
“Sinners Hymn” is a heavier tune built on a fat synth bass sound doubled with bass guitar. Orianthi belts out this blues-informed cut in an intense, soulful way and absolutely rips on her wah-soaked guitar solos. She stretches out and builds her lead lines throughout the song until they peak at the end. Her licks are hot and her tone is sweet. What else would a guitar heroine of her caliber deliver? The ability to throw down live like this is what separates the real ones from the copy-and-paste brigade and Orianthi puts it out there loud and proud.
Orianthi and her crew perform a good selection of songs that range from newer material from her last album like the pulsating “Blow” to her original monster hit “According To You.” Be sure to experience fan favorites “Think Like A Man,” “You Don’t Want To Know,” and the seven-minute version of “How Do You Sleep” that closes the gig. Orianthi distinguishes herself all over Live In Hollywood, playing and singing with iconoclastic boldness, grace, and power. Live your best life and cozy up to this set while you wait for her album to drop.
Orianthi website
dam! She be Jommin Mon!
And this is why we love you, Ms. Martine, for bringing us awesome content on artists like this. I just became Orianthi’s newest fan. Thanks!
Awesome review Mike O’Cull!
Orianthi’s a phenomenal blues/blues rock guitar player, and this CD/DVD showcases it. She actually was discovered by Stevie Vai when she appeared as a warming-up artist in his show. He commented that he’s never had a guitarist warming up for him that played better than him! I’ll ad the incredibly sensual and playful track “Blues Won’t Leave Me Alone” to the track you mention and “Heaven in Hell”. Many of the songs on this CD/DVD tracks got extra power, subtlety and extra dimension by slightly different arrangements. I’m truly thrilled. Now I am waiting 3 months to hear her new studio album, “Rock Candy”!