Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Orianthi, Frontiers Music 2022.
Australian guitar maestro and rock goddess, Orianthi returns with a follow-up album to her 2020 release “O” which was her first new music as a solo artist in six years.
For those of you who haven’t heard of Orianthi, I urge you to look her up on YouTube, I guarantee you’ll be amazed.
Orianthi left our shores to break into the ultra-competitive US music scene as a teenager and within a short period of time she was wowing audiences and becoming a regular guest of the megastars of the industry.
Such was the level of her guitar proficiency that she was quickly included on performance bills with guitar icons such as Joe Bonamassa, Carlos Santana, Richie Blackmore and their like.
But virtuoso guitar licks were always only one aspect of this supremely talented musician, there was a budding songwriter bursting to emerge from inside,
For Orianthi to tap into that aspect of her talent, she needed to leave the glamour and stardom of being a guitar god for hire, leave the arenas and stadiums, and step away for a while and devote time to crafting her songs.
Her first solo artist success came in 2009 after she signed with Geffen Records. According To You was certified as RIAA Platinum and achieved over 29 million streams on Spotify.
The According To You hashtag went on to clock up over 110 million views on Tik Tok, reached number 8 in the Australian album Charts, 3 in Japan, and 17 in the Billboard Rock charts.
Light It Up is the first single released from her upcoming album Rock Candy which is due for issue on October 14 2022.
It’s a cracking rock track that showcases her outstanding guitar playing and powerful vocals.
She’s been joined by the multi-talented musician and producer, Jacob Bunton who, along with production, contributes guitar, bass, keyboard, piano, and violin and drummer, Kyle Cunningham completes the trio.
The film clip for the single shows them in action and is well worth a view.
Elle magazine named Orianthi number 12 in their list of the greatest female guitarists of all time, which she thoroughly deserves, but she’s more than just a gunslinger, she’s a talented songwriter as well.
