2007 debut album from the 21 year old Australian guitar prodigy. Born in Adelaide, Orianthi has played the guitar since the tender age of six, and has accumulated an impressive list of credits. She opened for Steve Vai in ... more »her home town when she was 14, and when she was 17 she opened for ZZ Top. It was when she met and performed with Carlos Santana when she was 18, that doors really started to open. Now at 21, Orianthi has signed with a major U.S. label, Geffen Records, and is currently in Nashville writing with some of the world's biggest writers including Darrell Brown (Keith Urban), Troy Verges (Leann Rimes) and Angelo (Kings Of Leon). Universal.« less
2007 debut album from the 21 year old Australian guitar prodigy. Born in Adelaide, Orianthi has played the guitar since the tender age of six, and has accumulated an impressive list of credits. She opened for Steve Vai in her home town when she was 14, and when she was 17 she opened for ZZ Top. It was when she met and performed with Carlos Santana when she was 18, that doors really started to open. Now at 21, Orianthi has signed with a major U.S. label, Geffen Records, and is currently in Nashville writing with some of the world's biggest writers including Darrell Brown (Keith Urban), Troy Verges (Leann Rimes) and Angelo (Kings Of Leon). Universal.
Find Out Why Carlos Santana and Paul Reed Smith Say This Gir
Jerry D. Neal | Grand Rapids, MI USA | 08/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There are very few guitarists, artists, songwriters, or albums that really matter. Albums where the musician is so good, the songs are so well crafted, the band works so well, the production is so top-notch, that everything else you listen to completely pales by comparison.
I recently made a list for a friend, of very best albums ever made (I figured he was smart enough to guess Sgt. Pepper)
On the list were things like:
Buffalo Springfield Again
Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale
Love's Forever Changes and Da Capo
Jeff Beck's Truth and Who Else!
Eric Johnson's Ah Via Musicom
Elegant Gypsy by Al DiMeola
the Mahavishnu Orchestra's Between Nothingness and Eternity
Caravanserai, Lotus, Borboletta, and Illuminations by Santana
the first Shakti album
Love Devotion Surrender by Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin
A Long Time Comin' by the Electric Flag
the Bluesbreakers album by John Mayall and Eric Clapton
Are You Experienced? and Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix
High 61 Revisted by Bob Dylan
And right alongside those albums was Violet Journey by Orianthi.
This wonder from down under named Orianthi has been playing since the age of four, classically trained, and has been writing and recording her own albums for years.
I've been playing guitar for 36 years, and when by chance I landed on a web page playing "Lights of Manos," from this album, I was stunned.
By the time I had heard four notes I realized I was hearing something completely unique and way better than anything else out there, period.
"Lights of Manos" and the videos I saw on YouTube set some pretty doggone high expectations.
So I discovered who it was I was listening to--this Orianthi. Someone who appeared at NAMM onstage with Carlos Santana, and elsewhere with Steve Vai. Someone who Carlos Santana was saying was the only and the best new guitarist worth considering, who Paul Reed Smith himself said "will just blow your mind."
Well, after hearing this album just once, I have to say it. CARLOS AND PAUL WERE RIGHT.
This album exceeded those high expectations. It has completely blown my mind.
This is an album, an artist, a guitarist who matters. Who matters enough to go on stage this year--unknown--at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival.
There's not a single song on this CD that doesn't work, not a single solo that doesn't hit the perfect spot, not a single vocal that isn't perfect, not a single tone that doesn't give you an audio orgasm.
Frankly, since I got it I have not been able to put it down. I have not been able to stop playing it.
Orianthi does a whole lot more or this album than just play the hell out of her Paul Reed Smith like absolutely nobody else. She sings and writes just as well as she plays.
Except for the drums on two songs and one background vocal, Orianthi played every single note on this album HERSELF--bongos, drums, keyboards, acoustic guitar, synthesizers--EVERYTHING. She even produced, engineeered and mastered the whole thing.
So get yourself a copy of this monster album by this absolute monster of a guitarist, and find out what Carlos Santana and Paul Reed Smith are raving about.
The monster artist we've been waiting for has arrived. Her name is Orianthi."
She does it all
S. Becker | Keller, TX | 04/26/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a cd that the more you listen, the more you'll be amazed. First, Orianthi's guitar playing will astound you, then her singing and song writing kicks in and finally, once you realize she played all the instruments and sang all of the vocals (OK at least 99% of them) and did this as a teenager, you know the future is going to be big for her. She plays and sings from the heart. Santana-esque guitar licks, vocal range from Michelle Branch's innocence to in your face rock to soulful blues - she truly is the total package. Enjoy!"
Jimi Hendrex move over
Fret Freak | Phoenix AZ USA | 11/11/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This prodigy from Austrailia lives up to her reputation on this CD.
The guitar playing moves from eloquent to firey. If you are looking for some solid, creative, lift you out of your seat guitar, this is it.
It is little wonder why Steve Vai had her as his warm up on his American Tour."
Awesome! Find out why Michael Jackson tabbed Ori for the com
Spiehler | Suwanee, GA USA | 07/10/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Looks like a model, sings like a bird, plays guitar like the love child of Steve Vai & Carlos Santana. The guitar community's been buzzing about Orianthi for a while. I found out about her a few months back, grabbed this CD-incredible. She writes all her own material, and on this CD, recorded a couple years back, she plays almost all the instruments.
From the soulful "Out of Reach" to the bluesy "Here on Earth," to the flat-out grrrl power ROCK of "Right Now," this is a talent to be reckoned with. Geffen/Interscope is getting ready to release her major label debut. Check out a few new tunes at [...]. Her duet w/ Steve Vai is a shred-fan's dream come true.
If you saw the final rehearsal footage of Michael Jackson or the MJ memorial service and wondered "Who's the blonde with the guitar?", now you know. Tough to pin down stylistically, but enjoyable from start to finish, "Violet Journey" is a heck of a ride. In a world of pre-packaged, overproduced "stars," Ori's a breath of fresh air.
You can also find Ori on the Bratz soundtrack. You can download her track as well. Bratz"