Label : Robo Records
Review by Tony Cannella
Orianthi Panagaris is a 28 year old singer-songwriter guitarist from Australia. Previously she had been best known as the lead guitarist for Michael Jackson on his “This Is It” tour, a tour that never materialized due to his untimely death. From one legend to another she can be seen as the lead guitarist for shock-rock icon Alice Cooper on his current tour. In 2010 she won the award for “Breakthrough guitarist of the year” from Guitar International Magazine. In 2007 she released her debut album “Violet Journey” and followed that up in 2009 with “Believe”. Now Orianthi returns with her 3rd solo album entitled, “Heaven In This Hell”.
For “Heaven In This Hell”, Orianthi worked with another rock legend, Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics produced the album and co-wrote many of the songs. The thing that surprised me about Orianthi was her talent as a vocalist. Her ability as a guitarist is not in dispute, but her vocals really helped to make the songs come alive. Sure, guitarists are going to be drawn to “Heaven In This Hell”, but non-musicians (like myself) can get a lot of enjoyment from the album as well. In addition, Orianthi is surrounded by a talented array of musicians and collaborators. “Heaven In This Hell” combines elements of straight ahead rock, classic rock, blues. “How Do You Sleep?” is a fine example of Orianthi’s talent for playing the blues. Songs like “Heaven In This Hell”, “Fire”, “If U Think U Know Me” and the infectiously melodic “Frozen” are all killer tracks. With a playing time of 41-minutes and 11-songs on display, “Heaven In This Hell” is very much song oriented and not a ‘look what I can do?’ show off of an album. The songs are really the priority and that is the best thing about the album. “Heaven In This Hell” is a strong third album from Orianthi. It is easy to see why she such a highly regarded rock guitarist, but she also excels at other facets as well.
Rating – 75/100
Tracklist
- Heaven In This Hell
- You Don’t Wanna Know
- Fire
- If U Think U Know Me
- How Do You Sleep?
- Frozen
- Rock
- Another You
- How Does That Feel?
- Filthy Blues
- If U Were Here With Me
Line Up
- Orianthi Panagaris – Vocals, Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitars, Bass, Banjo
- Tom Bukovak – Guitars
- Dave Stewart – Rhythm Guitarist
- Mike Rojas – Piano
- Michael Rhodes – Bass
- Dan Dugmore – Lap Steel
- Jimmy Z. – Harmonica
- Chad Cromwell – Drums
- Shannon Forest – Drums