With each new fiery, emotionally impactful single on Woodward Avenue Records, the great Orianthi reveals something fresh in her ever-evolving artistry – and her latest infectious, blues-inflected gem “Some Kind of Feeling,” produced by the legendary Kevin Shirley (Journey, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin), is no exception. But before we get to the magical illumination she reveals in the song, it’s always fun, for those new to the singer, songwriter and master electric guitarist/effortless shredder’s multi-faceted musical aesthetic, to recount her many accolades and all-star associations to date. To name drop just a few, her resume includes an almost historic run of shows with Michael Jackson (hired for the London performances before his untimely death) and years-long collaborations with Alice Cooper, Dave Stewart and Richie Sambora.
While I’ve loved her previous singles on the label, “First Time Blues” and “Ghost,” the warm soulful tone of and occasional breathiness in her voice on the first funky verse of “Some Kind of Feeling” brought to mind one of rock and roll’s greatest female voices ever – Chrissie Hynde. High compliments of comparison aside, after opening with a few blistering licks over Ed Roth’s bluesy keys in the hooky intro, Orianthi shares on the track what it really feels like to meet that special person, cleverly referencing her last single with an illuminating line in the first verse: “When he walked into my world, now you’re by my side/All the ghosts are gone that used to keep me up at night.”
After a pre-chorus that describes the entry of love with a Wizard of Oz like switch to color from black and white, she gets right to the emphatic, exulting heart of the matter in the chorus, where she sings of love as both a universal phenomenon that fills our deepest desires and her personal key to fulfillment. Orianthi sings it powerfully like an anthem we should all join in on: “Cause everybody’s looking for something/We’re all searching for a deeper meaning/Don’t make it through the night/Just gonna be right by your side/Cause baby you give me some kind of feeling.” As she repeats the title phrase, she takes us to rock and roll church with gospel-flavored voices swelling around her, backed by more of that effervescent electric energy. As with all Orianthi tunes that show off her ample gifts as a singer/songwriter, she puts all her blistering ammo out there on a lengthy solo after the second chorus.
While it’s kind of the aural “money shot” of the song, well worth waiting and singing again through the chorus to get to, Orianthi offers a slightly lower key (and by design, much shorter) preview of the divine madness to come with a fill of that blissful crackle just before verse two. These lines are like a valentine to all the ways her new love pulled her out of difficult, dark places, culminating with the very vulnerable, “Thank you for loving me when I was so hard to love.” One of the lyric changes in the second pre-chorus is significant: “Guess I’ll never understand how I found somebody like you, baby…” Like, love is always a special surprise that brings out the best in us, because, you know, “Everybody’s looking for something.”
Orianthi’s band deserves major kudos for keeping “Some Kind of Feeling” hopping, exciting and grooving along. In addition to Ed Roth, the ensemble includes bassist Justin Andres, guitarist Nick Maybury and drummer Jimmy Paxson, with those sublime background vocals provided by Jade MacRae, Justin Andres and Orianthi herself.
The title of Orianthi’s latest track “Some Kind of Feeling” is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, She’s singing in a raw, vulnerable and romantic way about how love changed her, but along the way gives us a great feeling that we are also experiencing something special and transcendent. – Jonathan Widran
“Some Kinda Feeling”
- Orianthi – Guitar, Lead & Background Vocals
- Justin Andres – Bass & Background Vocals, Nick Maybury – Guitar
- Ed Roth – Keyboards, Jimmy Paxson – Drums, Jade MacRae – Background Vocals
- Produced & Mixed by Kevin Shirley, Mastered by Don Bartley
- Written by Orianthi Panagaris, Executive Producer – Mark Nordman
Frank Roszak
KBA Recipient 2014 PUBLICIST
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