By Jan Smit
Although the folklike opening bars of the first track may lead you to believe otherwise, Out Of Control, the forthcoming album (release date 14 October 2016) by Australian born singer-songwriter Ivan Waters, consists of straightforward solid rock. The opening song, I Used To Work, starts off with laid back acoustic guitar work, but evolves into a powerful rock track featuring some monumental David Gilmour style electric guitar solo’s.
The legendary British psychedelic Pink Floyd are among the main influences of Ivan Waters. One other major influence is Crosby Stills & Nash, which explains the more folklike characteristics of the album. It is remarkable that Neil Young is not mentioned as an influence in the information provided by Ivan’s media office, since on Swimming Away there is definitely some Neil Young going on. Other influences mentioned in the media information are Cat Stevens and Stevie Wonder.
Wasteful People (good song!) is reminiscent of Paul McCartney’s No More Lonely Nights, which should not be a surprise since the guitar solo on this eighties McCartney track was done by David Gilmour. Predominantly consisting of steady rock, the album also has room for the light footed In The Middle: a dreamy track with a funky feel; this track will be released as a single.
Out Of Control is a good album and well worth taking notice of. Apparently Ivan set out to make a seventies/eighties style recording, even choosing to use analogue recording facilities at the Amsterdam Recording Company to capture the original sound. He has delivered a neat end product: a coherent collection of solid tracks built up from powerful vocals based on a well balanced guitar/bass/drums cooperation. The title of the album – Out Of Control – certainly does not pertain to the music it contains. Ivan Waters succeeds in combining several strands that make up good rock music into a well-controlled and diverse album.
Listen from Out Of Control:
- I Used To Work
- Swimming Away
- Standing In Line
- Wasteful People
