Steve Mednick's CD reflects "influences from Tom Petty to the Beatles to Jackson Browne, but from that opening shot it evokes most of all Bob Dylan. And not just any Dylan, but the apocalyptic, troubled Dylan of Slow Train Coming".

13 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Folk Rock, FOLK: Traditional Folk



Details:
Steve Mednick lives in New Haven, Connecticut where plays guitar, keyboards and harmonica as a solo artist and member of the group, B.O.O.M.


Mark Gould Review of âDark Ages Repriseâ Sound Waves Magazine (****1/2)

Who says that attorneys canât have fun, talent, and be interesting? Judging by this spectacular release, thereâs clearly no law against it.

Mednick, a practicing Connecticut lawyer by day, sounds at times like a cross between the best of Mark Knopfler and Warren Zevon, with a dash of Bruce Springsteen tossed in, for good measure. However, heâs certainly no imitator. Heâs got the kind of voice, emotion, and phrasing that is uniquely his, and his alone. And, his seven songs on this EP are exemplary. Frankly, heâs just got loads of talent, a ton of ability and a flair for putting it all together.

Yet, perhaps even more important to the stand out quality of this release is the sound. Too many times, self-released albums, created far away from the studio muscle of the major companies, sounds like, well, itâs self-released. Mednick, though, clearly (no pun intended) knows that the sound is crucial to his outstanding work. To that end, heâs surrounded himself with a fabulous producer, Eddie Seville, and the disc is expertly mastered by Paul Orofino, with the work being done in Mednickâs native Connecticut and in upstate New York. In their hands, the sound is crystal clear, stark and stands solely on its own, without resort to any studio gimmicks.

With a lesser performer, that might, ironically, reveal the flaws in the music. However, itâs a good and right thing, here, because that allows Mednickâs talent to shine through these great songs and performances. From the opening track, âSidestepping (In the Dark,â to the wondrous âDoes It Make Any Difference?â to the finale, âHope, Again,â Mednick has given listeners a beautiful work.

You can quit your day job, Steve.



From an article by Paul Bass of the New Haven Independent E-Paper (October 5, 2006)

These are serious compositions; Mednick reaches high here, in the images and subjects of the lyrics, in the chord patterns, in the professional arrangements, in the production work by Eddie Seville. And Mednick arrives at his destination...

...Dark Ages is a political foray of its own.

From the opening blast of Sidestepping Into the Dark -- "Are you as dumb as you look?/ Or are you playing a game?" -- Mednick, a lfielong Democrat, has a certain Republican in his sights. His CD reflects influences from Tom Petty to the Beatles to Jackson Browne, but from that opening shot it evokes most of all Bob Dylan. And not just any Dylan, but the Dylan of Slow Train Coming, the apocalyptic, troubled, but soul-searching and spirit-reaching debut offering of the singer's born-again Christian period.

No, Mednick's not a born-again Christian. But like Dylan in that period (one of Dylan's most fertile and least appreciated detours), Mednick haunts us, on piano and in his lyrics, by wrestling with his troubled soul and the realities of present-day corruption on both earthly and ethereral spheres. (Sample: "Obscure the truth/ Play to our fears/ You masquerade as a harmless fool... / But we're the fools/ If we don't see there's no room for us in you heaven.") And, like that late '70s, early '80s version of Dylan, he looks beyond despair. He hopes to "hear the angels singing freedom songs of hope again." They call it the prophetic tradition: Warnings of doom coupled with calls to redemption.

The vibe shifts on Bucket of Steam; the Dylan influence feels more like Planet Waves, with John Hiatt and the Fab Four thrown in, the latter most recognizably on the Sgt. Pepper-ish "Things Endure (While the Living Pass)." That's one of several loving and introspective tributes to/ reflections on Mednick's late father. These kinds of sentiments have been known to creep up on people in their middle age, when parents die -- and, in some cases, their sons sometimes turn to the recording studio.