Bucket of Steam by Steve Mednick

The 54-year-old Hamden resident has been listening to very good music his entire life, and on "Bucket of Steam," those influences synthesize on a set of solid songs. But here's hoping the songwriter goes more theatrical next time. The prospect of a whole record of "Dark Ages Reprise" excites.

II Eric Danton, Review of “Bucket of Steam” and “Dark Ages Reprise”, Hartford Courant (8 March 2007)

Steve Mednick, Bucket of Steam and Dark Ages Reprise (self-released) …yields to his inner folkie on a pair of records with a strong protest bent. Indeed, the subtitle to "Dark Ages Reprise" is "Songs in the Key of Gw." That's Bush, one presumes. Mednick claims, "I am not a singer," in the liner notes of "Bucket of Steam," but he does a credible job on rootsy songs featuring acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano and violin. ("Dark Ages Reprise" is a seven-song EP that includes a couple of tunes from "Bucket of Steam.")

III Craig Gilbert, New Haven Advocate (21 February 2007)

Steve Mednick , Bucket of Steam . Mednick’s untrained voice, melodies and lyrics work well around a full acoustic band, and also when he scales down to solo singer-songwriter mode on piano or guitar. Sure, he’s got an anti-Bush song (“Sidestepping [in the Dark]”)—those are now mandatory by law in the folk community. But instead of going down the same well-worn, rutted folk road, Mednick has a John Hiatt/Warren Zevon aura around his work, especially on “Second Heart” and “Roxbury Interlude.” A decent, mellow listen—coming from a guy whose day job is being a lawyer !

IV Mark Gould Review of “Dark Ages Reprise” Sound Waves Magazine (****1/2)

Who says that attorneys can’t have fun, talent, and be interesting? Judging by this spectacular release, there’s 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, he’s certainly no imitator. He’s 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, he’s 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, it’s self-released. Mednick, though, clearly (no pun intended) knows that the sound is crucial to his outstanding work. To that end, he’s surrounded himself with a fabulous producer, Eddie Seville, and the disc is expertly mastered by Paul Orofino, with the work being done in Mednick’s 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, it’s a good and right thing, here, because that allows Mednick’s talent to shine through these great songs and performances. From the opening track, “Sidestepping (In the Dark,” to the wondrous “Does It Make Any Difference?” to the finale, “Hope, Again,” Mednick has given listeners a beautiful work.

You can quit your day job, Steve.

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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.

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