As someone who has actually set foot on the threshold of space and experienced firsthand its majesty and the incredible potential it holds for the human race, I am thrilled by this new collection of original songs celebrating the beginnings of our great endeavor to reach for the stars.

In this age when hardly anyone listens to music outside of their favorite genre, I don't know what is tougher: getting to Mars or getting people to give this terrific album a chance! Space activists will love it, of course, but if others will just take a listen, they will enjoy it too. In fact, they will be amazed at how appealing these "space" songs are.

Most of the public still greets the phrase "space activism" as a non sequitur. You might as well say NASA-Industrial-Complex activism or Giant-Faceless-Aerospace-Industry activism. The assertion that there exists a genuinely passionate grassroots constituency for space exploration and development (and not made up of employees of NASA and its contractors) is still considered preposterous by many. The Moon Race proved, did it not, that it takes a gigantic army of government and industry engineers, scientists, technicians and bureaucrats to send a handful of supermen to the Moon via a ridiculously expensive and impractical rocket system? How can any regular Joe or Joan relate to all that?

Who would possibly want to sing about all that?

Well, activists saw long ago that "space is not an agency", that space travel and development don't have to be astronomically expensive, and that someday, in a future already underway, anyone who really wants to go to space WILL get the opportunity to go.

The people who see this most clearly are the artists on this album. They see past the temporary technological obstacles to a marvelously exciting but difficult frontier that will eventually give way to the blossoming of life throughout the solar system.

So what do these artists sing about?

They sing of the glory and sacrifice on the frontier ("Fire in the Sky" and "Legends")

They sing about traveling in space themselves ("I Want to Go To Mars" and "Big Blue Sky")

They sing of the joy and fun of space flight ("Dance on the Ceiling" and "Dog on the Moon")

They sing of looking at space in new ways ("If We Had No Moon" and "Others Standing By").

They sing of the disappointment that we rushed forward and then pulled back ("Queen Isabella, Where Are You" and "Hope Eyrie")

And this diverse array of artists offers songs in many different styles. There's definitely something here for everyone.

Whether you are a space enthusiast or not, you will enjoy this album. Great music that transcends genres comes from artists genuinely inspired by their passion. Take a chance. If you do, you won't regret it. In fact, you might just be inspired to help us get to Mars!

Music and space exploration are interwoven and celebrated on this new 17 track compilation track CD...it will surely stimulate, inspire and evoke reflection amongst supporters of space exploration and folk fans alike.

Relive the history of space flight with tracks like "Surprise," a rousing polka sung in a fake Russian accent, which fondly recalls the day when "then went up Sputnik, gave the world a butt kick". There's a poignancy to these songs, such as when Garry Novikoff sings in "Dog on the Moon" that he dreams of being, in his next life, "the first dog to touch down on Mars."

In deze tijd waar iedereen gebonden is aan zijn favoriete genre, zullen sommigen misschien
niet willen luisteren naar deze cd. Ruimte-enthousiastelingen en mensen die durven verder kijken dan de hedendaagse beperkingen zullen er echter plezier aan beleven.

There’s a mix of approaches represented here: inspirational,celebratory, mournful, even humorous, but all focused on space exploration in one way or another...It has a home on my iPod, alongside a mix of more conventional alternative and classic rock.

Even the most casual music fan would likely agree that a well-written, professionally performed tune can be spiritually uplifting. However, crafting a work of such intensity is extremely difficult, which is in part why so few recordings contain truly exciting songs. Only a handful of albums have ever had the audacity to attempt to lift listeners up as high — or as far — as To Touch the Stars. Designed specifically to promote continued cosmic research, this admirable assemblage of compositions, presented in cooperation with the Mars Society (www.marssociety.org) and the National Space Society (NSS) (www.nss.org), offers, as the disc's caption elegantly exclaims, "a musical celebration of space exploration."

{...}

"The Challenge," by Linsley and Landa, is a touching piece, wonderfully encapsulating both the rewards and risks inherent in outer space travel. Linsley's voice is practiced and poignant, especially when insisting "it's time to leave the cradle, to view the great unknown, to proudly stride the cosmos on our own." "Hope Eyrie," composed by Fish and sung by Julia Ecklar, is similarly stirring, as is the upbeat "I Want to Go to Mars," a rollicking rock 'n' roll rave-up courtesy of The Birdwatchers. Stan Clardy's "Big Blue Sky" impeccably elucidates the imaginings of earthbound space enthusiasts...

This CD requires a warning label: Do not attempt to operate a motor vehicle while listening. It's hard to laugh and cry and drive at the same time. When you add "singing along" to the mix...

And a lot of these songs are just made for joining in: Witnesses' Waltz, Big Blue Sky, I Want to Go to Mars, Dance on the Ceiling... They're fun. They get your feet moving. They're not songs you just sit down quietly and enjoy. You sing along, you move along, they're songs for going places.
I have so much fun with this CD — even if I don't dare play it in the car!

Spaceba bolshoi! I got the CD just a few days after you posted it to me here in the UK. It's fantastic! Absolutely, really fantastic! I just keep playing it over and over. Even my 77 year old mother, who came into the room when I was playing it, adores it now.

I've used at least half a dozen songs from the To Touch the Stars album on my Woody’s Children show, because they're well written, well performed, and touch on a topic vital to our times, yet under-explored by most songwriters.

Go to "To Touch the Stars".