Customer Reviews

All The Way To Mars

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Melora Hardin is a true triple threat proven here in her third CD - All the Way to Mars. Part original material, (yes, she's a songwriter too) part show tunes, Melora demonstrates her vocal prowess with classy and complicated jazzy riffs and deep gorgeous bellows that come from her soul. I love how her personality and sense of humor shine through her music, and I will not lie, her version of "I Dreamed a Dream" made me teary. So impressive. And this romantic little bundle of music is just in time for Valentine's Day!

Melora Hardin is one of the most truly talented people in entertainment. She is an extraordinary actress, an extremely talented singer who has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard, an outstanding director (check out her movie YOU the film), and a magnificent song writer. There is literally nothing that she has done in her career that I haven't loved. Her first two CD's (Meloradrama and PURR) are absolutely wonderful, and her new CD All the Way to Mars is brilliant. Melora's voice range is absolutely incredible, and nobody has a voice like her's. This CD is all I have been listening to since Feb. 9th, and I have yet to become tired of it. I love that she has redone some of the classics, such as "Close to You" because I love that song! Melora is such an inspiration and whoever buys this CD will not be disappointed!

At first when I saw that one of my favorite actresses was releasing a CD, I was filled with doubt. The new triple-threat in Hollywood of directing, acting, and singing is rarely seen and to find it all in the perfect package that is Melora? It is no surprise that one might find himself in disbelief.

I bided my time until February 9, doing menial and monotonous tasks to fill my pointless days. As what will now be known as "Terrific Tuesday" arrived, I ran to my computer with all of the excitement of a child on Christmas! Wrought with anticipation, I listened to each track carefully. Every transient note, each crescendo, and every moment up until the final morendo of "Come Home With Me for Christmas" had me feeling a range of emotions I had never achieved through years of human interaction.

After eight or nine listens to the CD, I knew it was time to get myself ready for the day. As I disrobed before showering, I noticed something strange in the mirror. I appeared significantly leaner and more muscular than the day before! I had not strayed from my daily morning ritual of 3 pushups and 10 situps; the only addition to my routine was Melora's magical CD...could it be true? Undoubtedly. Today I walk with a new stride.

This CD has changed my life forever. Would I recommend it? Only if you want to rock 6-pack abs while combing a full head of thick, unmatted hair.

(by [...] shoshana green)

Melora Hardin has assembled an eclectic collection of songs for All the Way to Mars, her new album co-produced by Richard Jay-Alexander and Ben Toth. The songs move from musical theatre to pop ballad to standards and back again. While this progression lives up to the album's title, it's almost too abrupt, making it difficult for the listener to experience a through line. As a sampling of Hardin's range and vocal talents, All the Way to Mars accomplishes its goals. As an album, however, it's not cohesive, and the scattershot nature of the tracks doesn't totally convey who Hardin is musically.

The album opens with "Raise the Roof," a song from Andrew Lippa's musical version of The Wild Party. Hardin literally does raise the roof with her strong, spot-on rendition. With "Raise the Roof" and Stephen Sondheim's "Everybody Says Don't," Hardin makes a strong case for a career as a musical theatre performer. Her other musical theatre selections, however, don't do much to help her cause. "Roxie" from Kander and Ebb's Chicago and "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables are not the most exciting songs out of context of the respective shows. While Hardin does a fine job on them, she could have spent more album space exploring better material. She never really sinks her teeth into any musical theatre ballads ("I Dreamed a Dream" leans more toward pop ballad than musical theatre), ones that would require her to act an emotional moment. She has the acting skills, of course, and has said she wants to do more musical theatre, so what is she waiting for?

Hardin also wastes a good amount of album space on songs from her previous album Purr. She's progressed so much since its release 10 years ago that tracks like "All Messed Up" and "Teenager," which fit perfectly on Purr, are now holding her back. Personally, I am not a fan of "A Boy and His Cat." Many people enjoy it, but to me it is juvenile, and it's appearance on All the Way to Mars further stunts Hardin's musical growth. If Hardin was looking to showcase her cute side, her new song "Ride Your Rocket" and the clever, entertaining "He's So Married" (by Jimmie Dodd and Will Flower) are really all she needs.

Some of her new songs are gorgeous, particularly "Fading Away," a lyrical depiction of a fading relationship which contains some of Hardin's best lyrics to date. "Makin' Love," another melodic ballad, is more musically complex and contains a wider range of emotion. Her voice both soars and conveys a darkness.

Hardin has certainly raised the bar with All the Way to Mars, but she still has a lot of musical territory to explore. She's gone all the way to Mars, but she's more than proven that she can go even farther.

My friend went to Melora's concert in Indianapolis and had Melora autograph a CD for me since I'm a fan of hers from "The Office". I thought I at least ought to listen to it. I really can't stand the music on this CD. Very corny, though that's cabaret for you. She's a decent singer, but she won't knock your socks off.

If you love cabaret music, you'll think this is great. For the rest of us, you will throw up while listening to this...guaranteed.