Shoot for the Stars

你没看错！是的，NBA的超级中锋魔兽德怀特·霍华德 a.k.a.魔兽a.k.a.超人出专辑了！ 其实，NBA球星出专辑根本不是什么新闻，像奥尼尔、阿泰以及科比都曾经在乐坛一试身手。不过，除了奥尼尔的唱片卖到过白金以外，其他人顶多就是玩票性质。这次魔兽出专辑有点不一样，他并没有拉来一帮乐坛巨星合作来替他助阵，而是叫来一群小朋友一起来做音乐。事情是这样的，魔兽自己有一个慈善基金会叫“德怀特·霍华德基金”，主要用来帮助受到困难的不幸儿童以及他们的家庭。热心慈善的魔兽要出专辑，当然不会忘记这些孩子们，于是他拉来NBA关怀行动(NBA Cares) “阅读成才项目(Read to Achieve)"的小朋友们一起来唱歌。 这张专辑精心挑选了NBA赛场上最热门的加油歌曲，比如黑眼豆豆的 “Let’s Get It Started”、迈克尔·杰克逊的“ABC” 等，甚至连老牌说唱歌手MC Hammer的名曲也改编成了Howard Time。 如果你是一个“品味不凡”的苛刻乐迷还是不要下了，因为这是一张给孩子们打气的专辑。虽然魔兽的歌喉不是惊为天人，但是可以肯定，他还是很有音乐天赋的！但是最重要的是，我们听到了魔兽可爱的童真，还有他那颗无比广阔的爱心！ by James Christopher Monger Bigger-than-life Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard added “recording artist” to his résumé with the release of Shoot for the Stars, an 11-track collection of classic “sports jams” that finds the Olympic gold medalist/NBA All-Star backed by a gang of enthusiastic kids and some of the industry’s finest session players. To be fair, Howard is no Shaquille O'Neal, as he actually has a decent set of pipes, and the performances, although occasionally goofy -- the basketball-themed reworkings of “U Can't Touch This (Howard Time)” and “Whoomp (Hoop) There It Is” are hardly subtle -- are immaculate, even if they’re just aping the original recordings. Shoot for the Stars' title track, the lone original, is a sentimental midtempo ode to being a team player, good sportsmanship, and positive thinking, and in a world where highlight reels are inundated with horrific injuries, stupid dances, and locker-room controversy, it’s hard not to start bobbing your head in time to its simple refrain of “Aim high with your heart.”