From the Inside

Italian pop star Laura Pausini's first English LP, From the Inside, is a guilty pleasure for any closeted fan of easy-listening pop (Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, Backstreet Boys). The album kicks off with the glorious "I Need Love," a song that earned her U.S. exposure when the ABC daytime drama All My Children used it as a love theme. Other highlights include "Every Day Is a Monday," a Europop mainstream song laced with a wah-wah guitar, and the Dion-like "Without You." Pausini is clearly influenced by Dion. Her voice doesn't soar to the heights that Dion reaches, but she comes close in songs such as "If That's Love" and "Every Day Is a Monday." Like most albums filled with love songs, "surrender" is a theme throughout From the Inside, especially in the funky ballad "Do I Dare" and the Europop "Surrender." This is one album to surrender to.